Since more than 20% of the world's population is currently infected with fungus on the feet and sometimes on the hands, many know how unpleasant this disease is and what consequences it leads to. However, not everyone is familiar with the information about which microorganisms cause this disease and what types of nail fungus exist.
In addition to the forms of the disease, its specificities and treatment methods, it would be useful to know how many different types of fungi lead to the destruction of nails and damage to different areas of the feet and hands.
Causes of the disease and its symptoms
With the causes of the disease, everything can be quite complicated, as a person easily becomes infected with a fungus, both due to the fragility of their body and the fact that they are exposed to constant contact with infected people or objects.
At the moment, the following are the main causes of the disease:
- Visit saunas, showers and public swimming pools;
- Increased sweating of the feet;
- Using someone else's shoes or hygiene products;
- Weak immunity and so on.
Manifestations of the fungus in affected areas include the following symptoms:
- Formation of scales on the skin of the feet and nails;
- Skin peeling and itching;
- Appearance of cracks;
- Thickening of the skin and infected nails;
- Changes in nail color;
- Destruction of the nail structure.
Important!
In any case, nail fungus and any other forms of its manifestation cause a lot of problems, and therefore it is worth dealing with the prevention and treatment of the disease in a timely manner.
Forms and types of disease
In this case, everything is quite complicated, since the types of fungal nail diseases are distributed according to different criteria.
The classification is as follows:
- According to the depth of penetration and location of the fungus;
- According to the size of the nail thickening;
- By type of pathogen;
- By stage of development (initial, second, advanced).
If we take the type of pathogens as an example, then in this case the patient will have to study the Latin names a lot, therefore it is not worth delving too much into unnecessary information with names, it is better to understand in detail the manifestations of nail fungus and how all this is reflected in the nail plates.
Classification by depth of penetration and location on the nail
In this case, the forms of the disease are divided into the following points:
- Distal. This type of onychomycosis appears in the extreme part of the nail (free), and is characterized by a change in its color and the beginning of delamination with destruction of the structure. Furthermore, the spot begins to increase in size;
- Side. The main signs are similar to the previous shape, but the nail color changes on one or both sides of the nail;
- White surface. This form of fungus is expressed by the appearance of several spots on the nail, which ends up leading to its total destruction;
- Proximal. The disease originates in the cuticle (inflames) and gradually spreads throughout the nail, destroying it;
- Total onychomycosis. The color of the entire nail plate changes, which leads to faster destruction.
Classification according to the size of the nail thickening
This classification has only 3 forms, allowing us to separate the levels of compression to which a nail infected by fungus succumbs.
In this case it is:
- Normotrophic form. With this form of the disease, separate foci of the disease appear on the nail, which have a slightly different color. The thickness of the nail does not change;
- Hypertrophic form. The nail begins to thicken, changes color, becomes deformed, gradually collapses and is no longer as comfortable for the person to walk on;
- Onycholytic. With this shape, nail fungus leads to detachment of the finger layer, and if you delay treatment, bringing everything to such an extent, you do not need to think about saving the nail.
It is clear that the types of nail fungus themselves are distributed depending on the pathogen. There are three main types of microorganisms, but they have their own varieties.
Classification by type of pathogen
In this case, three types of pathogens can be distinguished, each with its own subspecies. It is worth mentioning that these microorganisms can also appear on the hands, but as hand hygiene is more common, this happens less frequently.
The distribution looks like this:
- Mold. This is one of the simplest forms of fungus because mold cannot penetrate deeply into the affected area. However, manifestations on toenails are still possible. The main signs are the change in color, which goes from black to green. Occasionally, spots of the same color may appear on the skin of the fingers. There are more than 5 types of mold;
- Dermatophyte. There are 3 main pathogens that cause the most severe symptoms. The appearance of gray and yellow stripes, detachment of the nail and, what's worse, microorganisms of this type are capable of infecting the entire foot;
- yeast fungus. This fungus is well known for belonging to the genus Candida, which is also responsible for the development of thrush. The characteristic symptoms when infected with this fungus are a decrease in the thickness of the nail, a change in color to gray, detachment and damage to the finger, even inflammation.
It is important to note that due to the presence of subspecies, only a specialist will be able to prescribe the correct medications for the fungus, independent selection of remedies will simply be useless.
Finally
Some experts identify other forms of the disease, taking into account the manifestations of the disease on the hands, however, guided by the types known to science, it is possible to understand what type of fungus it is by observing the symptoms that appear.
But this does not mean at all that you can self-medicate in this way, since there are other diseases that lead to a change in the color of the nail, as well as its peeling. For this reason, if nail fungus suddenly appears, you should immediately consult a doctor, for example a dermatologist, and take a comprehensive approach to solving this problem.