NAIL FUNGUS

Types

There are four types of onychomycosis, which areaccording to clinical presentationand the route of invasion.

Distal Subungual Onychomycosis

This is the most common form of onychomycosis and affects the nail bed and underside of the nail plate beginning at the hyponychium.

Proximal Subungual Onychomycosis

This is an uncommon subtype, and occurs when fungi invade the nail through the proximal nail fold in the cuticle area and the newly formed nail plate

White Superficial Onychomycosis

This is a less common form and happens when fungi invade the superficial layers of the nail plate directly.

Total Dystrophic Onychomycosis

Total dystrophic onychomycosis is also known as end-stage nail disease.

Symptoms

A fungal infection of the nail may affect a part of the nail, the whole nail, or several nails. The signs and symptoms are as follows:

• Scaling under the nail
• White or yellow streaks on the nail
• A crumbling turn or tip of the nail
• Flaking and white areas on the nail’s surface
• Yellow spots at the base of the nail
• Loss of the nail
• A disfigured nail that may lift off from the nail bed
• An odor from the infected nail
• A brittle or thickened nail

Diagnosis

A physician will take a scraping of the nail and see underneath a microscope if there are signs of a fungus. In some situations, your doctor would need to send the sample to a lab for examination and identification.

Medications/Treatment

The doctor may prescribe an oral antifungal medicine, such as the following:

• Terbinafine
• Itraconazole
• Fluconazole
• Griseofulvin

Antifungal nail lacquer or topical solutions may also be used.