How to treat fungus
Patients who have fungal infections should use a new towel every time they wipe the affected areas on their body. All cloths which have been in contact with the affected areas should be washed in hot water, preferably with chlorine bleacher. If you have nothing of that kind at home, just boil your laundry in clean water for 10 minutes. If this could not be done due to some reasons, press the dried cloths with hot iron. Women`s elastic pantyhose or stockings, which cannot be bleached or boiled, should be washed in hot water with soap.
Your feet should always stay dry (except when you are taking a shower or bath). After taking a shower, bath or washing your feet, carefully wipe them dry paying special attention to the skin area between toes.
Change your stocks, tights or stockings and air your shoes every day.
Wear cotton made socks, since synthetic materials increase perspiration thereby creating favorable conditions for fungal growth. Though, this advice is unfeasible for most young women who pay a lot of attention to their appearance. We recommend them to change their pantyhose or stockings as frequently as possible (at least once a day) and wash them carefully; also wipe the internal part of your shoes with alcohol-soaked cotton pad.
Foot skin fungal infections could be complicated with toe-nail fungal affection. To protect your toe nails, keep them clean. Do not use metal pedicure files, since it may damage the nail plate thereby creating even more favorable conditions for dwelling of the microscopic parasites.
Sometimes feet fungal infection is accompanied by rash in the inguinal region (genital zone). Remember, that skin rashes in all areas of your body should be treated simultaneously. To avoid getting infection from your feet to the genital zone, put on clean socks before putting on underwear.
How to prevent fungal infections in human
Rules of hygiene
Elementary hygiene observation is a necessary circumstance for prevention of fungus infections and their successful treatment.
As it was already mentioned, fungi prefer to dwell in wet and warm places. That is why the treacherous microorganism often lies in wait for us in places where we come to improve our health: saunas, gyms and swimming pools. How to avoid fungal contamination? First of all take rubber slippers with you when visiting any of the listed establishments. Secondly, never let other people use your towel or try your shoes or socks. Keep in mind, that shoes and towels become source of fungal diseases more often than anything else.
Do other skin diseases promote fungal contamination?
Not always. The risk of contamination increases only when the first disease leads to formation of cracks and erosions in the skin, i.e. entry of infection, or delays the process of desquamation of horny scales.
Some cases have been known when patients with severe hand dermatosis revealed some signs of fungus, however, the fungal infection failed to develop in them. It happened, because these people washed their hands frequently and the scales of epidermis on which dwelt the fungi were just washed away with water.
In psoriatic patients the scales of the horny layer come off more intensely than usual, and the pathogenic fungi are removed with them.
How to avoid fungal contamination
Human pathogenic fungi usually dwell in the thickened layer of horny (keratinized) epithelial tissues; that is why it makes sense to get rid of all possible “refuges” for fungi. Regularly remove all callosities from your feet with pedicure file or pumice stone.
Wash your feet every day. After that, smear them with a body cream containing antiseptic and antiallergic agents. The cream would form an oily film on your skin, which would be impenetrable by fungi.
Never put on someone else`s shoes, nobody would tell you that he is suffer from toe-nail fungus. However, if you have tried someone`s shoes, wash your feet and wipe them and your shoes with a piece of cotton wetted with alcohol as soon as you are home.
Favorable conditions for fungal growth
Fungi thrive in moist and worm environment. That is why people with excessive foot sweating, those who do not wipe feet dry after washing and prefer wearing synthetic socks and shoes made from imitation leather and non-breathing materials and urban residents, who can`t walk barefoot even at home, are exposed to fungal diseases most.
1. Nonobservance of personal hygiene rules
Fungus is transmitted by direct contact with the carrier of the disease or (the most common way of getting the infection) through touching objects contaminated with skin scales, particles of nails or hair with fungus.
2. Anatomical peculiarities of the patient
Anatomical peculiarities include flat-footedness, narrow spaces between toes, any pathology associated with irregular form of toes independently of the reasons which caused them.
3. Physiological peculiarities
Physiological peculiarities may include metabolic imbalance; endocrine and sexual system disorder; disorders of the gastrointestinal tract; hypovitaminosis, helminthiasis (diseases associated with presence of parasites in the gastrointestinal tract) or disturbance of blood supply to legs that has been developing during long time. Unlike the previous group, the treatment of the pathologies listed in this group does not necessarily require surgical interference; it means that in most cases the patient can withstand the disease by himself.
4.Using medicines
Some medicines may reduce immunodefence of the body and disturb skin barrier function. It is mostly caused by hormonal therapy with glucocorticoids or steroids or by radiation therapy. Some other medicines (e.g. antibiotics) may themselves carry the fungus into body (very often it is yeast fungus causing thrush). That is why antibiotics should be used with caution. It is recommended to take them in combination with antifungal medicines such as Nystatin or Levorin, though they treat yeast fungi only.
5. Sex, hereditary predisposition.
Some medical articles claim that sensitiveness to some species of fungi may depend on the sex. For example, fungus affecting feet is more characteristic of women who more often than men wear tight shoes. It is pay-off for following the fashion. However, there are mycoses which affect men mostly; tight shoes are not a necessary condition for these causative organisms. A number of researchers assert that some persons are genetically predisposed to fungal contamination. This point of view confirms the fact that some fungal infections are found in blood kins from generation to generation; meanwhile this species of dermatophyte is rarely transmitted from person to person who are not kins but are in close physical contact with each other (e.g. spouses).
What helps fungi dwell and survive on your skin
Disrupted skin. Injuries, callosities formed because of wearing tight or uncomfortable shoes, irritation in skin folds associated with skin acidity; in general, all areas of ruptured skin may become entries for any infection. A fungal infection won`t dwell in your skin without such “entries”; a whole layer of epidermis does not let the fungus into the depth of the skin.
General debilitation of the body, which may occur in consequence of various diseases or psychological overload. Supercooling, fatigue, malnutrition, lack of sleep- all these factors worsen the skin barrier function and lead to reactivity change (ability of a body to respond to environmental changes). At first the reactivity increases, but then, when the immunodefence is exhausted, it decreases suddenly. As a result of this, the skin barrier function worsens and if a fungus gets on the skin in such a moment, it is sure to put down roots.
Fungal infections(mycoses)
Fungus diseases affecting feet are so common that anyone at least once in his life has had this infection. The popular belief that fungus diseases do not respond well to treatment is not right. Timely started treatment usually brings to good results and the disease never recurs later on. For the treatment of mycoses various medicines are used including some antibiotics. However, since the cell walls of fungi are more resistant in comparison with cell walls of other microorganisms (e.g. bacteria), larger doses of much stronger antibiotics are used for the treatment of fungus disease. Some of these antibiotics may have serious side effects; that is why it makes sense to try home natural remedies to treat fungus. But before starting the treatment learn as much as possible about “dietary” predilections, living conditions and behavioural pattern of your “enemy”. To put it simple, you should know the symptoms of the disease and what factors promote development of the fungal infection. Besides that, you should prepare your body to the struggle with the unwelcome guest, since in most cases wise use of the spare capacities of your body is enough to win the disease.