So, how to recognize nail fungus?

The first sign that you have fungus infection are yellowish or grayish spots on your nails. They could be round or in a form of stripes. At the expense of the growth of the horny upper layer the nails becomes thick, fluffy, and fragile and crumble easily. In a while, the spots on the nail merge into each other.
The fungal infection on hands looks like this: the process of affection starts from the middle of the nail fold, then moves to the sides and finally spreads on the nail plate. The nail folds become edematic, red and painful, and when pressed, drop of pus may appear from under them.   The part of nail plate adjacent to the nail fold grows dim and crumbles.
However, nails could be affected by diseases other than fungus infections as well. In such a case a different treatment is needed. Only your doctor can set a right diagnose to you after examining your nail and skin scrapping under microscope.