Toenail Fungus Treatments

by MICHAEL TODD SAPKO MD

The days of onychomycosis being considered simply a cosmetic problem are over. Nail fungus is certainly unpleasing to the eye but it can be much more than that. The emotional and social impact of onychomycosis can be significant. Those afflicted with onychomycosis avoid public places and social functions. They avoid touching friends and loved ones with affected hands which can lead to real interpersonal conflict.

Beyond the psychological suffering associated with onychomycosis, the nails of the fingers and toes provide normally provide protection against trauma. The nails contribute to the way in which we sense the world. Nails affected by onychomycosis can be painful and interfere with sensation and walking. In addition, a fungal infection of the hands and feet may lead to a process called a superinfection in which bacteria and viruses also invade and infect the tissue on top of the fungal infection.

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Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the fingernails or toenails. This unwieldy medical term can be divided into onycho-, which refers to nails and –mycosis, which is a fungal infection. This condition is responsible for about one third of all fungal skin infections. Half of all diseases of the fingernails and toenails are diagnosed as onychomycosis.

Onychomycosis is generally a disease of older patients with most cases occurring in patients older than the age of 40. It is 30 times more likely for the disease to occur in adults that in children. Onychomycosis is very common and becomes more prevalent as people age. About 20 percent of all people between age 40 and 60 have onychomycosis. In fact, it has been estimated that as many as 90% of elderly patients have the disease.

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Proximal subungual onychomycosis is the least common onychomycosis in healthy persons though it occurs fairly often in immunocompromised individuals. One of the more unique features of proximal subungual onychomycosis is that the fungus invades the nail at the cuticle and becomes intimately associated with the nail bed. The disease moves along with the growing nail toward the tip.

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