Onychomycosis Definition – Know It!

A Definition for Onychomycosis is just an infection of the fingernails and toenails caused by fungus.

Technically, Onychomycosis means a fungal infection of the nail.  More likely, the infection occurs under the surface of the nail, between the nail plate and the nail bed.

Onychomycosis is one of the nail diseases more commonly affecting the elderly people.  Approximately, 90% of the adults may be at risk of getting infected by onychomycosis, occuring more frequently occurs in men.  Well, anyone can get infected by nail fungus and it may take a few weeks before one starts noticing it.

Perhaps, I have it – What to do now?

Since you may have started noticing symptoms, most of the damage has been already done and now you have to deal with this problem.

After reading further you will find an simple and effective way to treat onychomycosis, however, every treatment takes time, especially toenail onychomycosis.

Ignoring the nail fungus makes it more worse and it will start looking awful.

There are various causes for the occurrence of onychomycosis.  It is probable that you have fungus at the end of your nail just waiting for an opportunity to enter under the nail.

Usually, nails get infected with fungus when it gets damaged by an injury or trauma.

It is not easy to cure nail fungus once it feeds on the protein within the nail, grows, spores, multiplies and gets a hold inside the nail.

Several products are used to treat nail fungus, however, some products show positive results while others are harmful for your body.  You will soon find a permanent solution to your nail fungus.

It is advisable to seek a medical opinion to see what type of onychomycosis you have as this particular disease is divided into clinical subtypes based on the cause and progress of the infection.

• Distal lateral subungual onychomycosis (DLSO) is the most common form of onychomycosis. In DLSO, the fungus generally spreads from the skin and invades the underside of the nail where the nail meets the nail bed. Generally, fungus causes the nails to turn yellow and later detach it after separating it from the nail bed.

• White superficial onychomycosis (WSO) is a rare infection and the least common caused by the fungi directly invading the surface of the nail plate making it white and crumbly in spots or all over the surface of the nail.

• In Proximal subungual onychomycosis (PSO), the fungi invade the cuticle (the skin around the nail) and the nail fold and then penetrate the nail plate (fingernail or toenail). This nail fungus is first seen as a white or yellow spot on the nails near the cuticle. While symptoms progress, plaque is formed that collects under the nail and finally separates the entire nail from the nail bed.

• Like DLSO, in Endonyx onychomycosis (EO), the fungi reach the nail via the skin. Instead of infecting the nail bed, however, the fungi immediately invade the nail plate.

• Candidal Onychomycosis (yeast infection) is a little different from onychomycosis related to other fungal infections. Candidal onychomycosis has several characteristics:

• Onycholysis describes the nail separating from the nail bed. The separation is primarily caused by yeast called Candida.
• Chronic mucocutaneous disease (disease of mucous membrane and regular skin) involves the nail plate (fingernail or toenail) and eventually the nail fold (the skin fold behind the cuticle, where the nail meets the finger or toe).

• Total dystrophic onychomycosis is not a distinct subtype of onychomycosis. Dystrophic onychomycosis is the term used to describe the most advanced form of any of the above subtypes, and it involves the entire nail unit. Dystrophic onychomycosis may cause permanent scarring of the nail matrix.