Is nail fungus bad for your health?
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys lounging around in a public shower without any shoes on, then chances are that you’ve heard about nail fungus. It’s not exactly the most glamorous topic to discuss over dinner with your friends, but it’s important nonetheless. In this article, we’ll talk about what nail fungus is, how it affects your health, and most importantly; whether or not it’s bad for you.
What is Nail Fungus?
Nail fungus (onychomycosis) occurs when fungi infect one or more nails. The infection can start as a white or yellow spot under the tip of the nail and eventually spread throughout the entire nail if left untreated. Common symptoms include thickened nails, brittle edges that split easily, discoloration of nails and a foul odor emanating from your toes (ewww!).
How Do You Get It?
Contrary to popular belief, fungal infections aren’t contagious—they won’t spread from person to person through contact. However,there are many ways they can infect one’s toenails:
- Walking barefoot in public showers
- Excessive sweating
- Sharing socks or shoes
- Wearing tight-fitting shoes
Does Nail Fungus Affect Your Health Negatively?
The answer to this question isn’t simple since every case varies depending on each individual’s immune system response.
Difficulty Walking
Fungal infections may cause pain when putting pressure on affected toes (ouch!), making standing or walking awkward at best.
Severely Damaged Nails
In some cases, loss of nails may occur due to extensive damage caused by inflammation and worsening of fungal conditions. If the situation gets so severe that there is no other choice but surgical removal—this could lead to amplified recovery times increasing overall medical expenditure (we like money-saving).
Negative Health Effects Are Rare:
Nail fungus is not a life-threatening condition; its negative effects on general health are usually mild.
Bacterial Nail Infection
If left untreated though, nail fungus can lead to infection by bacteria that penetrate the damaged skin and nails around it. If you happen to go through this experience—just make sure to see your doctor immediately for proper medication.
Athlete’s Foot
Athlete’s foot (a contagious fungal infection) could potentially develop because of nail fungus (time to trade those fuzzy socks in). A co-occurring fungal condition leads the fungi who causes athlete’s foot into other aspects of your feet and vice versa.
Preventing Nail Fungus
Always remember—prevention is better than cure!
Keep Feet Clean and Dry.
One way to tackle nail fungus includes promoting clean and healthy environments for growth inhabitation which ensures the prevention of any re-infections.
Regular Pedicures.
Regular pedicures set at professional establishments ensure your toes get pampered once in a while but also allow for crucial observations before potential situations arise like full-blown infections (bet you never knew manicurists were licensed Nurses).
Summing it up
While we should take care always—to protect our toenails against bacterial infections, lack of previous knowledge regarding these issues increases likelihoods exponentially (we’re crossing out all self-diagnosis mishaps as pre-existing medical conditions come first)—this if left unchecked could result in chronic suffering! It may be time for us all safe new socks, appropriately fitting shoes with more emphasis on better hygiene habits(it’s just polite)!