Over 35 million people will experience toenail fungal infections at some point in their lives. Nail fungus has been found to affect about 2 – 18% of the population worldwide. Nail fungus is typically found in adults and the elderly and your chances of developing the fungus yourself actually increases with age.
Around 25% of adults will have had to deal with nail fungus by the time they reach 40 years old! And for senior citizens that chance increases to 50%!
Toenail fungus can infect your nails through the cracks of your nails and sometimes the cuts on your skin surrounding the nails. There are several signs of toenail fungus, often times the toenail can change color ranging from yellow, blue, and black, it can cause the nail to become hard and thick making daily maintenance almost impossible, and it can easily distort and directly change the shape of the nail completely. The dark dampness of your shoes are the perfect breeding ground for the fungus to grow making toenails easily susceptible to nail infections rather than our hands. If you leave fungus untreated it can spread to your other nails, hands, and even skin!
Most people that have dealt with nail infections in the past know the struggle all too well of trying to cure it on their own. There are hundreds of home remedies to choose from, but no official records exist of their effectiveness. The reason for this is because most of the treatments that are done at home are just mixing up a few ingredients and applying the mixture as a topical to the nail.
The fungus is living, thriving, sandwiched in between the nail and the skin of the toe making topicals near impossible to penetrate. There are a few medical procedures you can have done if you suffer from nail infections that have higher cure rates. For instance you can surgically remove the nail, take oral medications, use prescription strength topicals, and apply laser treatment to the nails.
The best way to prevent nail fungus infections is by being proactive! Start taking preemptive measures now! Avoid walking barefoot in public, spray out old tennis shoes and sneakers, make sure you’re not putting on dirty socks, and keep sharing shoes down to a minimum!
You are twice more likely to develop the fungus after an injury so take special precautions and treat your nail gently making sure to keep the site clean and not overexposed to dark and moist environments.
