New Nail Fungus Cures

No one likes it when they develop ugly toenail fungus symptoms. Those ugly looking tonails can just be so hard to get cleaned up. But sometimes the toenail fungus just creeps up on you and if you have had it for too long a time it is hard to get it healed. This is why it is always a good idea to try and recognize toenail fungus right away. Here are some of the symptoms of toenail fungus that will help you to recognize it and so start curing it as soon as it happens.

• Discoloration – One of the most easily recognizable signs of toenail fungus is when the nails begin to look yellow. If you develop the problem in the winter when your feet are covered most of the time, this can then be something you have overlooked. But not all discoloration is yellow, sometimes instead of a yellow tint to the toenail, you will see a cloudiness or sometimes even a brown tone to the nail. If any discoloration is happening, always check it out right away.

• Discomfort – Although actual pain is not usually associated with toenail fungus, there is some discomfort because having the infection can usually cause the toes to itch. But because there isn't any actual pain, many people will just ignore the itch that can go on for weeks when you first have problems with toenail fungus.

• Thickening Nails – This one is probably the symptom that gets the most attention from anyone who has gotten a toenial fungus infection. When combined with the yellow discoloration, it can make your toenails a pretty ugly sight!

Once you have seen one of these symptoms, and have gone to the doctor to confirm that what you have is a case of toenail infection, it isn't that difficult to cure it. So don't be concerned if you get these symptoms of toenail infection because there are dozens of inexpensive creams and even natural organic things you can take that will kill the fungus uder your toes. Once that is done, it is just a matter of time while your new healthy nail grows in and replaces the ugly nail fungus infected ones.

Effective nail fungus treatment can take a long time because it often requires new nails to grow out and push out the old, infected areas. This can sometimes take well over a year.

Medicated Nail Polishes: those containing amorolfine or ciclopirox

Topical Creams: urea cream (combined with ciclopirox nail polish)

Oral Medications: terbinafine, itraconazole, griseofulvin

In some instances, combining medicated nail polishes with either topical creams or oral medications has proven effective.

Additionally:

Laser Treatments: this kills the fungus that resides in the nail bed. One laser treatment in particular, The PinPointe FootLaser System, has been used to successfully remove toenail fungi in one treatment.

Natural Remedies:out of the most common natural or home remedies (BenGay, grapefruit seed extract, tea tree oil, etc.) thyme oil has been shown to have an effect against fighting toenail fungi. Also, snakeroot leaf extract can treat superficial cases of nail fungi with no known side effects.

The medical term for a nail fungus is Onychomycosis. A nail fungus is also commonly referred to "nail ringworm." Nail fungus represents almost one-half of the nail problems seen by physicians. Although nail infections affects both fingernails and toenails, most infections occur in the toenails. It's believed that almost 8% of the adult population suffers from some sort of nail fungus.

Believe it or not, there are actually 4 different types of nail fungi:

Distal subungual: this is the most common type of nail infection, affecting both the nail bed and the area beneath the nail plate.

White superficial: the next most common type of infection gets its name from the fact that the nail forms white areas on the nail plate. Because this condition can be mistakenly diagnosed as something called "keratin granulations", your physician should conduct a test to make sure it's not a simple reaction to nail polish.

Candidal: this can occur in people whose jobs require them to keep their hands in water for extended periods of time.

Proximal subungual: this is one of the least common forms of the condition and is usually seen in patients whose immune system is compromised.

Bend your right arm at the elbow and hold out your right index finger.  Look at your index finger from the side.  We'll start at the bottom of your nail area, working our way up to identify each part:

Matrix: this is the tissue on which the nail itself rests.  It contains nerves and blood vessels.

Nail Sinus:  the groove where your nail root is inserted.

Nail Root:  the base of the nail that's located underneath the skin.  It's inserted into the groove of the nail sinus.

Nail Bed:  this is the skin under the nail plate (the nail itself).  The epidermis is the visible skin directly beneath the nail plate; the dermis is much deeper and is actually attached to the bones in the finger.  The skin in the nail bed contains ridges.  As we get older, our nail plates thin and the ridges become more visible.

Lunula: the part of the nail matrix that's visible.  It's the moon-shaped white part near the base of the nail.  You can see it best on the thumb.  Your nail grows out from this area.

Cuticle:  this is the area near the base of the nail plate that grows out over the surface of the nail plate. 

Eponychium:  this is the epidermal skin that's attached to the cuticle.  It folds over onto itself to form a layer of skin.  This skin contains living cells.  When you get a manicure and the manicurist "nicks" the area near your cuticle they're actually hurting the eponychium.

Nail Plate: this is the actual pink-colored nail itself.

Free Margin: the edge of the nail plate or the nail itself.  In other words, people that bite their nails have very little free margin, whereas people with long nails have a lot of free margin.  The free margin area is what you touch when you file or clip your nails.