One of the most common foot diseases is athlete's foot, or as it is called mycosis. According to the statistics of medical research, several types of this damage to the skin and nail plates have been identified.
The main thing is to consult a doctor immediately when a fungus appears in order to find time to protect your body from bacteria and everyone around you.
What does athlete's foot look like?
Many have heard of such a disease as mycosis, and it manifests itself in almost 80% of the population, but rarely has anyone personally encountered this problem. There are cases when infected people simply do not pay attention to the symptoms and cannot start treatment in time, which leads to disastrous results. But in addition to the infected body, the people around him can also suffer.
Using a photo, you can learn in more detail the stages of localization of bacteria on a person's foot, but it should be noted that in addition to visual effects, there are symptoms that will differ in the degree of infection of the body.
The initial stage of the manifestation of foot fungus will not be very noticeable, but a burning sensation, itching and a small area of redness may indicate that the fungus has already started to become active.
The next stage is more serious and applies to both the foot and the nail plate. The nail begins to change (yellow, gray, thickens). Also, small white streaks and spots may appear on the nails, which is usually a good reason to see a doctor for a diagnosis.
The last stage is a severe peeling of the skin, the nail slowly begins to move away from the hole, ulcers and ulcers may appear. All this leads to the complete destruction of the upper layer of the epidermis, internal cracks begin to be exposed.
Mycosis of the foot looks like this at every stage of development. And as you can see from the photo, the results of fungal infection of the nail plates and feet can be sad.
Fungus on toes
Fungal infection of the skin between the toes is called athlete's foot, and the fungus itself is called Tinea pedis. This fungus is formed by contact with an already infected person or by using someone else's hygiene products.
Symptoms of the disease
- The skin between the fingers becomes very dry and sensitive, small scales appear;
- The appearance of small purulent blisters with liquid on the skin, and if one of them bursts, unpleasant sensations appear on the skin;
- Nail plates change, the structure becomes more fragile;
- Due to the manifestation of the fungus, socks and shoes may have an unpleasant smell, which is quite sharp and specific.
According to the degree of development of fungal bacteria, epidermophytosis can occur in four stages:
Light At the first signs of peeling on the legs, you should immediately consult a dermatologist. These are the first signs of fungus. Further development of bacteria occurs at the level of the fingers, between the fingers and on the nails. The following symptoms are redness of the skin, small cracks on the heels and feet, itching and burning at the site of more localized disease.
Squamous-hyperkeratotic The squamous-hyperkeratotic phase of the disease is caused by slight swelling of the skin of the feet, which causes severe peeling of the skin between the feet and toes.
Severe itching and burning spreads over the entire area of the foot, including the nails. The color of the nail plate turns from light yellow to gray, which leads to the destruction of the top layer of the plate itself.
The hyperkeratotic phase of the fungus has the following symptoms: a rash with red to blue blisters on the entire skin of the leg, which will later peel off violently and cause pain when walking.
If you do not consult a doctor, the infection cooperates and becomes a serious source of infection. This whole process is accompanied by an unpleasant smell from the feet.
intertriginous phase is characterized by the appearance of deep cracks and erosive ulcers on the heels accompanied by pain. The pain increases significantly, which prevents a person from standing on his feet normally.Dyshidrotic phase is characterized by small purulent blisters that develop rapidly and cover the entire area of the foot and toes within a few days. Pustules can open on their own, causing red erosions to appear. A small amount of fluid may come out of the wounds after the skin dries up a bit.
The main thing is to immediately understand the symptoms when the fungus appears on the legs and consult a dermatologist in time. Symptoms of the fungus and visual examination should give an accurate picture of the process taking place in the legs. But you should not start self-medication, because this usually leads to ineffective results, which leads to an even stronger location of the disease.
To determine the correct course of treatment, the doctor must know the stage of development of the fungus and determine the type of pathogen. But before that, the patient must undergo a diagnosis, as a result of which the whole picture of the course of the disease will be clear.
How to treat athlete's foot
It should be remembered that depending on the stage of the disease, comprehensive treatment will be prescribed.
Before starting treatment with local drugs, it is necessary to eliminate inflammatory processes and keratinization phenomena.
To get rid of unwanted fungal bacteria, you need to know the right procedures:
- For external use, you should use creams, ointments, sprays, solutions, varnishes;
- mandatory course of taking antifungal drugs;
- For severe burning and itching, you should take sedatives to relieve pain symptoms;
- Since the immune system is weakened when fighting the fungus, you should take a course of vitamins and minerals that will help the body to fight the infection more strongly;
- If combined infectious diseases occur, the dermatologist will prescribe a course of antibiotic treatment.
In order to prescribe special drugs, the dermatologist must know the complete picture of the course of mycosis, the age of the infected person, the reaction of the fungi to certain drugs, and also the degree of infection of the foot areas. consider.
Most medical reference books can clearly show all the stages of the development of athlete's foot in the form of a photo with a description of the symptoms, so that a person can determine them independently. After a visual examination and comparison with photos of the progress of mycosis, the patient should immediately seek medical help from a specialist.
Image
