Toenail fungus is a condition wherein the various layers of the nails are colonized by fungi. The process of colonization is often slow and often painless. Outward symptoms of infection include discoloration of the nails.
Did you know that with proper foot hygiene we could avoid toenail fungi before it happens?
Know Your Feet's Skin
The feet have more sweat glands than the hands or the chest. In fact, it has over 250,000 sweat glands, dorsal side and underfoot.
If you are wondering where the noxious foot odor comes from, it is a mixture of bacteria and human sweat. Sweat contains bacteria, or rather, feeds bacteria in the shoes.
A little bit of moisture can go a long way indeed. Unwashed or poorly washed socks are to blame as well.
Proper Foot Hygiene
According to Joshua Kaye, a podiatrist in the Los Angeles area, "Clean, dry feet can lower the risk of both foot odor and fungus infections."
Just as we wash our hands and faces everyday, we should wash our feet too. Lukewarm water and soap are great foot cleaners. As for the soap, any mild (even unscented) soap will do. If you have a moisturizing hand wash, you can use that to wash your feet as well. Now, washing is just phase one of foot hygiene.
The second, equally important task is drying your feet. How does one dry feet properly, anyway?
Choose a soft towel for the purpose. If you wish, you may reserve one towel just for the purpose of feet drying. A small, fibrous towel will do.
To dry your feet, begin with dorsal (or upper) region, then work slowly to the underside. Wipe your ankles and the soles of your feet.
Proceed then to drying the toes and the spaces in between the toes. You can take this opportunity to evaluate and examine your feet for any signs of infection.
Fungi infection can usually be seen on the surface of the nails. Normally, nails are colorless. The pinkish color we see comes from blood-vessel rich nail bed underneath.
If your nails change color from colorless to green or yellow, chances are you already have toenail fungus.
However, evaluate if the discoloration is due to other reasons such as alcohol or cigarette smoke. Any other outward symptoms that involve pain should be consulted with doctors immediately.
Scrub, Scrub, Scrub
Aside from soaking in Listerine and using menthol rubs, Dr. Joshua Kaye suggests using abrasive scrubbing materials on our foot.
According to Dr. Joshua Kaye, cloths and abrasive scrubbing materials help our feet: "Washing the feet with a wash cloth or similarly abrasive product is important because it helps remove the dead skin, bacteria, and fungus."
Furthermore, Dr. Kaye warns us about Epsom salts, diabetes and hot water treatment:
"This is an important consideration for diabetics or with those who have existing dry or fragile skin. Consider soaking feet in warm water with a small amount of liquid dishwashing solution that has skin softeners."
"There is no benefit in soaking feet in Epsom salt compared to regular table salt."
Dr. Kaye continues: "Unfortunately, that type of home treatment (very hot water foot-soaking) often results in skin burns. If someone is diabetic or has poor circulation, hot water bottles or heating pads also shouldn't be used on the feet."
Remedies For Foot OdorTag :