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Nail Fungus
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Mar 23, 2025
@marcbarry1000 A Podiatrist discusses the causes of nail fungus and the various treatment options that are available. Learn more at https://www.foot-pain-explained.com/nail-fungus.html
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onicomicosis is an infection of the
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nails occurring both on the hands and
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feet but certainly found more on the
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feet due to the environment that feet
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find themselves in this condition
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generally thrives in dark moist
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environments so when you consider
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wearing shoes and socks all day along
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with perspiration that may occur it ends
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up being a perfect growth media for this
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type of
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fungus this condition was rarely seen a
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hundred years ago but has become more
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common due to the lifestyle change that
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we all experience such as communal
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bathing areas greater use of occlusive
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Footwear and the increasing incidence of
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diabetes athletes particularly Runners
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are more inclined to develop this
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problem the incidence of onicomicosis
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increases with age the majority being
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over age 55 but we also see it in
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teenagers as well for most people this
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is a progressive disease that if left
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untreated will continue to spread from
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Toe to Toe symptoms of
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onicomicosis the true tough to get rid
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of fungus actually grows underneath the
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nail as it grows it forces the nail up
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off the nail bed and the nail becomes
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thick crumbly and discolored ranging in
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color from yellow to Brown there may
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also be an odor it is not uncommon for
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these infected Nails spread to the other
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healthy nails it is also not uncommon
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for these types of nails to fall off but
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unfortunately in most cases they grow
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back with nail fungus if not properly
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treated so what is wrong with having
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nail
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fungus one it's cosmetically
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unappealing most people are embarrassed
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by the nail appearance Two nail fungus
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makes you more susceptible to developing
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athletes foot three it increases the
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chance of developing secondary bacterial
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infections in your feet four because of
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the thickness it can cause pain in
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closed shoes it feels like rocks growing
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out of the tops of your
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toes five increases the chances of
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developing developing painful ingrown
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Nails six the sheer Distortion of the
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nails tends to irritate the healthy skin
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on the adjacent toes causing abrasions
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that can become
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infected lastly it is particularly
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dangerous in people who suffer from
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diabetes or circulatory
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problems so what are some of the nail
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fungus
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treatments there is no shortage of nail
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fungus cures on the internet products
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sold in drug stores and in general
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dissemination of incorrect
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information treatment can be difficult
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because of the fact that nail fungus
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thrives in dark moist environments and
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happens to grow underneath the nail
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wearing closed shoes and socks all day
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with feet that perspire creates a
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perfect breeding ground for nail
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fungus eliminating those factors can go
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a long way to reducing
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recurrence nail fungus medications
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include both oral and topical
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treatments as far as oral medications go
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for years the gold standard for treating
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onicomicosis in an otherwise healthy
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individual has been oral therapy the
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most widely prescribed medication today
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is Lamisil tablets although there are
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certainly other antifungals that can be
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used the newer generation of oral
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antifungals are reasonably safe
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medications if properly used Lamisil has
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an adverse response rate of less than 3%
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typically the dosing for Lamisil is one
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tablet per day for 3 months for fungus
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nails prior to taking the medication
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blood work is required to check for
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liver function and renal
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function halfway through the 3-month
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treatment for lamil at approximately 6
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weeks a second blood test is required to
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see if there's any changes in the liver
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enzymes or renal function if there is
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the medication has to be stopped there
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is also a different type of dosing
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schedule for Lamisil known as pulse
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dosing which has become popular instead
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of 90 days worth of Lamisil the post
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dosing is as follows one pill a day for
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7 days then no medication for the next 3
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weeks then one pill per day for a week
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and no medication for 3 weeks then one
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pill per day for 7 days as you can see
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you end up taking 21 pills instead of 90
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pills and the end results can be very
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similar prior to starting on oral
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medication your doctor will need to take
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a sampling of the nail and have it
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tested to confirm if it is true nail
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fungus visual inspection alone is not
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enough many times a thickened nail is
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nothing more than keratinization of the
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underlying nail bed which is a
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thickening of the skin underneath
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usually from repeated
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trauma additionally appearances of
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possible nail fungus can be a result of
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mold or Spore infestation and have
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nothing to do with actual nail fungus
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in those cases oral Lamisil would be
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worthless the other medication option
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for nail fungus is topical
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medication although readily available
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they tend to be less effective the main
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problem is that fungus grows underneath
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the nail so applying medication to the
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top of the nail becomes an effort in
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futility in many cases people trying to
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force the medication underneath the nail
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find that that does not improve the
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outcome at all the best way to use
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topical medication is to see a foot
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specialist who will grind down and cut
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away as much of the disease nail as
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possible which is generally a painless
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procedure so that the topical medication
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will penetrate to the live fungus more
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readily this does become a tedious
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process as the medication generally has
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to be applied twice a day by the patient
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and the nail has to be ground down on a
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regular
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basis the other problem is that
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depending on the degree of fungus this
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process can take upwards of a year
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the other problem with most commercially
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available topical antifungal medications
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is that they are either of a water or
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alcohol base and neither ingredient
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penetrates nail which is primarily
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protein and fat oil-based topical
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antifungals are much better at
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penetrating the nail to get to the
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actual
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fungus if you do not want to take oral
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medication or are not sure you even have
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true nail fungus then the topical
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medication is a very safe
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alternative keep in mind there can be
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failure using either topical or oral
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medication a precursor to those thick
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yellow nails we have been discussing is
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a situation where you notice white
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specks on your nails many women will
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notice them when they remove nail polish
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this is what is known as superficial
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nail fungus where the fungus is growing
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on top of the nail and without proper
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treatment may borrow through the nail
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and cause thickening and
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discoloration people with this condition
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should treat their fungus immediately as
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it is fairly easy to remedy using a
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combination of sanding the top of the
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nail and then applying topical
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antifungal
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medication the last available option for
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nail fungus is laser treatment laser
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became popular in the United States in
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the early
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2000s unlike either topical or oral
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medication laser destroys all the
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different organisms that are growing
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underneath the nail lasers are a
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painless procedure but it is not covered
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by any insurance
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laser surgery has a much higher success
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rate than the oral or topical
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medications and is a safe form of
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treatment it's important to know with
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laser surgery or any other treatment
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that you undertake the disease nail
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itself does not change in appearance
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initially what happens is the diseased
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nail goes from live fungus to dead
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fungus but the appearance does not
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change over time as the nail grows
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forward and the nail is cut away it is
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eventually replaced from behind with
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Healthy Nail which begins at the growth
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plate and grows forward how do we
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prevent the recurrence of nail
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fungus no matter what kind of treatment
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you end up having done on your nails
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that is only half the battle the other
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half is preventing
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recurrence so once your nails have
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cleared up it is important to do some of
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the following use of an antifungal soap
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such as tea tree oil soap to wash your
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feet because tea tree oil has antifungal
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properties if your feet perspire a lot
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you must use a topical drying agent to
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dry the skin out otherwise you will have
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a dark moist environment in which new
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fungus can Thrive you should avoid using
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nylons which promote
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perspiration allowing shoes that are
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moist inside to dry out before wearing
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again and spraying them with an
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antifungal spray keep your nails cut
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short space between the end of the nail
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and the skin underneath is a focal point
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for new fungal
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infections lastly women who wear toenail
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polish on a regular basis are more prone
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to nail
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fungus this is because the Polish when
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applied traps moisture on the nail and
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thus fungus May begin to grow polish
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should be removed regularly and the
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nails should be routinely inspected
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