What is a Fungal Nail?

Always Treat a Fungal Nail

An infected nail will not cure on its own

Fungal nails are nails, either on the toe or the finger that are infected with a fungus or yeast.

Onychomycosis is the medical term for a fungal nail (‘fungal: mycosis – nail: onycho’) that can occur on both toenails and fingernails. Fungi are microscopic organisms that do not need sunlight to survive. Some fungi have beneficial properties, while others may cause infection and illness.

Fungus
Fungal nails are caused by a fungus, which belongs to the group called dermatophytes. These fungi have names that usually begin with Trichophyton. Most fungal nails are caused by the skin fungus Trichophyton rubrum (70%) or by Trichophyton mentagrophytes (20%). Different fungus, such as the Candida variant, causes the remaining 10%. The fungi feed on keratine, one of the main substances that make up your nails.

Fungal infection
A fungal nail can be painful and can often be an embarrassing problem. Fungal nails can create discolouration, thickening and scaling of the nails, they can also cause the nails to break. A thickened nail can also be caused by a growth disorder or a skin disease, such as psoriasis. The nail colour discolouration for both psoriasis and fungal nail is similar.

Always treat a fungal nail!
An infected nail will never get better on its own; you will have to do something about it! So always make sure to treat a fungal nail. In addition, the fungi that cause fungal nails are contagious. There is a chance for the infection to spread to other parts of the nail, foot or to other people.