Toenail Fungus Can Affect Your Life if Not Treated on Time

Do you have toenail fungus? If yes, then for how long are you going to ignore it? Toenail fungi can affect your life if not treated on time.

Toenail Fungus

It’s a common condition that makes many people think it’s okay to leave it untreated as it may go away by itself. However, it’s not the truth. It’s not one of those diseases that will suddenly show up and say goodbye to you.

Many people care for their nails, so they prefer to treat them for cosmetic reasons. However, not everyone loves their toenails, so they won’t take action even if they notice a yellow spot on a diabetic foot. 

They may not know but put their life at considerable risk while unaware of the consequences. This article will explain how a toenail affects your life so that you treat it as soon as possible. 

What Consequences Might You Face if You Don’t Treat It?

Nail fungus is an unpleasant condition for toenails especially. It will start as a yellow spot on your nail but is painful. It will probably be pointless in the first stages, but as it grows older, you will start feeling the differences and notice the following symptoms: 

1. Pain in the Feet 

If the fungus is left untreated, you will first experience pain in your feet. Your well-shaped nail will eventually become misshapen and thick due to the attack of bacteria, and it will cause pain in your feet. As it grows even older, it will make it difficult for you to walk. 

2. Fungus Breakout

The second stage of untreated toenail fungus leads to a fungus outbreak, which means the disease will spread to the surrounding skin of the affected foot leading to itchy skin, redness, or cracked skin. 

Sometimes it may even lead to painful conditions like an athlete’s foot. In addition, if not appropriately treated, the fungus can spread to other parts of your body.

3. Serious Infections

People with severe health conditions like diabetes and heart disease should never keep their nail fungus untreated. However, the infection may spread to other body parts if they do. 

The same goes for people with weak immune systems as well; they may experience swollen skin, redness, tender skin, and cracks on the skin near the toenail. The worst thing that could happen in this stage is the entry of infection-causing bacteria into the bloodstream. 

Post You May Like: How to Keep Your Natural Long Nails Healthy and Strong?

4. Removal of the Nail

The fourth stage of untreated nail fungus is its last stage. A study has found that untreated toenail fungus can separate your nail from the nail bed. However, the toenail will not be separated. Instead, it will be just loose. 

It can be annoying and painful at the same time. That’s why your doctor will recommend you remove it through a minor surgery called Matrixectomy. In this process, the doctor will remove your infected nail so that it doesn’t spread the infection to other toenails, and you don’t have to lose other nails. 

5. Reduced Quality of Life

When your infection started, you might have thought that ignoring this little fungus wouldn’t affect your life so much. However, as it grows stronger every day, it will start reducing the quality of your life. 

In the first days, it will make it difficult for you to walk normally, which can be a big problem if you do a job in which you have to be active and walk again and again. 

Later, it will spread to other body parts and other nails, which might burn your foot in pain. It can be excruciating if your shoes have tight-fitting since it will also cause a lot of itching. 

Unfortunately, you will need to remove your nail if it reaches the last stage. This experience can be a nightmare to some people since sometimes the infection spreads too much that you may need to amputate your leg. Nevertheless, this call can ruin the quality of your life, so make sure you never ignore it. 

You can check out more about nail fungus and laser treatment on SoundMedTech.

Preventions for Nail Fungus

Now you finally know about the consequences of ignoring the toenail fungus, which means you may be looking for prevention to avoid it before it reaches you. If you want some prevention tips, then you should follow the tips given below: 

Tip – 1: Never go barefoot anywhere.

Going barefoot can increase the risk of nail fungus as its bacteria always look for warm and dark places like your nail. So if you walk barefoot in places like swimming pools or gyms, you should stop. 

Tip – 2: Change your socks often.

Dirty socks are another thing that increases the chance of toenail invasion. That’s why you should change your socks daily and ensure you don’t wear dirty ones; they may contain bacteria. Also, if your feet get sweaty quickly, try to change your socks as soon as possible if you have time. 

Tip – 3: Trim your nails on time. 

Trim your nails as soon as they grow longer; maintaining long toenails is hard and if being careless you have a high chance of getting cracked, which provides an excellent advantage to the fungus. However, please don’t cut them too short; they should be medium height. 

Tip – 4: Keep them dry and clean. 

Wash your feet thoroughly every day with water and soap. Clean toes are less likely to get infected. It would be best to wash your feet often if they get sweaty. Also, it would help if you didn’t keep them wet after washing. Ensure your feet are dried properly, especially the area between your toes. 

You can also use some home remedies to treat your nail fungus and some other methods for the treatment of toenail fungus.

Final Takeaway

Toenail fungus is a common yet serious condition you shouldn’t ignore. If left untreated for a long time, it can cause you a lot of pain and is something no one wants.

So, if next time you notice even a little symptom of nail fungus, start your treatment right away before it gets too late. 

Subscribe

Read related:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *