As with athlete’s foot, the nail fungus pathogens are transmitted by smear or contact infection either directly from person to person or via shared objects that have not been boiled or disinfected in between (drying cloths), via surfaces (such as in indoor swimming pools) or via items of clothing (such as combat boots in the military). A damp environment due to foot perspiration, inadequate foot disinfection and insufficient drying or shoes that are too tight promote fungal infections. Dermatophytes grow well in the damp warmth of shoes that have been worn for a long time. A fungal infection of the nail is often preceded by a fungal infection of the foot (tinea pedum), especially if this has not been treated or has been treated inadequately.
Diseases such as diabetes mellitus, circulatory disorders, inflammation of the nails and systemic immunodeficiency, caused primarily by chemotherapy or AIDS, significantly increase susceptibility to infection with nail fungus.
Treating fungal nail disease is often not easy and is a lengthy process, and should not be confused with “medical sandbox games”, where successful treatment is more or less guaranteed.
Careful and consistent hygiene, decontamination of socks, shoes and underwear, and washing clothes at a temperature of at least 60 degrees are of crucial importance, which is largely underestimated and not taken seriously enough by affected patients. The treatment of nail fungus should be guided and supervised by an experienced dermatology specialist, who should also be consulted in any case to clarify this diagnosis. Dermatologists indicate external application of antifungal agents as the primary therapy – which prove to be largely useless if the affected patient does not consistently introduce and adhere to the necessary hygienic measures. (See above.)
In addition, a variety of “home remedies” are used and, in severe cases, antifungal medication may be prescribed.
For external use, alternative physicians and natural practitioners recommend silver-containing applications, which are said to be highly effective.
If, for example on the advice of an alternative-medicine-oriented practitioner, the external application of silver-containing preparations is being considered, it is strongly recommended that, even if the member of this professional group assumes that silver-containing preparations are therapeutically effective against onychomycosis based on their professional experience, they should first seek the professional advice of the dermatology specialist responsible for treatment.
These would very likely make a decision for or against this alternative treatment approach with silver administration dependent on the respective findings and the progression of the disease under therapy up to that point.
Particularly in the case of severe courses of onychomycosis, self-treatment that leaves the attending physician in the dark is strongly discouraged.
What reports are there on colloidal silver for skin fungus?
