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Fungal Infections

Good morning, everybody. Fungal infections and fungal nails. I know that most of you watching this probably have had, or currently have one, or will at some point in your life have a fungal infection in your feet. You might be horrified to hear this, but it is so normal. We see it every single day in the clinic.

So what’s a fungal infection? Basically, fungus are everywhere. They’re all over your house, they’re probably in your shoes, and living in your carpet, outside, everywhere. So some people tend to pick up fungus on their feet, some more than others. So there is a  slight genetic element, but also it’s the environment that is key with this. So fungus love a warm, sweaty environment. So if you live in socks and shoes, socks and trainers, sweat quite a bit or at the gym, or out running or out walking and get quite hot, sweaty feet quite a lot, then you may well be prone to getting a fungal infection in your feet. That’s not the only thing you know, gyms, changing rooms, swimming pools, public places, you know, there are lots of things flying around there. It’s very common to pick up a fungal infection.

So what are the signs? On the skin of the feet we usually see, so this skin might be slightly redder in colour, or it might be a bit more sensitive. Sometimes you feel a bit itchy and the skin can look like it’s peeling or a little bit flaky in some areas. Sometimes the only thing that you can see is sort of like a powdery effect in the lines, the striations of the skin on the bottom of your feet. It looks like a white powder almost. Even if you put a normal emollient on your feet, it won’t go away. That’s how you know if it’s a fungal infection or not. In the toenails, it’s different. It always jumps from skin to nail. So if you have it in the skin, you should really get on top of it and treat it. Otherwise it may jump into the toenails. In the toenails, they can be yellow, discoloured, sort of browney green, sometimes thickened, they might be crumbly, they might you know, get sort of deformed in shape they might start getting a little bit curlier eight edges and things like that because the fungus eats away at the nail and causes all these problems. Once it’s in the nail, it’s slightly more difficult to get rid of.

So what do you do? So in general, wash and dry your feet every day. Make sure you dry in between your toes. Change your socks daily, air your shoes out. Don’t be in your shoes all day every day sweating away. Okay. Use antifungal creams. So the usual Lamisil, Daktarin, Canesten – these are all antifungal foot creams that you can use if you see any signs of a fungal infection in your feet. When it comes to the toenails. If you’ve got what you think is a fungal nail infection, you can use something off the shelf called Curanail, or Loceryl – it’s the same thing. This requires you to paint it on one to two times a week. It’s like a clear lacquer, but you need to do it for a minimum of six months. There’s no point doing it if you don’t do that minimum time, okay. If you’re not getting anywhere with these treatments, you know what to do give us a ring 01372 464659 or email us at [email protected]. All right, good luck.

 

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