If you have problems with your nail plates, it is important to know which doctor treats toenail fungus in order to see a specialist without waiting for complications.It is difficult for a person encountering a fungal infection for the first time to understand the name of this specialist.Dermatologists and mycologists deal with the problems of fungal diseases, so visiting a therapist is hardly advisable.
What is nail fungus
A disease caused by parasitic microorganisms is called a pathogenic fungus.The disease affects the horny integument (nails) and the skin of the legs around them, develops quickly, brings discomfort and inconvenience.Living in the body, dangerous parasites poison it with toxins and can worsen the general condition.You can become infected by wearing someone else's shoes, not maintaining foot hygiene, or walking barefoot on the beach or in the pool.People with such problems need to know which doctor treats nail fungus in order to prevent complications and receive proper treatment to eliminate the unpleasant disease.
Symptoms of the disease
Which doctor treats the symptoms of toenail fungus depends on how badly the plate affected by the fungus is destroyed and what the nature of the lesion is.The following characteristic signs of the appearance of a fungus are distinguished:
- normotrophic type: stripes, spots on the side parts of the nail of ocher-yellow or white color, ease of separation of the plate from the skin, a person suffers from itching of the skin under healthy nails;
- hypertrophic: plate thickening, loss of shine, crumbling, dullness, severe deformation, dark yellow or gray color;
- atrophic: brown-gray color, loss of shine, pallor, necrosis and destruction of the nail bed of the toes;
- lateral and distal: loss of color, transverse yellowish grooves, crumbling, roughness, exposed nail bed of the toes, swelling, redness, thickening, pain in the skin of the foot, advanced cases may be characterized by the appearance of pus;
- proximal: whitening, destruction;
- total: complete destruction of the toenail due to lack of therapy;
- white superficial: white spots, crumbling, delamination, pain.
Which doctor treats nail fungus
Knowing which doctor deals with nails is useful for every patient experiencing toenail fungus.In this case, a therapist will not help; you need to visit a specialized specialist.This doctor is a dermatologist, he advises in the initial stages of the disease.In advanced cases, a consultation with a mycologist is required - this is a specialist who treats nail fungus in a highly targeted manner.
Dermatologist
This doctor can prescribe the correct treatment and eliminate nail fungus.His qualifications allow him to eliminate skin problems, including viral and infectious lesions, dermatitis, eczema and parasitic diseases.The latter includes a fungal infection.If the case is not advanced, you should contact a dermatologist at a local clinic or dermatovenerological dispensary and sign up for the first examination.According to indications, he can refer the patient to a mycologist.
Mycologist
In difficult cases, the answer to the question of which doctor treats toenails is to contact a mycologist.This is the name of the same dermatologist who treats only fungal infections of the skin, hair and nail plates.It is not available in every clinic or even in the city.Consultation with mycologists includes treatment and prevention of fungal diseases: onychomycosis, candidiasis, microsporia, trichophytosis, epidermophytosis, mycosis of the foot.You need to contact them after a referral from a dermatologist.
How is the appointment going?
Once you find out which doctor treats toenail fungus, don’t hesitate to make an appointment.During the first visit, the nail specialist interviews the patient about how long ago the problem appeared, the sensations experienced by him, and the patient’s lifestyle.After collecting information, a preliminary examination of the affected areas of the foot is carried out, a diagnosis is made, and the stage of infection is determined.
External signs may not always indicate a fungal species, so a scraping of dead scales is taken for examination in the laboratory.The resulting medical material is examined under a microscope and plated on nutrient media.You need to see a doctor as early as possible in order to cure the fungus without consequences for the patient and his body.
Repeated consultation
After receiving tests from the laboratory, a second consultation is carried out.A mycologist or dermatologist reports the cause of growth, the presence of fungus, its type and prescribes the correct treatment.Drugs are selected depending on the individual characteristics of the patient.The treatment procedure for the disease is lengthy, so you will need to visit a specialist several more times to monitor the therapy and prevent infection of the patient’s body.
Treatment Options
After studying the etiology of the fungus that has affected the nail plate on the toes, treatment is prescribed.It is not recommended to select medications on your own because there is a risk of side effects.The main antifungal drugs and methods of treatment used:
- oral – tablets, capsules for a comprehensive effect on the parasite from the inside;
- local effects - applied externally, these include ointments, creams, compresses, drops, varnishes;
- special laser treatment – improves the penetration of agents inside and tissue microcirculation;
- a recommendation for surgical removal of the nail is given in extreme cases when recovery is impossible.
Popular effective drugs, divided into groups according to their effect on the fungal pathogen, are:
- Antifungal varnishes.
- Preparations for removing the plate (sometimes required to cure the fungus).
- Antifungal tablets.
- Creams, ointments, sprays.
- Other remedies: medicinal liquids, tea tree oil and others.