What does toenail fungus look like- Toenail Fungus Pictures

Like a lot of our body parts, in addition to the face, the nails are also a point of attention regarding the cleanliness. The nails can be interpreted as a symbol of one’s concern for maintaining the cleanliness and health.

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Human Nails Formation

Formation of nails involves a type of protein called “keratin.” Nails are vulnerable to various infections and can become extremely fragile, weak and also can lose their natural appearance. One of them is an attack of toenail fungus.

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Fungus attacks would alter the original nail surface into a rougher, brittle, ridged, and makes the surrounding skin damaged. The color of infected nail becomes yellowish, brownish or blackish depends on the stages of toenail fungus.

Toenails fungus is also known as onychomycosis, which is a common disease that destroys the nails. Toenails fungus is caused by one of many similar types of fungal organisms that cause mold in the bathroom.

The fungus grows in warm, damp atmosphere in your shoes. These fungi belong to the group of dermatophytes. When they grow, they fall in and feed on keratin, which forms the hard surface of our toenails.

What is Toenail Fungus?

The fungus is a microscopic parasite that does not require light to thrive. Several types of fungus have their benefits, but the majority of them will only become a disease.

The fungus that attacks the toenail was included in a collection of dermatophytes. The way they enter the skin is to infiltrate into small cuts or openings nails and nail’s floor. After then they began to pose a more serious problem if the nails remain in the moist state for long periods.

Fungus attacks more often occur in older adults and particularly in males. Increased age in people will also make the growth of the nails slower and even make it thicker. These conditions sometimes resulted in infected by toenail fungus. Especially for those with less attention to the nail’s care.

The fungus infected nail can be dissolved if the drug does not yield better results and eventually fall completely off the toe.

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In the later stage, it would be difficult to wear shoes, and the infected toes will become very painful. At this stage, the infected toenails are now capable of transmitting a dirty smell.

What Does Nail Fungus Look Like in Early Stages

When the infection first begins, you may notice changes in the nail. This includes the discoloration of nails. The changes in color can result in seeing “white, brown, or yellow” spots on the nail. The nail bed which is under the nail will thicken and become hardened. This can result in the nail coming off the nail bed.

Nail Fungus Pictures Early Stages

Actually, there are differences in the classification of nail fungus, it depends on the type of the fungus and the manifestations that may show the different signs and symptoms. Here are some toenail fungus pictures during the early stages of infection.

White Nail Fungus Pictures

Mostly, white or yellowish patches are the main points that should be observed in your nails. This could be the signal of the beginning of a nail infection. The nail’s shape could also change or become dull and looks very bad because it was covered by the fungus. And because of this situation, it would seem obvious that the nails will look not really good.

Yellow Toe Nail Fungus Images

Next images show a toenail changing color due to yellow toenail fungus infection. The infection is still in the early stage and can be cured easily. Using Vicks Vaporub at this stage can treat this nail fungus easily.

Black Nail Fungus Pictures

Here is another picture of Black Toenail Fungus in the early stage. This is an early sign of an infected nail fungus. Usually, the nail will be blackened with time. The first solution is to cut the black nails. This is a fact and has been tested by some people, and they said that the fungus becomes unsustainable after they cut it.

The black color usually appears on the sidelines of the nails so we must be rigorous and vigilant when decided to cut it.

When the infection is left untreated, it will spread around the edges, or perimeter, of the nail itself. The nail may start to look powdery or even begin to show signs of crumbling. This will often start the painful course of aggravation.

Here is an advanced stage picture of thumbnail infected with black nail fungus. As you can see the whole nail is turned black and broken in the middle.

ToeNail Fungus Pictures Advance Stages

Advance stages of Toenail fungus bring pain and nail damage which cannot be reversed. Many people prefer surgical ways to get rid of toenail fungus at this stage. Most of the home remedies for nail fungus also become useless.

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Below image shows a half-destroyed toenail due to fungus attack.

Another example of an almost fully fungus damaged toenail. This is what happens to your toenail if the fungus is not treated in the early stages.

The next pictures show a half damaged toenail due to white superficial onychomycosis. The nail will eventually come out of nail bed and fall away.

In the next image, a fungus-infected toenail is shown which can still be treated. The toenail is half destroyed by fungus but the remaining part looks healthy. Some useful Home Remedies for Toenail Fungus can prevent further damage.

Brown Toenail Fungus Pictures

The next image shows a toenail losing color and becoming brown due to nail fungus attack. This type of nail fungus is called brown toenail fungus. The whole toenail is discolored and getting brown.

Brittle nails can be suspected as one of the main symptoms of the fungal disease. This parasitic fungus will attempt to gnaw your nails and then slowly will become brittle and jagged. If left for a long time, it can fully brittle the nails and will be very difficult to treat. Hence, we must be careful.

As shown in the next picture, there are fungus infected fingernails. Nails are getting white and yellow due to fungus attack. At this stage, it is not possible to reverse the damage done by fingernail fungus.

What are the underlying causes of toenail fungus?

Always remember that prevention is better than cure. If you understand the causes for the toenail fungus, you can take steps to prevent contamination.

The underlying cause of the nail fungus is exposure of feet to wet or humid conditions. Sweaty socks are one of the leading causes of toenails fungus disease. However, it is also possible to get the infection from someone else.

You are more vulnerable to nail fungus if you were swimming in a public place with some other unknown people or take a shower in a public place.

It may also be possible for you to get a toenail fungus infection from whom you are sharing a bathroom. Presumably, if they are infected, such as having no knowledge of an infected person in a public setting.

Although having exposure to sweat and moisture is the main cause of the infection, but many other factors also increase the risk of nail fungus. Being an athlete means you are more vulnerable to toenail fungus disease because your feet are sweating most of the time during the day.

If you already have a fungus infection on one toenail then spreading the disease to other toenails becomes, much more likely.

Below are some other causes of toenail fungus;

1. A person whose family members are already infected with the toe fungus.
2. Individuals who often sweat while wearing shoes.
3. People with skin disease or psoriasis.
4. Working in humid environments.
5. Those people who often walk barefoot, especially in wet places.
6. Diabetes and immune system disorders.

Symptoms of Toenail Fungus

Symptoms of toenail fungus infection include skinny nails, fragile feet or easy chip. They can cause irregular colors on our toenails, yellow, brown or black. Usually, yellow or brown discoloration of the nails means a fungus attack and becomes very thick and overgrown. You can find traces of smelly under the nail.

The rapid infection of nail fungus should be treated immediately. If the infection is not treated early enough, the nails may become dull and yellow.

As the infection becomes worse, the nails lose their shape and begin to grow thicker. At this point, the nail can begin to grow out of the nail bed. Toenail fungus infection on foot can only begin as a white or yellow discoloration on the nail surface.

Although toenail fungus infection is considered as an unpleasant cosmetic problem that can undermine the patient’s confidence. It is also possible that the infection compromises the victim’s immune system. Which is more prone to disease and slightly incapable of recovering from the disease.

Home Remedy: Using Vicks Vaporub for Toenail Fungus Treatment

What Actually Causes the Pain?

If you have Nail Fungus, the pain is not caused by the actual infection. The pain comes when the nail starts to thicken and is then aggravated by the environment (i.e. shoes rubbing against the nail).

Final Words

It is very important to seek onychomycosis treatment as soon as possible. If you do not start nail fungus treatment early, you will increase the chances of significant damage to the nail and surrounding skin area.

This next picture tells the whole story. A fungus infected toenail eventually vanished from the nail bed.