8 questions about fungal nails

What is a fungal nail?

An fungal nail is a thickened and discolored nail. This usually occurs on a toe, sometimes on a finger. Often the color is white-yellow, sometimes green or brown. In addition, the nails can be brittle. They are ugly to look at and with nail scissors you can hardly get through them.

What causes them?

Fungal nails are caused by a skin fungus that infects the nail. The fungus sometimes gets on the body through direct contact with someone who is already infected, but usually through fungal spores. These spores can be found, for example, in the dander of infected people. When the body’s defenses are not strong enough, the fungus gets the chance to grow.

What happens when the fungus grows?

Then the skin may turn red or flake. There may also be soft, white patches between the toes. This is called athlete’s foot or ‘swimmer’s eczema’. That same fungus can infect a nail. Usually first at the tip of the toe, where the nail then turns white or yellow. An infected nail can become thicker, but not all thick nails are fungal nails, because nails can also become thicker due to, for example, the skin disease psoriasis.

How many people have fungal nails?

A survey conducted by market research agency Kien in January 2013 among more than a thousand Dutch people showed that more than two-thirds of Dutch people sometimes suffer from fungal nails.

How can you prevent them?

By making it difficult for the fungi to grow. Fungi thrive in moist conditions. Dry the skin well after showering or swimming, also between the toes. Wear dry wool or cotton socks. Do not wash the feet too often with soap, this will wash away the protective layer of fat on the skin. In public shower rooms and swimming pools, wearing flip flops protect against contamination.

Can it hurt?

Not in most cases, but the nail can be so thick that it presses against the shoe and hurts. Furthermore, a fungal nail can be a source of repeated fungal infections of the foot or groin, or a deformed nail can damage the skin. The wound that can occur can cause the toe to become inflamed. Some people, such as diabetes patients, have an increased risk of this.

What can be done about it?

You can remove any hindrance due to the thickening yourself by touching up the nail with a file or pumice stone. If that is difficult, a pedicure can mill away the thickening. This should be repeated every two to three months. You can beautify an ugly nail by applying nail polish. The fungus will not go away with these two methods. This requires anti-fungal agents.

How do medicines for fungal nails work?

Anti-fungal agents hinder the growth of the fungus and eventually kill it. There are also means that make the nail healthy again, so that the fungus cannot survive.

There are varnishes against fungal nails that you apply to the nail itself and there are tablets that work from the inside. The lacquer can only get rid of fungi that are in the surface of the nail. The fungus is deeper in most fungal nails. There are also pills against fungal nails, but these do not always work and have the necessary side effects.