Nail Fungus Creams – What You Need to Know
January 24th, 2010 | Published in Women's Health
If you have ever had nail fungus, then you will know just how desperate a victim can become. This often leads to trying out any proposed remedy. Sometimes this has very serious side effects that leave the patient even worse than when he or she started.
Before you attempt to use a cream, you need to first of all know what really is nail fungus. This is a fungal infection that is caused mainly by candidas or dermatophyte type of fungi. Like all other fungi, they thrive in moist environments because the hyphae or roots are only able to stick to the substrate when in the presence if some moistures.
You nails are likely to be infected by fungus if you make the hard part of the nail, also called nail plate soft. This is can happen due to use of strong detergents or nail polish remover. The use of glue to stick cosmetics on your nail will also result in weakening of the nail plate. Besides the nail plate, the nail base where it attaches to the finger may also be loose and therefore allow the fungi to find their way into the nail.
Nail fungus creams are made from various sources. These include natural products and the synthetic products. An example is the popular brand Fungisil. This is made of active ingredient known as Manuka oil. This is a plant extract that has antifungal and antibacterial activity. Other plant products that are active against the fungal growth are those extracted from the
Other creams made from synthetic products such as petroleum based products that have the ability to prevent the growth of the fungi. These are however a little more hazardous because they may not be completely biodegradable.
The creams that are based on natural products are safer and cheaper to use. The safety is due to the fact they are more than 95% biodegradable. Some of these have also been used for more than 3,000 years by ancient civilization such as Egypt and China. They therefore have a record of being safe and can be trusted.
Creams can either be topically applied across the entire fingers or toes. Alternatively, you can apply the cream at the point of infection. It is however recommended that you apply the cream across the entire feet toenails or finger nails because this will prevent infection of the next toenails.
To apply the cream, the feet and hands must be thoroughly cleaned and dried. His is to ensure that the fungal spores are completely eliminated. The cream must be applied as per instructions to realize results quickly.
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