If you’re wondering whether or not you have to treat toenail fungus, unfortunately, the answer is yes. In fact, the sooner you begin nail fungus treatment, the better off you’ll be.
Choosing to ignore the problem can turn into a dangerous situation. This is especially true if you have bad circulation, diabetes or take certain types of medication such as cancer-related drugs.
A fungal nail infection never goes away on its own. It’s not a discriminatory condition, meaning that anyone can get it. The good news is, once you successfully treat toenail fungus there are things you can do to help reduce the possibility of re-infection.
Complications of Refusing Nail Fungus Treatment
Ignoring a fungal infection often results in several complications. Please note, every case is different. Although you probably won’t experience all of these complications, there’s always that possibility. You certainly don’t want to take that chance. Complications include:
- Unknowingly passing toenail fungus on to someone else
- Inability to wear shoes, because of the pain
- Infection that spreads to the foot or other parts of the body
- Being embarrassed to go barefoot around other people
All of these things have the ability to negatively affect the way you feel about yourself. Avoid this added stress and possible depression, by doing the right thing and getting help.
The more proactive you are, when it comes to initiating treatment, the easier it is to re-claim healthy nails. The most common treatment methods consist of:
- Over-the-counter topical treatments (creams, lotions, polishes and gels)
- Laser treatments (extremely quick and completely painless)
- Home remedies (soaking your feet, Vick’s Vapor Rub)
Preventing Toenail Fungus
There are many easy and inexpensive things you can do to prevent toenail fungus from coming back. Fungi thrives in damp places. So, it’s extremely important that your feet remain as clean and dry as possible.
If you commonly where nylon socks, consider changing to cotton or wool. Wool is the best choice because it wicks moisture away from the skin.
Wearing tight shoes is another no-no. When shoes are tight your feet can’t “breathe.” This causes them to sweat, which creates the moist environment that fungus loves.
Protect your feet when you visit public places such as swimming pools or the gym. Wearing flip-flops helps to eliminate the possibility of picking up fungus that someone has left behind.
This is just a brief overview of why you should treat toenail fungus. There’s absolutely no reason to panic. Thousands of people deal with the problem every day. Remember, you always have the option of performing nail fungus treatment at home or seeking medical assistance. The choice is up to you.
