Nail fungus is one of the most known type of nail disease which is often caused by a type of microscopic organism known as Fungi. This kind of fungi normally lives and survives in moist and warm environment since it does not require sunlight in order for them to live. Some type of yeast and molds are also known to be one of the causes of fungal infection. The type of infection which is normally caused by the nail fungus happens once the fungi enter the skin. This occurs when there is a cut or any breakage in the skin.

There are some known channels that raise the risk of acquiring the infection:

• Having diabetes, AIDS or any other type of ailments that causes the immune system to weaken
• Wearing shoes or any type of footwear that are too tight and causes the feet to not be properly ventilated
• Having infection or any kind of injury on the skin or the nail itself
• Problems in relation to the circulation of the blood in the body
• Excessive sweating in hands and feet which are sometimes caused by the sweat glands in our body
• Walking in damp areas with no protection on the feet
• History in the family where most likely members experienced having fungal infections
• Too much exposure in hot, humid or damp places
• A person reaches the age of 60
• Poor hygiene concerning the foot
• Not wearing clean socks, stockings or any type of footwear
• Male are also said to be more susceptible to having this type of ailment
• The foot on the skin has a high PH level
• Having an ingrown toe nail
• Failing to dry off one’s feet after it has been damp

Often times, it is hard to eliminate nail fungus once you have it, it will cost you a lot of time and money that is why doctors advise their patients that it is always better to be cautious and to prevent it, as the old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. Having this type of ailment not only affects the person’s health but also his psychological and psychosocial development. Who would want to go out with someone who has a discolored and worse, someone who has a foul odor due to nail fungus?

Being cautious about our health is very important. Most people often disregard or take it for granted. They only realize the importance of being healthy once they get sick. Nails that are infected with fungus don’t only look terrible; they can also interfere with whatever we are doing on a daily basis. Some people might think that having nail fungus is nothing serious but once it affects them and the ailment becomes severe that’s when they will regret not having it treated when they found out about it during its early stage of development. Once the situation becomes worse, the harder it is for the ailment to get cured. It will cost you not just large amount of money since the treatment and its prices varies but it will also give you more stress than you can even imagine.

Nail Fungus is an infection that is common to everybody even to kids and elderly.  This problem can be hard to cure as the fungus is set underneath the nail bed, which is very hard to reach. It is very interesting to know that there are available Nail Fungus “medications” that are not expensive and are available in our homes.  Please note that these treatments are not recommended by doctors and no strong evidence can prove that these nail fungus treatment works.

1.  Urine.  Some people have already used using urine to solve their problem with nail fungus because of its anti-fungal properties.  Some testimonials say that just after few weeks for soaking the infected area to their own urine, it cleared up.
2. Baking Soda.  This chemical is known to many uses especially in our household.  But many people have already tried the magic of baking soda in nail fungus treatment and they can attest that it works.  A paste of baking soda is applied onto the affected nails and kept for few minutes before rinsing thoroughly. This is done once or twice a day for faster result.
3. Vicks Vaporub.  This is a well known home treatment for fungus.  They say that the chemical composition in Vicks Vaporub is a very good agent to kill the fungus.  This is applied to infected nails before bedtime and kept until morning.
4. Listerine.  This is a very popular brand of mouthwash and many have already used this to cure their nail fungus.  This is done by soaking the nails in Listerine (sometimes with vinegar) for few minutes.  Results are seen just after a week after doing this procedure every day.
5. Bleach.  This is known as a disinfectant and cleaner for household use.  However, there are some who have already tried the power of bleach in nail fungus treatment.  Diluted solution is used to clear the fungus.  However, although many people has proved that this is a solution to the infection but many people also has attested that this is just a myth and rather just make the condition worse.
6. Garlic.   They say that garlic also has properties that can solve the nail infection because it is a natural anti-fungal.  Some recommend this especially to the area that is hard to reach. They usually crush the garlic and apply onto the affected nail.  However, some who have tried it also say that it is not a cure but just causes pain.
7. Lemon Juice.  Many have already tried soaking the nail fungus in a Lemon Juice mixture. Because it is a natural acid, it is said to work better as a nail fungus treatment.

These sample unusual and sometimes weird nail fungus treatments are not prescribed by doctors and are used by many because nail fungus is not a very serious infection.  But, although not serious, treatment can be time consuming and may just cause disappointment if not proper medication is applied.  It is still recommended to consult a doctor as soon as any of the symptoms are noticed.

Many women are very conscious on how they look.  Many are so vain that they don’t just want to please themselves but the other people around them as well.  This is the very reason why there are a lot of beauty clinics and spa everywhere. However, did you know that we can get ugly infections even in those places that we go to that make us beautiful.  That is why we should be keen in choosing the best beauty parlor or clinics that we go to so we are sure that that we are in good hands. One of the ugly infections is Nail Fungus.  This is one of the common infections that we can get in infected areas, tools and procedures where fungi are growing.

Let’s check the following tips in taking care of the nails without worrying about getting nail fungus.

1. Go to a reputable spa or parlor.  Why?  If the spa is highly regarded to give a quality service to their customers, we can me sure that the tools they are using for your nails are clean and sterilized.
2. If you prefer to have your manicure or pedicure at home, make sure that you have your own tools and instruments that will be used for your nails.  Unclean and infected tools and grooming kits are sometimes infected by bacteria and fungi, nail fungus may be transferred to your nails.  This is actually
3. Keep your hand and feet clean and dry.  Use an anti-fungal powder if you are prone to sweating.
4. There is a very little study that supports the advice that nails should be moisturized everyday.  Although they say that moisturizer can help nails to grow faster, moist areas of our nails are prone to having fungus.  If we apply moisturizer, it may just promote a risk on the health of your nails.  It is good to moisturize your hands and feet but application in your nails should not be overdone.
5. Take supplements that help to make growing nails thick and strong.  You can take one with biotin.
6. Do not get manicures and pedicures frequently.  This habit should be limited.  Too much paper of our nails may cause it to become brittle and nail bed infection.  Said conditions may promote having nail fungus.
7. Rough emery boards may be too harsh to nails.  Remember that trauma in nails may also lead to nail fungus.
8. Applying nail polish does not directly contribute to having nail fungus.  However, some nail polish has strong chemicals which sometimes cause the nails to become chalky.  This is where the problem starts.  Chalky and brittle nails are prone to nail fungus.
9. Nail polish remover with acetone may also cause breakage in the nails.  This too is likely to cause nail fungus. Try using a milder nail polish remover.

Sometimes, it still better if there is no so much chemicals and procedures applied to our nails. Trauma in overdoing nail care may cause a bigger problem.  Cleaning and keeping it dry is still the best tip to avoid suffering from nail fungus.

Nail fungus or Onychomycosis is an ugly infection in the nails, usually in toenails.  The nails with this kind of infection are usually yellowish or brownish, usually thick and brittle.  This is caused by fungus caught from humid or wet areas. They say that having nail fungus is related to poor hygiene.  This is not true.  Most of the time, even people who is clean can still be infected if there is a regular immersion of foot in infected water or damp areas like swimming pool.  Aside from exposure to fungus in unclean areas, there are also other factors that increase the likelihood of getting nail fungus.

Risk Factors:

• Weak Immune system.  People with the following conditions are at risk to have nail fungus.
• Diabetes.  Usually, people with diabetes are at high risk because it can lead to more serious complications.  If not treated right away, it can impair the flow of blood and therefore may cause a bigger problem like impaired walking.
• HIV/AIDS /Cancer.  People with any of these diseases are also at high risk to get nail fungus because their body can easily get the infection and it is no longer responding to medications.

• Age.  Elderly are the ones who are usually infected with nail fungus because aging process has some effect on nail growth. Slow growing nails worsen the condition because the fungus has more time to stay in the nails.

• Gender.  Men are prone to have nail fungus because of their activities that are exposed to wet areas.

• Lifestyle.  Athlete’s foot and toenail fungus are usually suffered by our athletes or those with similar activities.  They are also prone to these kinds of infection because they are using shoes that are sometimes too tight, perspiring a lot and using a common gym or bathroom for shower where fungus are present.

• Trauma to the nail.  This is a rare case but if a person experience nail trauma like if it was banged in the door or was fallen by heavy object, the nail will sometimes be thickened and will be prone to infection.

• Family History.  Genetics also plays a great factor in developing nail fungus. If your parents have this condition, since you are most likely to get the same infection, make sure to practice precautions.

• Moist environment. If you are living or always in a humid place where fungus are usually present, you are most likely to get the infection as well. Fungus are staying and growing in this kind of surroundings and if you are not keen in improving your hygiene, it is possible that you will have nail fungus.  Let me give you some tips:

1. Make sure that socks are changed as frequently as possible.
2. Use your own nail tools for manicure and pedicure to avoid transferring of infection.
3. Use anti-fungus powder in your toes before putting on your socks
4. Keep your feet clean and dry
5. Avoid, as much as possible, damp areas

Even if we experience the risk factors mentioned above, if we know the proper precautions, there will be no problem avoiding it. Also, if we are familiar with this kind of infection, it will be easier for the doctor to advice a fungus treatment suitable for us.

We cannot control ourselves from feeling bad especially when we would feel that there is something missing within us. It is very important that you feel beautiful inside-out as well as top-to-bottom. Sometimes, we feel that would be impossible without paying much for our looks. Also, we cannot escape the fact that we sometimes get disappointed with the way we look especially when we look down and see our feet with our nasty toenails. This is one of the most negative images a woman can give to other people because our toenails must also really be of well maintenance.

Do not wait for anything bad that will happen to your toenail, always make certain that they are in good condition. And so, it is important that you avoid them away from annoying nail fungus as possible that has the capacity to affect your nails in your fingers also. You will get these bacteria from exposing yourself from unclean water. This kind of problem will later on cause you worse condition if you will not do something about it now. Try to immediately search for solution on this problem so that it will not go worse.

Look for the best treatment.

Your search for the best toenail fungus treatment should not be difficult for your part because as of now there are a lot of choices that you can have to get the one which will be perfect for you. You could also have the remedy done in the comforts of your home. You can have some homemade nail fungus treatment. You just need to soak your hands in the water with the solution of vinegar, little bit of vaporub as well as Listerine. You can actually get the bacteria and problem inside your nails with the use of these items that could just be found inside your house. If you are still hesitant of the whole process of getting what you need in a toenail fungus treatment, then, ask for the help of your doctor on this problem. They will give you all the knowledge that you need in order to cure your problem right now.

Look for the best lifestyle.

Even nail or toenail is just a small part in our whole body system; they still need to be properly taken cared of. If we will just ignore them, then it would create much worse thing for ourselves. If we see some yellowish cracks in our nails, it would be better to immediately go and consult the doctor about it or look for the best toenail fungus treatment. Bring back your confidence with yourself without the presence of any kind of discomfort that you feel about yourself. Also, do not forget to include in your diet some good amount of fruits and vegetable to maintain the healthy glow of your whole body including your nails. These are just simple ways but surely you will achieve more good feelings within yourself as well as how you carry yourself in front of a lot of people all the time.