The once popular TV media commercials for grey nails have raised concerns about grey nails, so what exactly are grey nails and what symptoms prove that you have them? Let’s take a look at what the symptoms of grey nails are and teach you how to do a proper manicure for grey nails.
The fingernails or toenails turn gray and white, which people usually call gray nails. This is actually a nail disease caused by a fungal infection, known as gray nails in modern medicine.
Fungus-induced nail disease can appear in a variety of colors, most commonly grayish white, but also brown, grayish brown or dark brown. The nail plate can be thickened, brittle, or the middle layer of the nail plate can be hollow, or the nail edge can be uneven, or the nail plate can be incomplete. In some cases, the nail may become inflamed and painful.
There are many kinds of fungi that can cause gray nails, the most common ones are Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichophyton flocculentum. Other fungi such as Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton purpureum, Trichophyton breakage, Trichophyton roseus, and Trichophyton homocentricum can also cause gray nails. In addition, there are several fungi that often cause nail lesions in cases of nail malnutrition, such as Candida molaris, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, etc.
We know that nails or toenails are very hard and intact nail plates are completely resistant to any microbial attack. But why do so many people get gray nails? People with gray nails often have ringworm or tinea pedis first. The fungus first invades the skin around the nail and then evolves through the growth of the nail or toenail, gradually invading inside the nail plate and growing and multiplying further until it destroys the entire nail plate. If the fungus invades the nail root and interferes with the growth of the nail, it can cause nail dysplasia or nail deformity. Generally this process is slow, and more often than not, gray nails occur as a result of fungal infection after the nail has been broken due to trauma or frequent scratching. For example, if you have tinea pedis or ringworm, you often scratch your fingernails because of the itchiness, so you get a lot of fungus on your fingernails. This can lead to a lot of fungus on the fingernails. If you scratch and rub repeatedly for a long time, the bacteria can invade and cause gray nails.
What symptoms prove that you have grey nails?
1, white superficial type: more than 90% caused by the interdigital variant of Trichophyton rubrum. The fungus directly invades the surface layer of the nail, initially as a white island less than 1mm in diameter, gradually expanding and fusing into a white cloudy turbid area, the surface is smooth, clear, the color becomes yellow over time, the surface is uneven or deformed, the texture is brittle and easy to break. This type by the master fungus only invade the upper layer of the nail plate, so the external drug treatment is generally effective.
2, the distal lateral nail type: the most common clinical, the amount of foot easily confused. The fungus initially invades the distal and lateral edges of the nail, often accompanied by infection of the adjacent skin, such as tinea pedis, the destruction of the nail plate is mainly keratinized hyperplasia, the phenology of the nail color change, texture brittle, increased thickness, and separation from the nail bed. In long-standing cases, the distal end of the nail is severely eroded, the nail plate is missing and brittle, and keratinous hyperplasia thickening on the nail bed is visible.
3, proximal nail type: mainly seen in candida gray nail, often with nail furuncle, mostly in the fingers, the infection begins in the nail groove near Jing or nail side crease, nail epidermal sheath, and invade the proximal nail plate, along the proximal nail below and nail epithelium development, the nail plate without obvious hyperkeratosis, can be phenotyped as white Jane. Transverse groove, longitudinal ridge, dotted depression, nail brittle, nail separation, dystrophy-like appearance.
4, intra-nail plate type: fungal invasion of the whole nail plate, but no longer downward development, the formation of white, gray or light yellow, can be uneven, but rarely missing, no nail under hyperkeratosis or nail separation. It is mostly caused by Trichophyton sudanum and Trichophyton purpureum.
When you have gray nails, you should learn to trim your nails properly.
It is also important for people with gray nails to trim their nails in their daily life. Properly trimming the nails not only helps people with gray nails to get better treatment, but also reduces the damage caused by gray nails.
The first thing you need to do is to wash your nails with warm water and soak them for 30 minutes. After the nails are softened, use a nail clipper to cut the thicker edges of the nails, then use a nail clipper to thin the thicker edges, and finally use the nail clippers to cut out the diseased nails and necrotic cuticles around the nails that are not easily removed. After removing the bad nail, you will see a thin layer of nail material sticking to the flesh of the finger, so use a nail grinder to smooth out this layer.
Pedicure knives are generally not commonly used, the use will not be good control, improper use will also hurt the skin, so master the correct use is the key. Use your thumb and index finger to control the nail grinder, let the blade tilt to one side, push the blade from one side of the toe to the other side until the nail is clean, then finally tilt the blade to the other side and trim the nail at the edge of the toe. Tilt the tip of the knife and place it on the surface of the diseased nail, bearing an angle to the surface, pushing from the proximal end to the distal end until the diseased nail is thinned. Put the gray nail into warm water and soak it for 3 minutes while washing off the residue from the grinding.
The nail polisher should pay attention to the depth of the nail polisher, not to damage the normal tissue of the skin around the toe, to avoid skin infection, the fingernail polisher and the pedicure nail polisher should be separated to avoid cross infection.
The things you need to pay attention to when you have grey nails.
Grey nail patients should pay attention to avoid the abuse of drugs that affect the body’s resistance such as corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs, etc. to avoid fungal infections due to reduced body resistance. In addition, patients with gray nails should also pay attention to the following aspects.
1, to timely treatment to avoid the spread.
2, Try to avoid close contact with fungal patients and animals suffering from ringworm.
3.Avoid indirect contact with bath tubs, washbasins, bath towels and towels used by patients.
4, Usually you should pay attention to hygiene, keep your skin clean and dry, especially if you are obese, and your clothes and bedding should be exposed to sunlight regularly.
The expert tip: after the grey nail is cured, pay attention to hygiene, to prevent recurrence and reinfection, such as not cross-use foot towels or slippers, usually wash your feet every night, sweaty people often puff some foot powder to keep dry, do not scratch your feet with your hands, etc. It is best to wash worn shoes and socks with boiling water or expose them to the sun. When treating with topical medication alone, it is necessary to continue to use topical medication for a period of time after the lesions and symptoms disappear, in order to prevent repeated infections and recurrence.