I. What are grey nails? What are the symptoms of gray nails?
Nail fungus is a disease caused by fungi such as dermatophytes, yeasts and non-dermatophytes that invade the nail plate or under the nail. The nail is often from the finger (toe) nail free edge or side edge to the nail root development, sick nail gradually lose luster, become dull and cloudy, gray or brown, and thickened and brittle, indicating uneven or deformed, due to brittle fracture easy to break, or cuticle gradually loose into powder, in the nail niche, nail edge is not flat, there are stumps like insect bites, serious when part of the nail plate and nail bed separation, affecting the beauty and health.
1, gray nails are caused by which fungi?
They are mainly caused by dermatophyte infections, followed by yeasts and non-dermatophyte fungi. Dermatophytes include Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton spp. and Flocculina epidermidis, among which Trichophyton rubrum takes the first place. Yeasts are mainly Candida, Malassezia, etc. Other fungi include columnar topspermia and short broomstick mold.
2. Are housewives, cooks and people who are often exposed to water susceptible to Candida albicans, which leads to gray nails?
Yes. Due to repeated hand washing and long-term housework, the nails of the hands are often in a moist, warm environment, which creates a suitable environment for fungal growth, which can also cause nail fungus, and then develop to the nail plate and cause disease.
3. Can untreated foot fungus directly lead to gray toenails?
Tinea pedis, commonly known as “foot fungus”, is a secondary infection caused by the spread of fungal infection between the toes (tinea pedis) to the nail in most cases; when a person with tinea pedis scratches the lesion with their hands, the fungus can take advantage of the opportunity to invade the nail plate. Therefore, in many patients, the causative organisms are the same. Clinically, the scaly and keratinized types are the most stubborn forms of ringworm, and infection of the gray finger (toe) nail is more common.
4. Is it easy to get ringworm from swimming in a pool with poor sanitation?
If swimming pool water does not meet the standard of disinfection, it cannot effectively kill pathogens such as fungi and cause ringworm. Also, many people in swimming pools use public lockers, slippers, bath towels, etc., which can easily indirectly infect ringworm. Therefore, people should choose a swimming pool with up to standard sanitary conditions and bring their own personal items such as storage bags for clothes, towels and slippers before going swimming to reduce the chance of being infected.
5, keeping pets such as cats and dogs, are they susceptible to infection by ringworm on pets, which can lead to gray nails?
Ringworm is an infection of the epidermis, hair and fingernails caused by fungi and is often zoonotic. Some people are so close to their pets that they not only like to hold them for a long time to play, but also sleep with them at night. If your pet has ringworm, it is inevitable that you will be infected without realizing it. Especially children, with delicate skin and poor defenses, are more likely to be infected. So it is important to pay attention to hygiene and cleanliness when keeping pets, and children should try not to have too close contact with pets, and should seek medical attention promptly if they find symptoms such as itchy skin.
6. Is it correct to say that gray nails often develop singly and gradually involve other fingernails?
Yes. The nail can become a reservoir of pathogenic fungi, and the nail can become a focal point of infection, and there are a lot of pathogenic fungi in the gray nail shavings that fall off anytime and anywhere, which can easily infect your normal fingernails and others.
7.How can I diagnose myself if I have grey nails?
(1) Cloudy: After the fungus invades the nail plate or nail bed, the nail plate will become cloudy and opaque.
(2) Thickening: After the fungus invades the nail plate or nail bed, the keratin in the nail plate is highly proliferated by the action of the fungus, and the accumulation of keratin thickens the nail plate, which can be generally thicker than the normal nail plate by more than 1~3 times.
(3) Uneven surface: Due to the accumulation of keratinous material in the deck or under the deck and the destruction of the deck at the same time, the surface of the deck is rough, uneven and loses its luster.
(4) The nail plate becomes brittle and fragile: due to the invasion of fungi into the nail plate and nail bed, under the action of its secretion of keratinolytic enzymes, keratin is dissolved, forming keratin fine particles, the destroyed nail plate lacks elasticity and toughness and becomes brittle, keratin particles are powdered and easy to fall off, loose and become fragmented.
(5) Nail delamination: The thickened keratin becomes dry, crumbly and brittle, making the nail surface, which was originally bonded to the finger flesh, appear hollow, i.e., the nail is divided into 2 layers, and the surface layer is separated from the finger flesh.
(6) Discoloration: The nail plate underneath the nail plate where the keratin is shed, can enter the dirt to present color, nail plate destruction, debris off also makes the nail plate present color change. It can present dirty gray, brown, white, yellow, black, etc.
(7) nail plate buckling: fungus and hyperplasia of keratinous material in the nail plate under a large number of accumulation, so that the distal end of the nail plate is obviously higher and buckling, then the diseased nail becomes thicker, more turbid, discoloration is also more obvious.
8. Can the fungus be inoculated to other parts of the body and cause new ringworm with scratching? Can it be transmitted to other people?
If a person with gray nails does not take care of hygiene and scratches other parts of the body, he or she can easily spread ringworm such as ringworm and ringworm. Gray nails are not only contagious to yourself but also to others, but this contagion is conditional, for example, people with poor immunity are easily infected, such as the elderly, infants, and pregnant women.
9. Is it possible for women with gray nails to get vaginitis?
Yes, it is possible that women with gray nails who scratch their vulva with diseased nails may be infected and cause mycosis and candidiasis vaginitis.
10. Are there any other complications with gray nails?
The nails are exposed to the outside and once they are traumatized, they can easily become infected with bacteria and cause complications such as dermatitis, nail fungus, nail bed infection, finger impetigo, etc. Grey nails can inoculate the fungus to other parts of the body with scratching and cause ringworm, tinea corporis, ringworm, etc.
11.Why should I try to prevent gray nails and minimize nail art?
The nail polish used for manicure contains a lot of chemicals, which can damage the normal structure of the nails when applied for a long time, which can cause fungus to invade the nail plate and cause nail fungus. In the process of nail art, cutting, grinding and other actions may cause nail damage, if the tools used are not sterilized, easy to cause fungal infection.
Second, about laser treatment of gray nails.
1. What is the principle of laser treatment for gray nails?
The new 1064nm Nd:YAG laser used by our department can pass through the nail plate and produce mechanical damage to the fungal cell wall inside the nail plate, which can make the temperature of the nail plate rise to 43℃-51℃ resulting in fungal thermal damage and selective absorption of the 1064nm laser by the melanin particles of the fungal cell wall to produce thermal exfoliation and thermal decomposition effect to treat nail fungus.
2.Do you want to do any examination before laser treatment? What things should I pay attention to after laser treatment?
The most fundamental evidence to confirm the diagnosis of gray nail is laboratory fungal examination, so before laser treatment, direct microscopic examination and culture of nail debris is required, that is, scraping a small amount of debris from the diseased nail, direct examination with a microscope, and culture on the culture medium to find the pathogenic fungus to confirm the diagnosis. After treatment, local antifungal drugs should be used to prevent cross-infection, and be used on time and persistently until the end of the treatment.
3.What is laser treatment suitable for?
This treatment can be used for most patients, especially for those who cannot tolerate oral antifungal medication, such as the elderly, children, and patients with liver and kidney insufficiency, providing a new option for the treatment of gray finger (toe) nails.
4.What is the difference between laser treatment and traditional treatment for gray nails? What are the advantages?
The 1064nm Nd:YAG laser is an effective, simple and safe treatment for nail fungus, and it does not interfere with study, work and other daily life after treatment. The traditional treatment of nail fungus is based on oral medication, and it is difficult for topical medication to penetrate into the diseased nail, which has unique treatment advantages for elderly people, patients with low immunity and poor liver and kidney function who do not tolerate oral antifungal medication, and also has a direct killing effect on drug-resistant fungal infections.
5. What is the approximate cost of laser treatment for gray nails?
The cost of treatment at our hospital is determined by the number of diseased nails of the patient. Each diseased nail costs $30 for one treatment and 4-8 treatments in total. If you participate in the “Care for Gray Nails, Health and Love” Science Week held on the first floor of the outpatient department of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University from May 18 to 24, 2015, we will give participants a free first treatment and a discount on the remaining treatments, as well as priority registration for free numbers and no queuing. We welcome you to come and experience laser treatment for gray nails.