Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Nails - fungal infection; Onychomycosis; Infection - fungal - nails; Tinea unguium
Symptoms
-
Nail changes on one or more nails (usually toenails):- Brittleness
- Change in nail shape
- Crumbling of the outside edges of the nail
- Debris trapped under the nail
- Loosening or lifting up of the nail
- Loss of luster and shine
- Thickening of the nail
- White or yellow streaks on the side of the nail
Signs and tests
Your doctor will suspect a fungal infection based on the appearance of the nails.
The diagnosis can be confirmed by scraping the nail and:
- Looking at it under a microscope to identify the type of fungus
- Sending it for a culture (however, it may take up to 3 weeks to get results)
Images
Nail infection, candidal
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Fungal nail infection Treatment
Review Date: 10/04/2010
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of
Medicine. Also reviewed by Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, Atlanta Center
for Dermatologic Disease, Atlanta, GA. Review provided by VeriMed
Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
