Book Now Book Now
Posted 10 Feb '18

Say goodbye to discoloured fungal toenails!

It’s been a fantastic, hot summer here in New Zealand, with lots of time wearing sandals, at the beach and feeling that soft, green grass beneath of our feet. For many of our patients recently, it’s also been the time that they’ve noticed a few unusual changes in the appearance of their toenails – usually yellow and white patches – and have come in to find out what it is and what they can do about it! For many of these patients, the verdict is the same…

It’s a fungal nail infection

A fungal nail infection, medically referred to as onychomycosis, is the infiltration of the nail by a fungus. The changes you may see in your nail occur as the fungus spreads and feeds on the keratin in your nail. In fact, approximately 50% of abnormal toenail appearance changes are caused by a fungus, and around 10% of all adults suffer from fungal nail infections. What does that mean?

Fungal nail infections are easily spread

Yep, fungal infections are definitely contagious and are easily spread within households and public places. This is because fungus spreads through spores that move through the air, as well as direct contact. Fungus also thrives in warm and moist environments, and doesn’t require sunlight to grow. This makes places like showers, public pools, changing rooms, gyms and nail salons the ideal breeding ground for fungus. Once you’ve picked up an infection, the environment inside closed in shoes also provide ideal conditions for the infection to grow and persist. When you come in contact with the fungus and your immune system doesn’t clear the infection before it takes hold, the symptoms will begin. Certain conditions do make people more susceptible to infection. These include:
  • Poor circulation
  • Increased age
  • Male gender
  • A compromised immune system
  • Previous trauma/injury to the feet and nails
  • Family history of infection
  • Diabetes

What do fungal infections look like?

Nails can appear:
  • Brittle
  • Crumbling/flaky
  • Thickened
  • White/yellow/brown discolouration
  • Worm-eaten appearance
You may also develop whitish streaks or spots in the nail, and the nail may begin to come away from the nail bed. They may also cause an odour.

Make sure it really is a fungal nail infection and not something else

It’s important to note that there are other conditions that have a similar appearance to fungal nail infections, such as psoriasis of the nail and trauma. This is why before spending time and money treating the infection, you should get a confirmed diagnosis. We can do this in our clinic in just 5 minutes, easily and painlessly from a small sample of your nail. Once we have a confirmed diagnosis, we’ll talk through the best way to treat your infection based on your symptoms and presentation. We’ll also give you all of the information you need to stop the spread of infection to your friends and family, and minimise your risk of future re-infection as much as possible! For more information or to book an appointment, give our expert team a call on 09 523 2333

Related Articles

Does Your Ingrown Toenail Have A Fungal Nail Infection?

We treat a lot of ingrown toenails here at the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic. So, with approximately 10% or more of the adult population harbouring a fungal nail infection, it’s not uncommon that we see many ingrown toenails where a stubborn nail fungus has also infiltrated the nail. So how can you tell, what can […]

Shockwave Therapy For Injury Recovery & Pain Relief

Shockwave therapy is a gold standard treatment used to help achieve the best clinical outcomes for musculoskeletal injuries and pain – and we’re very proud to now offer it to our patients here at Perform Podiatry. 

Not Just An Ingrown Toenail: Osteomyelitis Case Review

While many of the cases we see here at the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic are fairly standard, there are a few that vary greatly from the ‘norm’, and could have resulted devastating consequences if they had been left untreated under the hopes that the ingrown nail would “go away on its own”, something many people […]

Keeping you healthy and performing at your best

Keeping your family on their feet and helping them to walk, run, play and exceed their goals is why we love getting up in the morning.

We're located inside the One Health medical centre at Building 122 Remuera Rd, Remuera, Auckland 1050, New Zealand

MON - SAT 8:30am – 6:00pm
SUN Closed

Make an Appointment

(09) 523 2333 (09) 523 2333

Online Schedule

Book here Book here

Send us a message

Name
 
Email Address
Message