[Medical Q&A] How to prevent onychomycosis?

Planner: Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Professor Yang Ying, Military Medical Research Institute

Onychomycosis (commonly known as "onychomycosis") is a stubborn chronic infectious disease that is difficult to treat. To prevent the occurrence of onychomycosis, the following effective measures can be taken to prevent the infection of fingernails and toenails by pathogenic fungi.

(1) Onychomycosis often occurs secondary to tinea pedis and tinea manuum. Therefore, we should first pay attention to the prevention and treatment of tinea pedis and correct the incorrect view that "tinea pedis is a way to detoxify and will not cause other diseases."

(2) Do not borrow or share daily necessities such as shoes, socks, slippers, foot basins, foot towels, etc. This is the key to preventing indirect infection.

(3) Develop good hygiene habits, wash your feet and change your socks frequently, and expose your shoes and socks to the sun to keep them dry.

(4) People who sweat excessively can use some treatment methods to inhibit local sweating, especially in summer.

(5) Maintain good environmental hygiene and do not create an external environment for pathogenic fungi to grow and reproduce, such as avoiding crowded and humid housing, paying attention to indoor ventilation, frequently drying bedding, and frequently washing bedsheets, shirts and pants. Daily necessities of onychomycosis patients at home should be regularly disinfected with boiling water. Items that cannot be washed by ironing can be disinfected by exposing them to sunlight for 2 to 3 hours.

(6) Enhance the body's ability to resist pathogenic fungi, such as increasing physical exercise and paying attention to nutrition.

(7) If you have onychomycosis, you should receive regular treatment as soon as possible to avoid the disease from progressing and prevent it from infecting others.