If your nails are crusted with keratin debris, your podiatrist may remove it to improve the appearance of your nails. In severe toenail fungus cases, toenail surgery may be required to temporarily remove the infected nail so the nail bed can be treated directly.
The fungal infection breaks down the keratin in the nail to form a white or yellow chalky substance under the nail plate. "As keratin debris spreads under the nail, the nail plate typically becomes lifted up off of the nail bed.
Keratin granulations can be treated by moisturizing the nail. To expedite resolution of the problem, one can gently buff the nail with a super-fine-grit buffer in order to remove any surface abnormalities. A nail polish holiday for several weeks will also help treat keratin granulations.
You can use a loofah, sponge, or washcloth to really clean around the toenails. Try a foot soak. If you don't take a shower every day, consider soaking your feet in a tub of lukewarm water and soap. This can help break up or dislodge dirt underneath toenails.
This overgrowth is called subungual hyperkeratosis. People with hyperkeratosis may notice a white, chalky substance under the nail. When this occurs in the toenails, the pressure of shoes pushing down on the nails might cause pain.
Nail fungus is a common infection of the nail. It begins as a white or yellow-brown spot under the tip of your fingernail or toenail. As the fungal infection goes deeper, the nail may discolor, thicken and crumble at the edge. Nail fungus can affect several nails.
With toenail fungus, your nail becomes thick and yellow and may show white spots and streaks. A type of mold called a dermatophyte causes tinea unguium, the most common nail fungus. Tinea unguium most frequently targets your toenails, but it can also affect your fingernails.
Treatment usually begins with your dermatologist trimming your infected nail(s), cutting back each infected nail to the place where it attaches to your finger or toe. Your dermatologist may also scrape away debris under the nail. This helps get rid of some fungus.
I would always advise to file a thickened nail rather than cut it, this way you can do little harm to the nail and surrounding skin. A 'Diamond deb' nail file usually works best, filing the nail 2-3 times a week will usually keep the thickness reduced.
HYDRATE your nail. Use olive oil, thick moisturizing lotion and give your nails a toenail polish break. These Keratin Granulations will fade in time.
Conclusion: 10% KOH and 10% Acetic acid should be used for Keratin dissolution and its protein color reactions.
While keratin granulations aren't exactly classified as “fungus,” they can make your nails more susceptible to developing fungus. Dry toenails are also prone to cracking, which damages your entire nail bed. So, should you avoid toenail polish remover? You don't necessarily have to avoid it.
While these proteins can be used as healing agents, they can also be destroyed with improper hair care. Heat, chemicals, low-quality water, improper techniques, and environmental factors can all play a part in depleting keratin.
Unlike relaxers and perms, which permanently change the structure of hair cuticles and need to be grown out, keratin treatments gradually wash away. You'll notice your hair's natural curl return over time—anywhere from six weeks to a few months.
By consuming vitamin A-rich foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, salmon, and liver help reduce keratin levels in the body. Vitamin A acts as a regulatory agent and decreases excess and defective keratin. In addition, gentle exfoliation of the skin may help to remove excess keratin.
Heavy duty podiatry-grade toenail clippers: We recommend ClipPro nail clippers for our patients. The ClipPro Toenail Clipper is the best consumer nail clipper we have found for extra thick and irregular nails. Its jaw opens up to over 1″ wide and the top of blades is slightly curved to contour around your nails.
If you have had an injury to your toe and your nail is temporarily thick, it may get better over time. As a new, healthy nail grows out, you can see if it gets better. However, due to the slow growth of toenails, this can take many months.
Terbinafine for toenail fungus treatment
The best pill for toenail fungus is terbinafine. Evidence suggests it works better than the alternatives with the fewest side effects. Terbinafine results in resolution of toenail fungus 76% of the time.
If you have a nail fungal infection, some things can help: Keep your nails cut short and file down any thick areas. Don't use the same nail trimmer and file on healthy nails and infected nails.
Oral Medication Oral medications used to treat toenail fungus include terbinafine (Lamisil) and itraconazole (Sporanox, Onmel). Both medications require at least a three-month course of treatment for toenails; if used consistently, they have a good success rate.
Fungal infections
A nail infection is a common cause of white spots on nails. Nail fungus, or onychomycosis, develops when fungus grows between the keratin layers in the nail.
Getting a fungal infection on your toenails can cause the nails to turn yellow and brittle, and the bugs that cause the infection often emit a foul odor as they feed on your body. The same microorganisms that cause athlete's foot also are the cause of fungal toenail infection.
Topical therapy is effective in nail bed psoriasis for the remedial action on onycholysis and subungual hyperkeratosis. Potent or very potent corticosteroids are the most effective drugs in nail psoriasis, the most common being clobetasol propionate (0.05%)22 and betamethasone dipropionate (0.05%).
“Applying Vicks VapoRub to fungus-infected toenails can clear up the notoriously hard-to-treat condition. Michigan State University clinicians found that applying the product daily to the infected nail cleared the condition in 32 of 85 patients, though it took anywhere from 5 to 16 months…”