Nail Fungus

Nail Fungus

A Side Effect of Artificial Nails

A fungal infection of any kind is upsetting, especially if it occurs on your nails, so visible to you and everyone else. Yet nail fungus is quite common, say women doctors.

Fungus of the nails can be stubborn and "may produce dramatic changes in the nail," says Elizabeth Whitmore, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Typically, the nails thicken and turn white or yellow. They can also be scaly and crumbly and begin to split. Sometimes the nails may even shed."

Ironically, one of the chief causes of nail fungus can be traced to a practice adopted to enhance women's beauty: wearing artificial nails.

Artificial nails are glued on, and if separated from the natural nails, moisture can get under the tip, creating a cozy place for fungus to grow. When fungal infection occurs, it may cause no symptoms. However, if an associated secondary bacterial infection occurs, pain, swelling and throbbing may be the result. Typically, antibiotics are needed to clear the secondary bacterial infection.

"I make my living with my hands, but I make it a policy to not wear false nails," reports Trisha Webster, a hand model with the well-known Wilhelmina Modeling Agency in New York City. "Women get so used to them that they forget to give their own nails a rest."

Many women are allergic to the glue or acrylic used to cement the nails in place, says Elizabeth Abel, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Some women are also allergic to the formalin in nail polish. Symptoms include redness, scaling, swelling and pain in the nail folds or adjacent tissue. Complications include bacterial infections and such bothersome reactions as oozing and drainage from around the nail.

If you don't wear artificial nails and develop a nail fungus anyway--say, on your toenails--the problem could be caused by yeasts, molds or other members of the fungi family. Fungi can travel back and forth between hands and feet.

"Yeast infections of the nails can pose a problem for people who have their hands in water a great deal," says Loretta Davis, M.D, associ ate professor of dermatology at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in Augusta. "Usually, what happens is that people develop a break in their cuticles, and that's the entering point."

Women doctors say that nail fungus is easier to avoid than to treat. Here's what they advise.

Avoid artificial nails. Since wearing artificial nails is the most common cause of nail fungus in women, you can save yourself a lot of grief by not wearing them.

Keep hands and nails dry. After you wash your hands, dry them well. "If you must keep your hands in water for any length of time, wear cotton-lined latex gloves," advises Dr. Davis.

Moisturize. Dry, cracked cuticles, nails and skin can be an entry point for infection, according to Dr. Davis. She recommends keeping your hands well-moisturized at all times.