Nail Fungus is highly contagious and it is always a good idea to employ safe practice techniques in your day to day life to avoid contracting a serious infection. Nail fungus likes to grow in places that are dark, warm, and moist. Your shoes are the perfect breeding ground for fungus. If you pay mind to these tips, you will decrease the chance of your contracting an infection. Toenail fungus is one of the most embarrassing and painful conditions. As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”, it is therefore of utmost importance to keep toenail fungus at bay. Here are the top 8 ways to prevent toenail fungus.
Barefoot
Walking, playing or running barefoot could be one of the major reason for a toenail fungal infection, as our toes are exposed to environment that might be polluted or infected, thus leading to a severe toenail infection. By wearing shoes in public areas, you can easily prevent toenail fungus.
Hygiene
Basic hygiene that is taught to us since childhood should be followed. A regime where we wash out feet with soap and water, wipe and pat them dry every time we are out of home or our feet is exposed to unhygienic conditions should be maintained on a daily basis. Even if somebody stays at home, one should follow the regime twice a day for healthy toe nails.
Pedicure And Foot Spa
Staying careful at foots spas is one easy way to prevent toenail fungus. While visiting a salon for a pedicure or a foot spa, choose the brand or shop with a logical mind, keeping in to account the immediate hygienic conditions. Make it sure that the instruments or accessories used are sterilized in front of you before they use. It is recommended that you use, your own set of nail accessories and a towel for use at the salon or spa.
Wear Open Toed Footwear
Wearing open toed footwear allows for the sun and open air to get to your toes. If your feet typically sweat during the day, this allows for your feet to not be stuck in close proximity to all that moisture all day. It also keeps your toes out of the dark which will let them avoid nail fungus infections as well.
Socks
It is of utmost importance to wear a pair of socks of cotton or sweat absorbent material. Synthetic materials used in making socks, such as nylon or wool are not desirable as it traps the sweat within the skin and causes an ideal environment for the fungus to thrive and grow with speed. It is also suggested that people who indulge in to sports both indoor and outdoor, should change their socks frequently to own healthy toes.
Trim Your Nails
Make sure that you trim your nails regularly and evenly. Try to avoid trimming your nails in a way that makes them misshapen. Fungus can get underneath the nails in a variety of ways, but if your nails are trimmed evenly you reduce the risk of that happening.
Shoes
Shoes are an important factor in toenail infections. Thus one has to be wise enough to choose a footwear. It is recommended to go for shoes which offer space for proper ventilation of our feet, thus providing sufficient air and oxygen and not trapping sweat within. Rubber and plastic shoes lead to excessive sweating within due to insufficient oxygen, thus factory workers who often have to wear rubber or plastic boots need to re-open their footwear for adequate aeration.
Always discard your old shoes which might often harbour fungus due to regular use.
Clean Nail Equipment
While it is hard for most types of infectious cells to live on metal surfaces, you are better off being safe than sorry. Sterilize all equipment by dunking it in isopropyl alcohol. This should destroy any remaining harmful bacteria on the metals surface.
Sunlight
A proven way to keep toenail infections at bay is to aerate the socks and shoes regularly under strong sunlight. Sunlight kills most of the germs which many antifungals fail to do.
Antifungal Spray Or Powder
Especially during the monsoons, people who are prone to toenail infections should use antifungal spray or powder regularly before using their foot wear to prevent any fungal infection. One amazing such product is ZetaClear. Click here to know more about ZetaClear.
Nail Polish
Though nail polishes and other cosmetic products used on nails are tempting and look attractive, but many a times, these chemical accessories spoil the natural pH of our toenails leading to an easy entry of the fungus causing an infection. Regular use of nail polishes and other chemical products also wears off the natural enamel of the nail, making it brittle and leading to a discoloration of the toenails, which again attracts several microbes.
Maintain Proper Hygiene
You should wash your hands regularly. If you come into contact with anything that someone who might not have washed their hands previously might have touched, it is always a good idea to wash your hands. Shower regularly and use soap. Use warm water and make sure to get into the hard to reach places.
Following an immensely diligent way of life goes a long way. Follow the above mentioned prevention measure to cure toenail fungus have happy toes.
