Have your nails lost lustre and shine? Are they brittle? Thickening? Crumbling? Are your nails discoloured, and distorted? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you probably have a fungal infection and fungal infections aren't nice.
These little things can be painful, and horrible to treat.
But I treat my feet well! I hear your cry.
Pedicures, the lot.
But fungal toenail infections are easier to pick up than you imagine.
Visiting pools, gyms and shower rooms are quite often the cause of fungal infections.
Fungi thrives in damp, warm areas such as these, and quite often these are the places we go bare foot.
Other common causes are moist feet in closed in footwear, wearing running shoes which have not been cleaned properly and rotated, or nail and skin injuries.
No matter how much you take care of your feet, it seems that every time you put your foot inside of a shoe, or onto the ground barefoot, you are at risk of picking up a nasty infection.
But fear not, for it can be treated.
Eventually.
Over the counter treatments, such as creams and ointments, are not effective at treating toenail discolouration or thickness.
Neither are medicines which have been prescribed by your doctor.
In fact, prescription medication is not only ineffective, but can have serious side effects.
So if medication is not going to work, how can you treat it? Well there are some specific creams on the market, which actually do work.
These do take a long time to fully eliminate an existing fungus infection however, and so you should continue to treat it even when the symptoms of thick, discoloured toenails disappear.
There are other treatments which can help alleviate your symptoms.
These are natural treatments.
Soaking your feet in beer for example can actually help as beer has antifungal properties.
Always get advice about how best to treat your thick, discoloured toenails, and always remember to prevent infection in the future.