Acrylic nail fungus

Acrylic nails

Acrylicnails or false nails, as they are typically called, are pieces ofclear and heat sensitive plastic, shaped like nails. They are used tostand as your nails if your nails are currently not in the mostpresentable state. False nails are placed on top of nails so thatthey cover most of the nail plate. They are relatively hardy and showgood resistance to various environmental conditions.

Fungiand acrylic nails

Asacrylic nails are not made of living tissue they are not prone tofungi infections, and there are no acrylic nail fungi as such. Thecatch is that fungi can slip in between the artificial nail and yourreal nail and cause the infection of your nail. Such fungi infectionis referred to as acrylic nail fungi. Infection is caused by the samespecies of fungi that attacks fingernails and toenails of people whonever use false nails. Additional trouble with fungal infection of afingernail that is covered with false nail is that it remains hiddenbeneath the false nail and can be detected rather late, when it isalready well under way.

Symptoms

Allspecies of fungus, including one that likes to grow on nails, prefersto grow in the moist, dark and warm environment. The small gap thatbetween the false nail and the real nail is therefor an idealenvironment for the growth of fungi. Presence of fungus under theacrylic nail can be confirmed by symptoms such as deformed appearanceof natural nails, discoloration and loss of natural shine of naturalnails, brittle nails, that can be broken easily or crumble readily.There might be a powder - like residue on the nail, since the fungusthrives on the keratin, the protein that builds nails. Discolorationo the skin around the nails is also common,

Failingto react to any of these symptoms and thus, failure to treat fungusinfection may cause the nail to separate from the nail bed.

Treatment

Firstly,it is advised to let the nail go back to its natural state. Removethe acrylic nail and trim the infected nail as much as possible.This is needed for proper treatment of nail with an anti-fungalagent. Infected nail is ugly, granted, but it is better to beembarrassed by its appearance for a while than to loose itcompletely. Then, consult a doctor in order to be sure that you dohave a fungal infection and not some other condition. The doctor willrecommend the adequate drug for treatment of infection.