A survey has found that some often-neglected household habits can increase the risk of onychomycosis — a fungal infection of the nail — the Taiwanese Dermatological Association said.
The survey found that three habits were often neglected: using separate nail clippers, wearing separate slippers and wearing slippers into the bathroom.
According to the survey, 66.7 percent of respondents shared nail clippers with their family members, 82.3 percent rarely sanitized the nail clipper before use and only 3 percent sanitized it every time, dermatologist and association spokesperson Huang Yu-huei (黃毓惠) said.
About 56.8 percent of respondents shared indoor slippers with their family members and 39.3 percent are used to going into the bathroom barefoot, Huang said, adding that such practices increase the risk of onychomycosis.
Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nail that can include the matrix, bed, or plate, causing the nail to become thickened, disfigured or brittle — sometimes with pieces breaking off — and discolored into shades of gray, yellow or brown, Taiwan Adventist Hospital dermatologist Tseng Te-peng (曾德朋) said.
The infection usually occurs in toenails, especially the big toe, but many people often ignore it, because it does not cause pain or itchiness at the early stage of infection, Tseng said, adding that it can spread to other areas of the body and to other people that have direct or indirect contact with their clothing, such as wearing the same slippers.
Studies have shown that as many people with diabetes have peripheral arterial disease, their risk of contracting onychomycosis is three times higher than people without diabetes, so maintaining good household habits can also reduce the risks of infection for family members with diabetes, he said.
There are oral medicines and external-use drugs for treating onychomycosis, but people should file nails that have become infected before applying external-use drugs to increase their therapeutic effect, Tseng said.
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