Most nail fungal infections are as painless as procrastination, so it is easy to understand why people might ignore it for a while. Maybe it will just go away, some might even reason. Here are 4 reasons why you should never leave nail fungus untreated.
1. It is Certain to Get Worse
The initial black spots or minor discoloration would metamorphose almost like a caterpillar. First of all, you might have to move on from nail fungus and call it onychomycosis instead. It means severe nail fungal infection and it’s a mouthful – a good enough reason to want to treat it right away. If left untreated, the nail will soon become deformed and severely weakened or brittle. Any day now it will become odorous. Who wants to go everywhere with a funny smell?
2. It Will Become Painful
If it becomes smelly, it would likely be painful too. If not, chances are you would accidentally break the now severely brittle infected nail. You will feel it banging on the keyboard. If it’s a toenail, you will feel it walking in shoes. The infection would also be harder to treat now.
3. It can Spread
Perhaps it’s obvious that a nail fungal infection might spread to other nails, but the problem is it can also spread to skin. This is especially true for toenail fungus. Wearing socks and shoes all day makes it easy for toenail fungus to spread to the foot. In addition, if you’re on antibiotics or if your immune system is weak, the nail fungus can also spread to other parts of your body.
4. You can Lose the Nail
You might say, so what, it’ll grow back. While this is the case for healthy nails, your nail might not grow back after a severe infection, or at least it’s not going to grow back the same. You don’t want to risk it so you should never leave nail fungus untreated.