{"id":43294,"date":"2026-11-06T06:18:43","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T05:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/how-to-recognise-nail-fungus\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T06:18:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T05:18:43","slug":"how-to-recognise-nail-fungus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/how-to-recognise-nail-fungus\/","title":{"rendered":"How can I recognise nail fungus and what can I do myself?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In short:<\/strong> Nail fun\u00adgus can show up as whitish, yel\u00adlo\u00adwish or brow\u00adnish dis\u00adco\u00adlou\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon, thi\u00adc\u00adke\u00adned nails and crumbling nail edges. Howe\u00adver, appearance alo\u00adne can\u00adnot relia\u00adbly tell you whe\u00adther a fun\u00adgus is real\u00adly the cau\u00adse. You can keep your feet dry, care for your nails gent\u00adly and use your own per\u00adso\u00adnal care tools. Which tre\u00adat\u00adment is right depends on whe\u00adther a fun\u00adgus is con\u00adfirm\u00aded, how far the chan\u00adges extend and your gene\u00adral health.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Check your nails and&nbsp;skin<\/h2>\n<p>The medi\u00adcal term for nail fun\u00adgus is <a href=\"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/glossary\/onychomycosis-nail-fungus\/\">ony\u00adcho\u00admy\u00adco\u00adsis<\/a>. It can affect both fin\u00adger\u00adnails and toe\u00adnails. On the feet, the chan\u00adge often beg\u00adins at the front or side edge of the nail and may gra\u00addu\u00adal\u00adly spread.<\/p>\n<p>Look at your nails in good light. This check\u00adlist helps you descri\u00adbe chan\u00adges for a consultation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Colour:<\/strong> Have whitish, yel\u00adlo\u00adwish or brow\u00adnish are\u00adas appeared?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thic\u00adk\u00adness:<\/strong> Has a nail beco\u00adme thi\u00adc\u00adker or har\u00adder to&nbsp;cut?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sur\u00adface and edge:<\/strong> Does the nail feel rough, does it split or does the tip crumble?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Attach\u00adment to the nail bed:<\/strong> Is part of the nail lif\u00adting, or is crum\u00adbly mate\u00adri\u00adal coll\u00adec\u00adting underneath?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sur\u00adroun\u00adding skin:<\/strong> Is the skin bet\u00adween your toes itchy or flaky? Are the\u00adre cracks?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The\u00adse skin signs may point to accom\u00adpany\u00ading <a href=\"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/glossary\/tinea-pedis-athletes-foot\/\">ath\u00adle\u00adte\u2019s foot<\/a>. Such an infec\u00adtion can spread to the nails and should be trea\u00adted at the same time. Nail fun\u00adgus is pos\u00adsi\u00adble wit\u00adhout any pain. Con\u00adver\u00adse\u00adly, none of the\u00adse signs pro\u00adves a fun\u00adgal infec\u00adtion on its&nbsp;own.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Consider other causes<\/h2>\n<p>A dis\u00adco\u00adlou\u00adred nail is not auto\u00adma\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly a fun\u00adgal nail. Pres\u00adsu\u00adre from shoes, an inju\u00adry or <a href=\"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/psoriasis\/\">pso\u00adria\u00adsis<\/a> can cau\u00adse simi\u00adlar chan\u00adges. Small pits in the nails, for exam\u00adp\u00adle, can occur with nail pso\u00adria\u00adsis. Cos\u00adme\u00adtic nail polish can also chan\u00adge the colour of the&nbsp;nail.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Obser\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon<\/th>\n<th>May fit&nbsp;with<\/th>\n<th>What helps to assess it<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Yel\u00adlo\u00adwish, thi\u00adc\u00adke\u00adned toe\u00adnails with a crumbling edge<\/td>\n<td>Nail fun\u00adgus, but also pres\u00adsu\u00adre from&nbsp;shoes<\/td>\n<td>Labo\u00adra\u00adto\u00adry exami\u00adna\u00adti\u00adon of nail material<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Itchy, flaky skin bet\u00adween the&nbsp;toes<\/td>\n<td>Accom\u00adpany\u00ading ath\u00adle\u00adte\u2019s&nbsp;foot<\/td>\n<td>Having skin and nails asses\u00adsed together<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Small pits in seve\u00adral&nbsp;nails<\/td>\n<td>Nail pso\u00adria\u00adsis<\/td>\n<td>Having the skin and scalp asses\u00adsed as&nbsp;well<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dis\u00adco\u00adlou\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon after a knock or new&nbsp;shoes<\/td>\n<td>Inju\u00adry or pres\u00adsu\u00adre damage<\/td>\n<td>Wat\u00adching whe\u00adther the area grows&nbsp;out<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Yel\u00adlo\u00adwish nails after fre\u00adquent nail polish<\/td>\n<td>Dis\u00adco\u00adlou\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon from polish<\/td>\n<td>A break from polish, then reassess<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Befo\u00adre your appoint\u00adment, think about when you first noti\u00adced the chan\u00adge: was the\u00adre an inju\u00adry, new tight shoes or a known skin con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adon? Which nails are affec\u00adted? Have you alre\u00ada\u00addy appli\u00aded a pro\u00adduct? This infor\u00adma\u00adti\u00adon helps with the assess\u00adment. A pho\u00adto can docu\u00adment the cour\u00adse, but it does not replace a fun\u00adgal&nbsp;test.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>The check\u00adlist is not a diagnosis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Relia\u00adble con\u00adfir\u00adma\u00adti\u00adon requi\u00adres exami\u00adning affec\u00adted nail mate\u00adri\u00adal. A new or chan\u00adging dark stri\u00adpe run\u00adning along the nail should be asses\u00adsed by a der\u00adma\u00adto\u00adlo\u00adgist. Do not tre\u00adat it yours\u00adelf as nail fungus.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>3. What you can do yourself<\/h2>\n<p>Careful foot care can sup\u00adport tre\u00adat\u00adment and redu\u00adce pos\u00adsi\u00adble rou\u00adtes of trans\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adon. Hygie\u00adne alo\u00adne, howe\u00adver, does not relia\u00adbly clear an exis\u00adting nail fun\u00adgus. Go through the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing points in your dai\u00adly routine:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dry your feet well:<\/strong> After washing, careful\u00adly dry the spaces bet\u00adween your toes too. Do not lea\u00adve the skin damp for lon\u00adger than necessary.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chan\u00adge socks and shoes:<\/strong> Put on fresh socks every day, and more often if you sweat a lot. Let shoes dry com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly and choo\u00adse well-fit\u00adting, breat\u00adha\u00adble styles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wash tex\u00adti\u00adles pro\u00adper\u00adly:<\/strong> Wash socks and towels at 60 \u00b0C if the fabric allows it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use your own tools:<\/strong> Do not share nail scis\u00adsors, clip\u00adpers, files, shoes or towels. Clean nail tools after use and dis\u00adin\u00adfect them with a sui\u00adta\u00adble pro\u00adduct accor\u00adding to the instructions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trim nails careful\u00adly:<\/strong> Cut toe\u00adnails straight across and not deep at the sides. Do not dig or scra\u00adpe under the nail with sharp objects, and do not tear off loo\u00adse pie\u00adces of&nbsp;nail.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pro\u00adtect yours\u00adelf in shared are\u00adas:<\/strong> Wear flip-flops in swim\u00adming pools, chan\u00adging rooms and com\u00admu\u00adnal show\u00aders. If nail fun\u00adgus is con\u00adfirm\u00aded, sui\u00adta\u00adble dis\u00adin\u00adfec\u00adtion of your foot\u00adwear can also help pre\u00advent reinfection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your nails are too thick to cut safe\u00adly or you find it hard to reach your feet, get sup\u00adport. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/podiatry\/\">medi\u00adcal foot care in Zurich<\/a> also covers nail pro\u00adblems. Pro\u00adfes\u00adsio\u00adnal trim\u00adming and thin\u00adning of thi\u00adc\u00adke\u00adned nail can com\u00adple\u00adment anti\u00adfun\u00adgal tre\u00adat\u00adment. It does not replace fin\u00adding out the&nbsp;cause.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Find the right treatment<\/h2>\n<p>For a con\u00adfirm\u00aded, limi\u00adt\u00aded infec\u00adtion, an anti\u00adfun\u00adgal medi\u00adca\u00adted nail lac\u00adquer may be an opti\u00adon. Among other things, it mat\u00adters how much of the nail is affec\u00adted and whe\u00adther the nail root is invol\u00adved. Ask for advice on choo\u00adsing and using a pro\u00adduct rather than app\u00adly\u00ading any lac\u00adquer to every nail change.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Check befo\u00adre you start:<\/strong> Is the pro\u00adduct spe\u00adci\u00adfi\u00adcal\u00adly inten\u00added for nail fun\u00adgus? How should the nail be pre\u00adpared? How often do you need to app\u00adly it, and how are lac\u00adquer resi\u00addues remo\u00adved? Ins\u00adtruc\u00adtions dif\u00adfer from pro\u00adduct to pro\u00adduct. Fol\u00adlow the packa\u00adge leaf\u00adlet and the agreed tre\u00adat\u00adment plan. An ordi\u00adna\u00adry cream for ath\u00adle\u00adte\u2019s foot is not auto\u00adma\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly sui\u00adta\u00adble for trea\u00adting the&nbsp;nail.<\/p>\n<p>With more exten\u00adsi\u00adve infec\u00adtion, seve\u00adral affec\u00adted nails or invol\u00advement of the nail root, tre\u00adat\u00adment with tablets pre\u00adscri\u00adbed by a doc\u00adtor may be nee\u00added, often com\u00adbi\u00adned with a topi\u00adcal tre\u00adat\u00adment. Befo\u00adre start\u00ading, the dia\u00adgno\u00adsis, pos\u00adsi\u00adble inter\u00adac\u00adtions and exis\u00adting con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adons must be che\u00adcked. Depen\u00adding on the medi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon, blood tests are part of&nbsp;this.<\/p>\n<p>Expect tre\u00adat\u00adment to take months. The dama\u00adged nail has to grow out, even when the infec\u00adtion is alre\u00ada\u00addy rece\u00adding. A clear new sec\u00adtion gro\u00adwing at the base of the nail can be a good sign, but it does not pro\u00adve that the infec\u00adtion is com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly gone. So do not stop tre\u00adat\u00adment on your own as soon as the nail looks better.<\/p>\n<p>For home reme\u00addies such as tea tree oil, the\u00adre is not enough relia\u00adble evi\u00addence to replace estab\u00adlished nail fun\u00adgus tre\u00adat\u00adment. Ordi\u00adna\u00adry cos\u00adme\u00adtic nail polish does not tre\u00adat the fun\u00adgus eit\u00adher. Dis\u00adcuss any addi\u00adtio\u00adnal pro\u00adducts befo\u00adre com\u00adbi\u00adning them with your treatment.<\/p>\n<h2>5. When is medical advice important?<\/h2>\n<p>Have an unclear nail chan\u00adge che\u00adcked, espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly if it is get\u00adting worse, affec\u00adting other nails or bothe\u00adring you when wal\u00adking. If a cor\u00adrect\u00adly used tre\u00adat\u00adment does not help, the dia\u00adgno\u00adsis should also be review\u00aded. Sim\u00adply try\u00ading one pro\u00adduct after ano\u00adther can mean that a dif\u00adfe\u00adrent cau\u00adse is missed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Seek medi\u00adcal advice ear\u00adly<\/strong> if you have dia\u00adbe\u00adtes, cir\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon pro\u00adblems, redu\u00adced sen\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon in your feet or a wea\u00adk\u00aden\u00aded immu\u00adne sys\u00adtem. In that case, do not work on thi\u00adc\u00adke\u00adned nails yours\u00adelf with sharp tools. For child\u00adren, and during pregnan\u00adcy and breast\u00adfee\u00adding, it should be cla\u00adri\u00adfied befo\u00adre tre\u00adat\u00adment which pro\u00adducts are suitable.<\/p>\n<p>If the skin on your toe is pain\u00adful, hot and swol\u00adlen, or if red\u00adness is spre\u00ada\u00adding, have it che\u00adcked prompt\u00adly. This may indi\u00adca\u00adte an addi\u00adtio\u00adnal skin infec\u00adtion. Such inflamm\u00ada\u00adti\u00adon should not be trea\u00adted with nail lac\u00adquer&nbsp;alone.<\/p>\n<h2>6. How we assess a suspected infection<\/h2>\n<p>At Swiss Der\u00adma Cli\u00adnic in Zurich, we offer <a href=\"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/nail-fungus\/\">assess\u00adment and tre\u00adat\u00adment of nail fun\u00adgus<\/a>. On our tre\u00adat\u00adment page we descri\u00adbe micro\u00adsco\u00adpic exami\u00adna\u00adti\u00adon and detec\u00adtion of fun\u00adgal gene\u00adtic mate\u00adri\u00adal. This allows a sus\u00adpi\u00adci\u00adon to be che\u00adcked more pre\u00adcis\u00ade\u00adly than by loo\u00adking at the nail&nbsp;alone.<\/p>\n<p>Let us know which medi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adons you take and whe\u00adther you have alre\u00ada\u00addy used anti\u00adfun\u00adgal pro\u00adducts. Pri\u00ador tre\u00adat\u00adment can affect the test. Ask befo\u00adre your appoint\u00adment how to prepa\u00adre for a nail sam\u00adple. Do not stop a pre\u00adscri\u00adbed tre\u00adat\u00adment wit\u00adhout con\u00adsul\u00adting&nbsp;us.<\/p>\n<p>Our ser\u00advices also include laser tre\u00adat\u00adment, which we usual\u00adly com\u00adbi\u00adne with a topi\u00adcal tre\u00adat\u00adment such as a medi\u00adca\u00adted nail lac\u00adquer. Whe\u00adther it makes sen\u00adse for you is some\u00adthing we dis\u00adcuss once the fin\u00addings are available. As a stand-alo\u00adne tre\u00adat\u00adment, laser has been stu\u00addi\u00aded less tho\u00adrough\u00adly than lac\u00adquer and tablets, and no method can pro\u00admi\u00adse a par\u00adti\u00adcu\u00adlar result. You can find more infor\u00adma\u00adti\u00adon on our page about <a href=\"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/nail-fungus\/\">nail fun\u00adgus tre\u00adat\u00adment in Zurich<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Is nail fungus contagious?<\/h3>\n<p>The fun\u00adgi can be pas\u00adsed on via shared items and con\u00adta\u00admi\u00adna\u00adted sur\u00adfaces. That is why using your own nail tools, towels and shoes makes sen\u00adse. Not every cont\u00adact leads to an infec\u00adtion. Mois\u00adtu\u00adre and alre\u00ada\u00addy dama\u00adged nails can make it more likely.<\/p>\n<h3>Does nail fungus go away on its&nbsp;own?<\/h3>\n<p>You should not count on it. An exis\u00adting infec\u00adtion usual\u00adly per\u00adsists. Whe\u00adther and how it is trea\u00adted also depends on your sym\u00adptoms and per\u00adso\u00adnal risks. Not every mild chan\u00adge calls for tablets straight away, but it does call for a relia\u00adble assess\u00adment&nbsp;first.<\/p>\n<h3>Does an affected nail have to be removed?<\/h3>\n<p>Not as a rule. Depen\u00adding on the fin\u00addings, it may be enough to pro\u00adfes\u00adsio\u00adnal\u00adly remo\u00adve thi\u00adc\u00adke\u00adned or loo\u00adse parts and tre\u00adat the infec\u00adtion in a tar\u00adge\u00adted way. Remo\u00adving the nail is only con\u00adside\u00adred in sel\u00adec\u00adted situa\u00adtions. Never remo\u00adve the nail yourself.<\/p>\n<h3>Why does the nail still look changed?<\/h3>\n<p>A trea\u00adted nail does not beco\u00adme smooth and clear straight away. Chan\u00adged are\u00adas grow out slow\u00adly. Some\u00adti\u00admes nail dama\u00adge remains visi\u00adble even after the infec\u00adtion has cle\u00adared. That is why appearance and a fun\u00adgal test are dif\u00adfe\u00adrent cri\u00adte\u00adria when jud\u00adging success.<\/p>\n<h3>Can nail fungus come back after treatment?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. A rel\u00adap\u00adse or rein\u00adfec\u00adtion is pos\u00adsi\u00adble. Tre\u00adat any accom\u00adpany\u00ading ath\u00adle\u00adte\u2019s foot, keep your feet dry and keep using your own per\u00adso\u00adnal care tools. If new chan\u00adges appear, ano\u00adther assess\u00adment makes&nbsp;sense.<\/p>\n<p><em>This artic\u00adle does not replace a medi\u00adcal examination.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dis\u00adco\u00adlou\u00adred or britt\u00adle nails can point to nail fun\u00adgus. Our check\u00adlist shows what you can do yours\u00adelf and when a medi\u00adcal assess\u00adment makes&nbsp;sense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43296,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43294\/revisions\/43296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissdermaclinic.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}