Fungi love dark, damp places, so your feet are especially vulnerable to fungal infection, says Rebecca Sundling, doctor of podiatric medicine, a spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association, and a podiatrist at Northwood Foot and Ankle Center in Holland, Michigan. Both toenail fungus and foot fungus are very common, and both can be caused by the same organism. However, they aren’t the same condition, and they are treated differently, she explains. Read on to learn how to identify toenail and foot fungus, and how to prevent and treat both.
Toenail Fungus: Causes and Risk Factors
Toenail fungus is a fungal infection in the toenail. It happens when a fungus — anything from mold to yeast to other types of fungus — gets in the nail bed from a cut or break in the nail or repetitive trauma to the nail, and penetrates the nail itself, says Dr. Sundling. The nail then continues to grow with the fungus. Once a nail plate is infected with fungus, it will never not be infected, and you must wait to see how it grows out and whether the new nail growing behind it is healthy. The new nail rarely grows in healthy without treatment, says Sundling.
