There are so many people who deal with fingernail or toenail fungus that it can be a type of infection which is easy to pick up. In most cases it is more common to have the fungus in your toenails are more likely to become infected than fingernails. Some of the systems that you may actually have a fingernail infection are: discoloring around or on the nails, usually this will be a white or yellow tint. Another nail fungus symptom is that the fingernails may become very easy to break, very fragile, they can be very crumbly or have severe rough edges. They may be thicker than usual, and they may separate from where the nail meets the skin,your nails may be curled up or down possibly messed up in shape or disfigured. Sometimes this may also be associated with pain or discomfort. Any one can easily get this infection, you can get it from wearing sweaty shoes such as work boots, wet gym floors etc. Several medicines can be used to treat a fungal nail infection. Oral fungal medicines can help a new nail grow to replace the infected nail. You might need to try and take the anti-fungal medicine for up to six to twelve weeks before you notice a difference. It depends on how bad you have it or how severe the infection is. Some of these oral anti-fungal medicines are not safe for everyone especially if you have liver or other organ problems or a history of heart failure so you might want to consult a physician. Be sure to let your doctor know if you have one of these conditions. Your doctor will decide which medicine is right for you. There are topical creams and medications like zetaclear that you can put on top of the nail but a lot of times these creams and ointments seem to work very well on everybody.

 There is some stuff that you can do to help prevent this from happening. It is not guaranteed that you won't get it but, this stuff might help such as: Keep your nails cut back on a regular basis and keep them filed down any where there is thick areas. Don't use the same nail trimmer or file on healthy nails and infected nails always use a fresh materials,if at all possible use disposable materials until the nail infection is clear.. Wear waterproof gloves for wet work,such as washing dishes, mopping floors or any time you have to do any kind of cleaning with household cleaners. To protect your fingers, wear one hundred percent cotton gloves for dry work. You want to keep your hands and nails dry and clean as much as possible so nothing spreads to your nails. The basic necessity is try and keep your nails clean, trimmed, well groomed using fresh and new equipment such as: emery boards, finger nail files, clippers etc. Try and keep your nails from staying submerged in to water or any thing wet. Try when you get a chance to wear gloves when you wash dishes or when cleaning the bathroom. Once you deal with these infections it seems more common to get them over and over. So if you take the above mentioned steps it will really help you not only keep from getting it to begin with. Then if you do deal with them you can still use the above steps to get rid of the nail infection. Just remember to keep your nails clean and dry at all times.