Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy
Open Access

Short Communication

Can we Prevent Onychomycosis?

Tiffany T Mayo, Wendy Cantrell and Boni E Elewski*
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA
Corresponding Author :	Boni E. Elewski University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL 35294-0009, USA Tel: 205-934-5188 E-mail: beelewski@gmail.com
Received April 17, 2014; Accepted June 13, 2014; Published June 24, 2014
Citation: Mayo TT, Cantrell W and Elewski BE (2014) Can we Prevent Onychomycosis?. J Infect Dis Ther 2:148. doi:10.4172/2332-0877.1000148
Copyright: © 2014 Mayo TT, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Onychomycosis is a fungal infection involving the nail unit. Distal lateral subungal onychomycosis (DLSO) is the most common subtype and usually results from untreated tinea pedis. Once fungus has invaded the nail unit, it can be a challenge to treat. Though onychomycosis has been historically viewed as a cosmetic concern, treating this disease is important due to potential complications, especially in elderly and immunocompromised individuals. As the incidence continues to increase, it is vital for health professionals to understand that onychomycosis may be prevented by treating tinea pedis.