Nail diseases: focus on onychomycosis and psoriasis

Nail diseases caused by various species of fungi are frequently encountered in daily practice. Onychomycosis is accompanied by a number of unpleasant symptoms and is manifested by hyperkeratosis, onycholysis and other clinical signs. With age, trauma or certain somatic diseases, the natural barrier of the nail plate may be compromised, which allows the infection to develop. In patients with psoriasis, especially those with psoriatic nail lesions and psoriatic arthritis, the incidence of onychomycosis reaches 60%. At the same time in this group of patients there are often such somatic diseases as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and liver pathologies, which limit the choice of drugs for therapy of mycotic infections. In such cases, it is possible to prescribe topical agents with keratolytic properties and containing antimycotic agents other than azoles. With the use of these drugs, the disappearance of symptoms of mycotic infection is observed in 1-2 months. However, the drugs should be used until full regrowth of the nail plate, which usually takes 4-8 months, depending on the age of the patient. Despite the existing difficulties in the therapy of onychomycosis in patients with psoriasis and other chronic diseases, the pharmaceutical market offers highly effective agents indicated for use in this group of patients