Anyone ever spread toenail fungus to their fingernails?
I'm getting a little germaphobic lately about my toenail fungus infecting everything, and I was wondering how much it's actually spread through clothing, floors, etc. Like, how vigilant do I need to be about handwashing if I'm not directly touching the nail? Has anyone ever spread their fungus to their hands from, say, touching the outside of your socks? Or surfaces/other clothing the socks have touched?
(Honestly need some help, here. It's getting to the point where I'm afraid to touch anything my feet might have come near, and I store a heck of a lot of things at floor level in my house.)
Bonus question: Anyone else have a fungus that makes the nails grow out in thick, overlapping layers? I've got the yellow appearance and dark discoloration under the nail, but never seen the layers thing in photos online.
Re: Anyone ever spread toenail fungus to their fingernails?
Yes, you can spread toenail fungus to fingernails through direct contact with nails, although it has a harder time surviving in the fingernails, because your hands are exposed to hair and stay drier than your feet, trapped in shoes all days. The layers in infected nails are common, and sometimes separate or split off. Be sure not to use clippers or files on your toes, then on your fingers. nail polish can spread fungus too, so I would use separate bottles marked for each. nails constantly covered by acrylics get fungus more easily as well, so better to avoid if you are worried.
Re: Anyone ever spread toenail fungus to their fingernails?
Thanks for the reply, ladybud. I've been good about keeping the clippers separate and never use nail polish anyway, so no contamination happening there. I'm mostly wondering how well the fungus travels through clothing or on rugs. My hand washing is starting to get excessive, lol. (I'm even wary of the computer cord I stepped on today--no way to disinfect that!)
