ABSTRACT
Onychomycosis causes disturbance of the nail morphology and results in thickening, discoloration, splitting, and lifting of the nail from the nail bed (Baker et al. 2007). Old age (poor peripheral circulation, inactivity, inability to cut the toenails, etc.), diabetes, psoriasis or cancer diseases, abnormal nail morphology or repeated nail trauma, immunode—ciency, and genetic factors were identi—ed as risk factors for initial infections (Pierard et al. 2005; Tosti et al. 2005). In onychomycosis, toenails are four to ten times more frequently affected than —ngernails, probably because of their slower growth and increased exposure to injury and infecting organisms (Baran and Kaoukhov 2005). Fingernails appear to be involved more often in females whereas toenails are involved more often in males. Clinical manifestations of nail psoriasis (pitting, discoloration, onycholysis and subungual hyperkeratosis, nail plate crumbling, and splinter hemorrhages; Murdan 2008) affect both —ngernails and toenails in the majority of patients (Baran 2010).
