Nail and Skin Yeast Infections - Causes,Symptoms,Treatment and Prevention

Candida yeast can infect the skin as much as any other area of the body. Skin yeast infections are much more rare because skin is usually open to air and not chronically moist. However, given the right conditions, skin yeast infections will grow and spread. A skin yeast infection can happen for a number of reasons anywhere on the skin from nailbeds to toenails to chins to backs. All it takes are the right conditions.

Causes

Skin yeast infections are caused by conditions that allow Candida yeasts to flourish. Skin yeast infections are not nearly as common as genital and oral yeast infections because Candida thrives in moist, neutral to slightly acidic environments with plenty of sugars and starches to feed on. External skin doesn't often meet these requirements, but under certain circumstances this can change. Anything from a chronic thumbsucker to an athlete who doesn't change his socks often enough can create moist, food rich conditions ripe for a skin yeast infection to grow. Considering that the yeast is everywhere in our natural environment, that's all it really takes. The normal, everyday conditions that can contribute to a skin yeast infection are vast.Anytime a place on the body is chronically moist, Candida has an opening. People who are obese may have skin folds that don't get air very often and collect perspiration, thus causing / providing a perfect opening for a skin yeast infection to get in. 

Cracked Fingernails

Cracks or split occur on fingernails when it turns brittle. The medical term for cracked brittle nails is onychoschizia. It is more commonly found in women than in men. It is a clear indication that the nails are not in a healthy state. There are several factors that can be responsible for cracks in the fingernails. Lack of moisture can dry out the nails and make them brittle. If the nails are exposed to lots of harsh chemicals present in soap, nails polish or nail polish remover, then it can become dry and brittle. Those who have underlying health disorder like malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, circulation problem, skin disease such as psoriasis may also get cracked fingernails quite often.

Remedies for Cracked Fingernails

There are simple ways to get rid of the problem of cracked fingernails. A few of them are as follows:

Eat Healthy Foods
When your nails are unhealthy you must include all such foods in your diet that improves your nail health. Leafy vegetables, carrot, broccoli, citrus fruits, tomatoes walnuts, peanuts, Brewer's yeast, soybeans, egg yolk are some food items that are essential for healthy nails. Additionally, take biotin supplements which can prevent breakage of fingernails.

Keep your Body Hydrated
As lack of moisture in the nails is one of the cause of dry and cracked fingernails, you must keep your body hydrated with 8-10 glasses of water everyday. This will prevent drying out of the nails and thus the chances of split on them is quite less..

Protect your Nails
Frequent hand washing can have a damaging effect on your nails. When excessive moisture get absorbed into the nails, then they become weak and fragile. Moreover, harsh chemicals present in soaps can cause a lot of harm to the nails. So, you must use a mild soap with high moisturizer content for washing your hands. To protect your nails from harmful effects of laundry detergents or dish washing soap, wear rubber gloves while washing dishes or clothes.

Moisturize your Nails
An excellent natural moisturizer for damaged, brittle fingernails is olive oil. Soak your fingernails into a bowl of olive oil for few minutes and then massage the oil well into the nails and fingers. Petroleum jelly is equally effective for adding moisture and repairing cracked fingernails.

Treat the Infection
When you have yellow cracked fingernails, then it is a sign of fungal infection in the nails. Nail fungus can be treated with anti-fungal creams. You can try a natural remedy for nail fungus with the help of apple cider vinegar. Soak a cotton ball into apple cider vinegar and apply it thoroughly all over the infected nail. This will fight off the infection really well.

How to Repair Cracked Fingernails

There is no doubt about the fact that the appearance of splitting fingernail is unsightly and you hate to see it gain and again. Moreover, the crack may cause pain and discomfort as well. To get rid of this problem, you can repair the cracked nail with the help of nail glue. Take a toilet tissue and cut it in the shape of fingernail. Now, move up the cracked part of the fingernail slightly and put the tissue into the crack. While doing this, just take care that the tissue does not get folded under the nail. Next, apply a minute droplet of nail glue on the tissue that lies outside the nail. Let the applied glue spread up to the crack that lies below the nail and leave it untouched for about half an hour. Once the glue is dry, use a nail file to remove the extra portion of the tissue which is not glued to the cracked part of the nails. Thus you can repair your cracked nails.

Cracked fingernails can be prevented to some extent with a little bit of nail care. Keep the nails clean and dry. While cleaning the nails, do not pick the nails too much as it can cause crack in them. Nail biting is a bad habit and should be avoided as it weakens the nails. Do not use nay nail polish remover which has acetone or formaldehyde as these chemicals are bad for the nails. When you go for manicure, it is advisable that you use your own instruments.

Ways to Stop Biting Nails

Nail biting, thumb sucking and other bad habits, usually come forward from a childhood that sprouted habitual acts that stuck with us right up to our adolescent and even beyond our teenage years. I for one have an odd habit, which I don't necessarily find bad - skin smelling. I know that sounds weird, but smelling either the crook of my arm while sleeping to take in a fragrance, or breathing in strong whiffs of a scent from someone who smells nice, has been a habit that I've had for as long as I can remember. I now have a strong sense of smell, and can pick up faint odors and aromas instantly.

It's a habit I can actually live with as opposed to something like nail biting and thumb sucking, or even something like a habit where one is obsessively pulling his/her hair out called trichotillomania. All these habits have a way of ruining us in the long run, and doesn't have to boil down to one doing it as a child, but could be because of some problem that was sitting in the dark has now a stronger hold as one grows up.

Nail biting, or what is scientifically known as onychopphagia, is a stress relieving problem that occurs usually from the time one is a teen, to later in their adult life. Be it boredom, stress, anxiety, excitement or when one isn't doing anything, this habit crops up and is termed as a 'nervous habit'. Even things like grinding one's teeth, and constantly picking at one's noise, are bad traits that must be stopped when adults notice their kids do it.

Nail biting doesn't have to do with one's environment or biological factors only, but is seen as a way of grooming oneself and unconsciously picking at his/her body be it his/her nails, hair or nose. There are disorders that come into play like body dysmorphic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or compulsive self mutilation which I've mentioned (hair pulling). These habits can run in a family, passing down from previous generations. They can be dealt with either by natural solutions that you can try at home, or if way out of hand - medicines and psychotherapy.

Natural Ways to Stop Biting Nails

For ways to quit biting nails, we've compiled some remedial suggestions that could help someone you either know or yourself for that matter, to nip the habit in the bud. Now that the nail biting causes have been explored, let's find out what you can do about how to stop biting nails.

• If one were to file their nails constantly, like say every third day, then finding a good edge on your nail would be hard to pick at with your teeth.
• Placing acrylic nails over the ones you have, will serve the purpose of avoiding a nail biting session from taking place.
• Manicures for girls/women would work, since they can tell themselves of how they'd be ruining a perfect set of nails by biting them.
• If you/kids have a bad time dealing with nail biting, then getting braces affixed would make it pretty hard to bite down on your cuticles. Read further into, nail biting in children, for help.
• The key to finding ways to stop biting cuticles, is to distract one from finding a way to do so. Chewing gum will keep one's mouth busy, and therefore help in not biting.
• A water soluble solution called B vitamin inositol, is a medicine that is broken down in the brain, urging the production of serotonin, which is usually used for those suffering from OCD problems. Over time this can prove to be useful.
• Applying nail hardener to one's nail will not make the job easy of destroying these using your teeth.
• Wear gloves to avoid a nail biting problem. Feeling hopeless? Go to nail biting remedies for more ideas.

Alternative Methods on How to Stop Nail Biting

If no natural means work when it comes to treating nail biting, then your only option is to seek medical help and try out cognitive therapy. The nail biting treatment options available to people are.

Stimulus Control
It is a session which confronts one's environmental attributes, finding ways of eliminating the problems that lead up to nail biting. Once the changes are made, and the mood is altered, then consciously one is made to give up the habit. If one were to open up about how and where this habit takes place, then psychotherapists will find ways to change one's setting in order to keep him/her distracted from nail biting.

Habit Reversal Training
It is a process of relaxing a person, making them feel at one with themselves, with certain muscle exercises included to help with the process of quitting.

Self Monitoring
People are kept under supervision, and a log is made out of their everyday habits that they put together themselves. When he/she is addressed with these, a kind of understanding is developed, reducing the chances of the nail biting habit from taking place.

Competing Response
Those who suffer from prolonged nail biting are given alternative methods to keep their hands busy to allow them to shift away from that urge to attack their nails. They're encouraged to start sewing, knitting, use toys as a way of distracting themselves or getting into activities to keep their minds busy.

With these ways on how to stop nail biting, you should in time, find a way to snuff the habit using these nail biting cures. There are other alternatives in tips to stop biting nails given, that go hand in hand with thumb sucking, like a medicine based solution that carries a bitter taste to keep nail biters and thumb suckers at bay when applied on these areas. Remember that with this habit, comes repercussions like sores in one's mouth, bloody nails and the possibility of a mouth infection. Stop biting!