Learn the truth about nail fungus and nail health from the American Academy of Dermatology.

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The brittle, discolored nail pictured to the right may be a sign of a fungus infection. These persistent infections may lead to disfiguring sight and may occasionally be difficult to treat. While the diagnosis can always be strongly suspected by a trained health care professional, the only definitive way to establish the diagnosis is with a biopsy or nail scraping.

Why would a biopsy be important? Unfortunately, there are other diseases that can mimic a nail fungal infection but would require a very different treatment. One condition seen below is psoriasis of the nails. We are accustomed to thinking of psoriasis as a condition involving the skin and scalp but the nails are a frequent body site of affliction. A biopsy of the nail can definitively establish the diagnosis. An even rarer condition is a skin cancer arising within the nail and nail bed. As surprising as it sounds, a squamous cell carcinoma and even a melanoma can arise in this location. Thus any unusual change in the appearance of your nail should prompt a visit to the dermatologist or a health care professional familiar with diseases of the nail.

Onychomycosis is the medical term for a fungal infection of the nail. There are many different types of fungi that can infect the nail. The photomicrograph above illustrates a common fungus known as Trichophyton.

The only definitive way to diagnose this condition and to determine the proper course of treatment is to obtain a biopsy or nail scraping to be reviewed and diagnosed by a qualified dermatopathologist.