Nail Fungus

Diagnosis

Because the symptoms of nail fungus can mimic those of other diseases, your physician will first take a medical history. The questions will include questions to distinguish nail fungus from other conditions with similar symptoms, including psoriasis, contact dermatitis, nail bed tumors, and yellow nail syndrome (whose symptoms are caused by pulmonary disease).

Your doctor will perform a visual examination of the nails, followed by laboratory testing. After examining your nails, your physician should scrape some of the infected tissue from your nail for examination. He or she may observe the tissue under a microscope to look for fungi, or alternatively, your physician may try to grow the fungus in culture to identify it.