Nail fungus photos are not pleasant to look at, but if you think you have a fungal infection in one or more of your toenails or fingernails, it's worth your while to take a look at some pictures of the infection. Though onychomycosis, fungal infection in the nails, is very common, there are many other things that can make a finger- or toenail look ugly. It's a good idea to be sure of what you are dealing with before you spend time and money on treatment.

Even if you find nails fungus pics that look a lot like what you have, it's still a good idea to visit your doctor and get a professional opinion. Nail fungus photos don't tell the whole story. If there is any doubt about the diagnosis, your doctor can take a specimen and send it to the medical laboratory for confirmation. The specimen will consist of a few nail clippings, or any sections of the nail that are crumbly and can be easily removed. Doctors sometimes gently scrape away a few skin cells as well, if the skin in the area looks like it might be affected. These specimen collections should not hurt unless your finger or toe is already very sensitive.

In the laboratory, your specimen is distributed to culture media that grow fungi, and then incubated to see if anything will grow. This can take a few weeks because fungi grow relatively slowly. Culture provides information that a nail fungus photo cannot, even if it is indeed onychomycosis: more than one species of fungus infects humans, and it is often helpful to know which type you are dealing with. In nail fungus pics, they generally look very much the same.

There are plenty of nail fungus pics published on the internet. Just typing in nail fungus photos in the Google search bar will yield lots of hits. One of the better sites is at the Hardin Library for Health Sciences at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/toenailfunguspictures.html. This page provides a whole list of links where you can see more pictures of infected toes and fingers than you are probably going to want to look at. Take a look at some pictures of nail problems that are not caused by fungi, so you can make a valid comparison. Then, if you have such a problem, make an appointment with your doctor.