Therapeutic pedicure in Coimbra
Onychomycosis in Coimbra: the clinical name for nail fungus
“Onychomycosis” is the word that turns up on reports, prescriptions and medicine boxes. In everyday conversation it is nail fungus — and it is exactly the same thing.
Where the word comes from
It is built from Greek, like almost every name for a nail disease: onyx, onychos means nail; mykes means fungus; and the ending -osis marks a disease or a process that settles in without acute inflammation.
Put the three together — onycho + myco + osis — and you get “a nail disease caused by fungi”. The name says nothing about which fungus, or which nail: only that.
Other names for the same thing
- Nail fungus, fungal nail infection, nail mycosis — what most people actually say.
- Tinea unguium: the name used when the infection is caused by dermatophytes, the group of fungi behind most cases.
- Onychomycosis is the broader term: it also covers yeasts (such as Candida) and non-dermatophyte moulds.
Why this site says “nail fungus”
Because that is how people speak, and that is how they search. The clinical name sits next to it, in brackets, for whoever arrives holding a report or a prescription and wants to be sure it is the same thing.
It is the same reason why, in the appointment, what can be seen on the nail is explained first and the name for it only afterwards.
Similar words, different problems
- Onychocryptosis
- the ingrown toenail — the nail plate growing into the skin, with no fungus involved. Ingrown toenail
- Onychogryphosis
- the very thick, curved, claw-like nail, almost always from repeated trauma or from age. Thick or deformed nails
- Onycholysis
- the nail lifting away from the nail bed. It can come with onychomycosis, but it also appears on its own after a knock.
- Onychodystrophy
- any change in the shape or texture of the nail, whatever the cause.
The treatment is explained on another page
This page is only about the word. What the infection is, why it happens, what is done in the appointment and how long the new nail takes to grow are all on the page about the problem.
This information is general and meant to help you understand the problem. It does not replace an individual assessment or medical follow-up. If in doubt, book an appointment.
Content reviewed by Priscila Arantes, registered nurse (Ordem dos Enfermeiros no. 117508).