Try listerine with white vinegar and tea tree oil remedy too. They really works although very slow but the thing is you will not take risk damaging your liver by taking oral medications.
I too had a bad case of toe nail fungus. Over the counter creams and stuff did nothing for me. Kaiser Permanete gave me some oral meds that lasted for 6 months and did nothing. Eventually after switching health care providers I went in and the Nurse Practitioner was shocked and what had happened with my feet. It no longer was just the nails, massive sheets of skin was dropping off each foot. She gave me something different that was much shorter duration and it cleaned it right up. I wish I could tell you what it was, but it was over a decade ago.
I happen to think our bodies respond to different drugs differently and so if you have this, and want to get rid of it, you should work with a health care provider as the fungus is IN the nail bed not on the nail.
soak you r toe in a solution made fron half gallon of warm water and 5 cups of vinegar,soak as long as you can i soakd 2 hours.now that the nail is soft take a sharp knife and start scraping the thick nail as thin as possibe without completely removing the middle part of toenail.now that the nail is thin cover your toenail with vicks vapor rub.continue daily until nail is clear.vinegar and vicks slow the ability for fungus to reproduce so the normal growth rate of the nail pushes contaminated nail out being replaced at bottom by new nail.be patient and consistant soak once a day put vicks on in morning and evening.took a year to be done but i overlooked it longer than that.this cure was recomended by a foot doctor and the treatment of ingrown toenail was 400 bucks.so ill pass it along to you for just $19.99 send all payments to hairbears hiking fund.dont scrape the center of the toe thinner than the sides to the point where you expose the layer under the nail this will become thick and slow the regrowth of the toenail.
sorry you only have to scrape the nail thin once not daily i should have been more clear.the rest dailyOriginally Posted by Hairbear
you must have been looking at your picture when typing......grin
Tosto, I agree that toenail fungus isdisgusting, and your concern is viable about it spreading to your other toes.There is actually an easier way of dealing with toenail fungus through lasertreatment. Check outhttp://www.mynycpodiatrist.com/patient-education/articles/toenail-fungus-treatment,which entails the benefits of laser treatment and what patients say about it.
Hope this helps.
I had a 20+ year old bottle of NP27 I bought for jock itch in high school and thought I'd try it on the toe nail fungus rather than throwing it away, worked.
Haven't seen anyone mention Formula 3 which my podiatrist gave me. Takes about a year but I've seen great results.
2,000 miler. Still keepin' on keepin' on.
Head & Shoulders shampoo is supposed to have anti-fungal properties. Just shampoo your feet
when you shower. I too have the toe nail fungus. Used a little bit of everything in the past. Now-
using Head & Shoulders plus peroxide and Vics. Cut the nails back regularly and as short as possible.
Little by little I'm winning the battle. But you have to stay patient and stay with it!!
Do what you think is best for yourself but personally I wouldn't take a prescription medication for toe nail fungus when I can take a more pro-active approach that can work equally as fast, if not faster, better, and cheaper OFTEN without the possible added side risks/complications that CAN come with oral prescription anti-fungal drugs prescribed for the nails. I use tea tree oil(100 % solution) liberally applied to the cuticles at least twice a day(makes a good on-trail cologne too), Vick's Vapor Rub(again liberally rubbed into the cuticles, active ingredients: camphor, eucalyptus oil, menthol, adding other herbal oils like Maple suggested might be better than just straight Vicks), Oregano Oil(antifungal properties, it marginally repels gnats and skeeters as well as nasty nail fungus, could be improved upon if adding other anti-fungal/bacterial herbal oils such as Geranium, Thyme, Lavender, Camphor, or Eucalyptus oils, Humm I wonder if any of those herbal insect repellant concoctions might do double duty for nail fungus too?, let's apply double duty UL principles to nail fungus/insect dope too, Hongo Nail Fungus KILLLER(main active ingedient is acetic acid which you can get cheaper from Vinegar, acetic acid is very drying so if using vinegar you might want to follow up with an anti-fungal moisturizer/skin cooler which Hongo does with aloe vera), Lamisil(topical cream, has worked reasonably well and quickly(3 months) for me in the past with only moderate nail fungus), and Lavender Oil in a solid at room temp Olive Oil base made by Bert's Bees(smells great, another on trail cologne). Some of these also work well for dry cracked skin(cracked heels, chafed skin, etc) and sore overly calloused hiking feet or for athlete's feet not on/under the nails.
Haven't tried garlic specifically for nail fungus although I do ocassionally add fresh garlic to my dinner meals for it's anti-bacteria, anti-fungal, and anti-intestinal parasite qualites To my knowledge I have NEVER contracted an intestinal parasite after umpteen trail miles and only treating my water with AM two part drops 10 % of the time while drinking from on trail water sources. Liberally rubbing a fresh garlic clove on exposed skin also marginally helps some hikers repel flying biting nasties and makes you smell like you work as a chef in an Italian/East Indian Restaurant.
Personally, I would not apply any chlorine to my skin whether it be straight bleach or chlorine based pool chemicals as both can burn the skin causing scaring. Chlorine is also transdermal in that it can be absorbed through the skin. Chlorine IS NOT something you typically want your body absorbing. It's a poison.
These remedies have been proven to work for many people over the years so I wouldn't define them as old wive's tales BUT no one remedy works for all people all the time.
The herbal oils can be purchased at low to moderate prices at herbal or health food stores. Lamisal topical cream(about $8-12 per tube), Hongo(about $10-12, although I would just go with the vinegar), or Fungisal(about *7 at Wally World) are in most pharmacies as well as Vicks being in every pharmacy. Bert's Bee's Lavender Res-Q Ointment in a small trail friendly sized 1/2 - 1 oz can be found in grocery stores, pharmacies, and other places for about $3.
You might pay particularly close attention to your feet, especially when on trail, BEFORE serious fungal infections develop. I think nail fungal infections are definitely one of those things that's easier and less time consuming to prevent than to cure. I would guess, at every other resupply stop I trim my nails, file them smooth, soak my feet, apply skin and cuticle moisturizer, lightly sand/file rasp down overly calloused foot skin, apply one of the remedies I mentioned if I think it's needed, and wash my orthotics. If I think I need it I'll wash out my trail runners well and spray with something for athlete's foot but I'm not bashful about discarding old smelly traiil runners with fungus before the soles are worn through either. New shoes. Yippee! I also change into dry clean merino wool socks and air out my feet regularly when on trail. Makes a nice reason to stop at that overlook for 15 min. and check for hot spots to prevent blisters too.
The suggestion to cut down sugar intake might be helpful to some too because it breaks down into what many types of fungus feed on.
This may all sound excessive but the way I approach it is if I don't properly care for my feet not only might I develop nasty serious nail fungus and my girlfriend will not play footsie with me but I might not be able to thru-hike and then ARRGGGH!
+1!!!!!!!!
Cat in the Hat
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