Gross Toenail Fungus

You will die with it.

after u get out of the shower clean them thorughyl....squeaky clean!

At least he won't die from it! I have the same problem. I wish I could get rid of it.

Cleaning your toenails thoroughly after getting out of the shower is step 1. Next, rub some Vicks Vaporub on your toenails. It will take a month or so to see progress.

I have a case of athletes foot also. Fortunately, mine is almost entirely on the soles of my feet. However, I do have it mildly on a few nails. I asked my primary care physician for a prescription of Lamisil tablets. This is supposed to be one of the best treatments available. He said that my insurance insists that a specialist presribes the medication. So the primary doctor gave me a prescription for Nystatin/Triamcinolone cream USP and a referral to a podiatrist.

First, we discussed the Lamisil tablets. The podiatrist told me a couple interesting things. He said that studies show that Lamisil tablets don't work very well when only a few toenails are affected. They work better when all 10 nails look bad and I think I remember that he said the worse they look the better the Lamisil results. Next, he told me that things like Athlete's Foot become resistant to treatments over time just like bacteria become resistant to anti-bacterial soap... So, treatments we used to use are no longer very effective. He suggested to continue with the Nystatin since I had already started. He also used an electronic file to remove the worst affected area of my toe nail. He said to use the cream on the nails as well as the soles of the feet.

A few weeks later I had a follow up visit and the Nystatin hadn't worked well. So, he prescribed Naftin 1% cream. I'm supposed to use this twice a day but have only used it once a day since I'm lazy. That's probably not a good idea. Anyway, the nail that has grown back looks much better. (I wish he would grind down or remove all of my affected toe nails and let them start all over.) The skin is not really any better looking but the slight itchyness is gone and the skin under my small toe that was opened up is now healed. Don't know if that's because I'm drying my feet really well after taking a shower or if it's from the medicine.

Anyway, the nails are really tough to solve but you should see a doctor about this. Don't know if a podiatrist is best. Wouldn't you think a dermatologist would be better?

In the meantime, dry your feet really well. Wear shoes that are ventilated if you can. Wash and dry your feet before putting medicine on...

Most important, address this problem sooner than later. I have a feeling that when the problem looks twice as bad it's actually much more than twice as hard to get rid of it.

Good luck.

This may sound ridiculous, but try applying Vicks Vaporub. Apply it right to the nail. It works. Doctors don't know why, but some doctors know about this. It's a very cheap solution to your problem, and I bet it'll work.

There is a syndicated columnist, named Peter Gott, MD, 200 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016. I don't have an e-mail for him. Sorry. He has received testimonials from thousands of people that say this works.

I think you're supposed to apply the vaporub twice a day, morning and night. I hope this works for you.

Yep... my podiatrist told me to use Vicks Vaporub. Meanwhile, I just lost the toenail of my big toe on my left foot. Hurts like hell.

Hadn't heard of the Vap-O-Rub, but sounds interesting/plausible. Quite possibly it's like duct tape being the easiest/most effective treatment for plantar warts.

I heard from someone that making a paste of cornmeal (kind of ugali-like consistency) and soaking the affected toe in it would also clear things up. Anyone heard that, or tried it?

Sounds like Vicks Vaporub wins so far:

3 posts for Vicks Vaporub

1 post for Nystatin/Triamcinolone

1 post for cornmeal paste

I also read today that using distilled white vinegar on your toes twice a day or using bleach gets rid of it. So with the Vicks, you just rub it on your nails and that's it? Or do you try to get it underneath the nail?

Vicks Vaporub didn't work for me. I tried for about 6 months. It did make thick nails fall off, but the new ones came in just as ugly as the old ones. I believe that it works for some people.

Lamisil tablets, they actually work. Over 50% permanent success rate according to studies, I had the problem for years, tried Vicks, tea tree oil, no luck. You might be able to get them cheap through your insurance.

I have been applying Vicks for a couple of weeks, liberally at least twice a day. Although my fungus isn't gone, it does seem to be improving. The one yellowish nail has become more white and much less crusty. My two big toenails had been a very cloudy white, which is less pronounced now, and clearing up pink in patches. I can't quite tell what the new nail is like yet since they grow so slowly. Overall, it is too early for me to boast of the long-term effects, but so far I'm a cautious belieiver of the Vicks cure.

I filed my toe nail down and applied bleach with a Q-tip. It worked on half my toe nail, perhaps not surprisingly on the half that I had filed down the thinnest

Take a power drill and careful drill through the toenail to expose the fungus. The fungus among us will not survive.

So, the other night I was talking with my parents about my foot condition. I have been talking to them for two months about this. I gave them an update on the soles of my feet but said that the medication had no visible effect on my nails.

I said that I read this thread and that some people mentioned the Vicks. My mom then tells me that they've both been using Vicks and that both of them have seen decent improvement for their nails.

She said they've been using it for 6 months now but in the two months that I've been talking to them neither had mentioned the Vicks to me. What's wrong with them. Good thing I saw this thread. I'll try the Vicks, too.

lamisil wrote:Lamisil tablets, they actually work. Over 50% permanent success rate according to studies, I had the problem for years, tried Vicks, tea tree oil, no luck. You might be able to get them cheap through your insurance.

I'm on Lamisil tablets now. They've changed the dosing structure (take them a week, wait eleven weeks, take again; repeat for a total of three cycles) that not only cuts way down on the amount of medicine you take but also boosts the cure rate to over 90% now.

Oral meds are the only thing that works once it gets into the nail bed. The topical stuff only works when there's no nail bed involvement, and most of the time these things have nail bed infections.

My insurance covers it; I forget what my cost is but it's not bad.

Zat0pek wrote:

(take them a week, wait eleven weeks, take again; repeat for a total of three cycles)

Should have said a total of four cycles; repeat three more time after the original cycle.

After I drill through the nail, then what?