Toenail fungus (eww!)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Last spring (2011), I developed a red mark under a portion of my left, big toenail.

That eventually turned yellow.

I went to the doctor, who cut most of the affected nail off with snips (the yellow area was not connected to the nail bed), then took a culture. Yep, fungus (eww!).

He immediately suggested medication if it turned out to be fungus. Umm, no way! It’s only about a quarter inch from the edge of the nail, and maybe 3/8" wide.

I asked him if he could completely remove the nail, then I could use a topological cream to kill any remaining fungus, since everything I read says that the fungus is easy to kill, if you can get to it.

He said we could talk about it after the culture comes back, but my impression was that he’d only offer medication.

And so, after being confirmed that it was fungus, I started soaking the foot in a solution of vinegar. That lasted maybe a week (PIA).

I then started soaking the foot in a solution of bleach and warm water. I’d then cut the nail back as far as possible when it softened up.

That actually started to work, but then I got shipped overseas for 3 months for work, and didn’t feel like (nor had the time) to buy bleach and something to soak my foot in.

And so it worsened.

I got home in April and resumed the soaks, which seem to work, but the nail grows so damn fast, that the fungus seems to get a toe hold (pun!) and worsen, then I cut the nail again. I can’t cut the nail it constantly, since I need some bit of growth to actually get the clippers under to cut, and that little bit (1/32") seems to allow the fungus to thrive.

Grrrr.

So now I’m thinking, why not take a dremel with a cutting wheel (the sandpaper disk) and cut the nail right to the edge of the cuticle.

Just writing that made my palms sweaty, since I have a good feeling it’s going to hurt like hell. Maybe a few pulls of Wild Turkey 101 first?

Who am I kidding, what a dumb idea. And yet…

So how do I get rid of it? It’s such a small area, so medication seems like way overkill, especially given what it can do to your liver (and mine is taxed as it is). I’m to the point now of washing the foot, then prying the nail up and getting straight bleach under it with a q-tip. Again, starts to work, but the nail seems to only need to be a 1/32" long for the fungus to take hold again, and I just can’t seem to trim that little bit off.

Maybe drop a dumb bell on the nail and hope it falls off?

What a nuisance.

2

The medication, Lamisil, isn’t that dangerous, especially if you get labs every month to monitor your liver. Even if your enzymes do go up, they’ll almost certainly go back down after stopping it. And it’s cheap now that it’s gone generic, too- as little as $4 a month at some places and you don’t even have to go through your insurance for it.

Topical meds don’t usually work very well, but if you are adamant, then I have heard that applying Vick’s VapoRub every night can help.

3

I have read in numerous places that Vick’s Vaporub works on toenail fungus. Here’s one link that talks about it.

ETA: Ninja’d by Alice The Goon!

4

Right, drinking and self-inflicted power tools rarely ends well.

Consult your doctor before removing body parts, but tell him that you are getting to that point of desperation yourself. Your doc may not think it’s as big a deal as you think it is.

I have a fungal infection, but it has spread to most of my toes. According to my doctors (3 in total, so I consider that a 2nd and 3rd opinion), it’s a small-cell systemic infection, meaning it’s throughout my body, and manhandling my toenails is just going to kill the messenger. They could fight it with the same drugs they use to combat other small-cell systemic infections; apparently it’s this stuff called “chemotherapy.” No, thank you. In the meantime, I’ve started using a gel called NonyX which looks to be vinegar in a gel form; smear it on the toenails after a shower and the discoloration should go away, so it’s simply a cosmetic fix, it’s not killing anything. Doesn’t seem to be having much effect yet.

5

If the nail is gone, then topological should work, since it will be directly on the fungus. I think.

And my understanding is that medication is only something like 70% effective. I don’t think it’s worth it.

6

There’s also FungiCure. Luckily, I have no experience with it, other than the gross commercials.

ETA: You should also consider treating all your shoes with the anti-fungal powders made for athlete’s foot.

7

Per an old thread, I used tea tree oil and it worked well.

8

It’s my understanding that many fungi don’t do well in warm tissue, which is one reason why humans aren’t afflicted with them more than we are, and why they tend to show up most on extremities when we are.

So…how’s your circulation? Do your feet stay warm throughout the day? It may be that the warmth of the soaks are helping as much as the bleach. If so, and if you’re really that adamantly opposed to the medication your doctor has recommended, you might try measures to keep your feet warmer and your circulation stimulated. I have no idea what your typical day is like, but perhaps warm socks (liberally dosed with anti-fungal powder) and–if you spend a lot of time sitting–regular breaks for short, brisk walks?

Note that I am not anything like a doctor, or even a biologist. I’m only suggesting this because you’re rejecting your real doctor’s advice and might as well try something a bit more scientific than getting drunk and grinding your toe off.

9

I have sweaty feet (like gallons a day), but no odor (thank you Smartwool socks).

I also sit at a desk all day, but do get up quite often to move around.

I like your idea of the anti-fungal powder.

And don’t worry, the dremel idea is off the table.

I think I’ll go back to cutting and soaking. A hammer may or may not enter the picture.

10

I’ve heard there’s a laser treatment available, although I don’t know anything else about that.

I did it this way too. I had what seemed to be toenail fungus on both big toenails, and after reading up on things online I decided to try the tea tree oil treatment. I got some tea tree oil at the drugstore and applied this twice a day to the nail with cotton balls. I did this until I’d used the whole bottle; I intended to buy another bottle but kept forgetting. But the nails seemed to be growing in healthily, and they have continued to do so. They are now about 3/4 normal looking again, although it’s taken months and months for that much healthy nail to grow in. I couldn’t swear that the tea tree oil was what did it, but the problem had been lingering for a while before I tried the tea tree oil

11

I’ll have to give it a try.

12

Medical advice and anecdotes go in IMHO, so let me move this thither (from MPSIMS).

13

Keep in mind that toenail damage can look a lot like fungus- thick and discolored. This will grow out and disappear as new nail grows in and it gets cut off, causing people to think that their fungus remedies have worked, when it was never fungus in the first place.

14

I’m not so sure that toenail fungus is that gross. I have a fungal infection in my armpit. As I wait for the medication to work on it, the infected area is red, moist, puffy and stinks to high heaven.

15

I had under the big toenail fungus for years and just thought it was hopeless. My brother said he used this stuff and it got rid of his in a couple months. So I tried it and it got rid of mine in a couple months. Best $10 I ever spent.

16

That’s “topical”, dude. The other word means something completely different. I don’t think you want to deform your toenail mathematically; the fungus is probably doing a bang-up job already.

17

I second this (referring to one my mother had–which was awful) That and keeping it out of closed toed shoes while she treated it, even though it was kinda icky. But she’s fine now.

But makes sure she keeps her toes well aired out just in case. (She never took prescription meds, she’s kinda paranoid that way.)

Also, kept it clipped, clean and dry.

18

Okay, just had to say, this thread is so weird to me because of the coincidences.

My boyfriend’s nickname name? Sparky. His problem? Nail fungus as well.

Unlike the OP, my Sparky has more of a walking around/lifting job. He’s had the fungus for a year, maybe year and a half now. From what it sounds like, he thinks he caught it from his family members that he lives with…It’s really bad looking. The most extreme case I’ve ever seen to the point that he’s had toenails fall off. What amazes me is that he’s so “meh” about it! I understand not wanting to use liver-damaging medication, but he doesn’t seem to really care enough to go see a doctor. Would a doctor even be able to do much besides prescribe liver-damaging medication at this point?

He’s extremely clean and uses topical gel but it really didn’t have an affect. I’ll have to mention the tea tree oil. Does it hurt/burn?

19

Mine had been thick and yellow for about a decade, maybe more. Just the one little toe, so was living with it. Read about the oil, and since I had some already (tried it for exema, didn’t work) I gave it a go. Put it on morning and night. After a week or so, the nail started coming in clear. Since the pinky toenail is so short, it didn’t take as long for mine to finish up.

Eta: oil doesn’t burn, at least on unbroken skin. Bit does smell mediciney though.

20

I had toenail fungus for most of my life, from like 10 years old until I finally got it cured when I was 40. Nasty, nasty stuff that slowly spreads to other toes. For actual nail fungus there is no topical cure, I’ve tried them all. There are lots of things at the drug store that claim to be a cure and they may kill fungus but they can’t do anything about the stuff living under your nail. What did the job for me was Sporanox prescribed by my dermatologist. It requires blood tests to make sure it isn’t causing other problems. You take it for something like 6 months while your nails grow out.

That seems like a lot to go through just to cure a little fungus under a toenail but I had it most of my life, it had spread to other toes and some people are really grossed out by it. It is surprising how normal people, who would never think of ridiculing any other sick person, think nothing of joking about how disgusting people with nail fungus are. Like we can just stop any time we want. I didn’t go outside with my toes showing for years.