I started using vaporub last May. I would slather the nail with a big glob, then wrap with gauze and tape, keeping the nail soaked in it all day. I’d get home at night, remove the gauze, thoroughly wash both feet, then reapply the vaporub with gauze.
I did that straight for 4 months. No change.
What it has allowed me to do, though, is to pull the nail up to clean skin and cut the nail back. I’m able to get all the way to perfectly clean nail. The next morning, if untreated, the exposed nail bed becomes all flaky and white, like a fungal infection.
So I tried one of those OTC fungal “drying” liquids. Used that for another 2 months with no change.
I’m travelling for work now for quite a bit. I usually just leave the toe alone, only doing a thorough washing at night.
The nail will grow over that bad nail bed and become white and weak. I then use the vaporub for a day to moisten it and cut it back to the clean nailbed. What is exposed is white flaky skin that can easily be pried off to red skin. I seem able to do this endlessly.
I have bad psoriasis as well that manifests as raised areas of flaky white skin. I’ve started thinking that maybe that nail bed is actually psoriasis. I had the nail tested back in 2011 and it came back as fungus. But what if that was a false positive?
Anyway, I’m living with it at the moment. I’m actually in South America now and near the ocean. I’ve been thinking I should take a daily walk through the surf and see if the saltwater helps. Maybe I’ll do that this afternoon.
I’m do home in a few months and will see my Doctor.
I’d think the gauze/tape routine might be making things worse, by keeping the area moist and blocking air circulation. I’ve also heard soaking your toes in old-school yellow Listerine can help.
IANAD and this is anecdotal, but taking colostrum (health food store supplement or online) helps the body’s own immune system fight off the fungus. It worked for me after battling toenail fungus for 10 years or so and for several other ppl Ive talked to. Once the fungus was gone I continued to take it but you may not have to.
As others have said, keeping the toenail trimmed back to the quick and trimming away as much of the fungus as possible, and keeping the feet clean and dry is imperative. I would not go removing the entire toenail myself tho!
This thread keeps popping up like a mushroom. It looks like I have a nail under attack. The following is a laundry list of possible treatments mentioned in this post. Any updates appreciated. Debating whether to just goto the doctor. Thanks.
I’ve had a spot of toenail fungus on each of my big toes for at least 35 years; at least since 1979. No thickening of the nail or anything unsightly beyond a yellow patch under each nail. The yellow patches have not changed in size since then. I dealt with the problem about 1980 by painting my toenails/getting pedicures (I’m female) to hide the discoloration and that’s worked just fine ever since.
I have also lost a toenail, when someone dropped a couch on my foot and the new nail retained the fungus-y patch.
I’ve always regarded it as just a part of me, and never considered going to a doctor since it’s never been obviously unsightly or uncomfortable and I’m otherwise healthy as the proverbial horse.
My dad had several fungus-afflicted toenails, and when it didn’t respond to conventional treatments, he had the toenails removed by a podiatrist. My sister came for a visit and didn’t know about it (she lives a couple thousand miles away) and he was sitting in the lounge chair barefoot and she freaked out. Those toes looked like they had been partially amputated.
No, it won’t kill you, but it really can adversely affect your quality of life.
I still worked at the grocery store when Penlac came out, and more than one man was a little skeeved at the idea of using - yikes - TOENAIL POLISH, but hey, that was the treatment.
I called him last night and he pretty much agrees with what is being reported. Laser treatments may be slightly effective but there isn’t much data supporting it and it’s expensive.
He used a Groupon and got two treatments for a pretty cheap price. His nails were really thick and yellow starting out. After the treatments he has seen some improvement in a healthier looking nail bed, but nothing you would call definitive.
I started dating a woman in July who does professional cosmatology (sp) and she turned me on to Thymolize solution, which is the main ingredient in Vaporub.
I start out by soaking my feet in a foot bubble bath I got from Walmart, in very warm water with epsom salt for about 10-15 minutes, then I trim and scrape/grind the yellow nail away with a nail kit that I also got from Wally world, and rinse very well. Apply Thymolze solution to the edge of the nail a few times a day, and it’s important to keep your feet dry, I go shoeless whenever possible.
My 3 infected toes have gotten at least 50 percent better in two months, and there are mostly no longer any yellow parts on the nail, but still a little crumbly and gross looking, but much better.
I have a pretty bad infection in most of my toes. Tried a couple courses of lamisil years back without any success, since then I just haven’t gotten around to addressing it.
A few months ago (I think after reading this thread), I started with the tea tree oil after one of the few healthy toenails started to go. There’s been no apparent progress on the old infected nails (I’ve even left a couple untreated as a control!), but the one that was starting to go seems to have stopped, so that’s something.
I found putting first aid cream on the nail twice a day (morning after a shower, night after washing my feet) made it look better, and was easier to clean the bad nail off. However, it never went away.
I’ve since cut the nail fully back to clean cuticle and started putting Lotrimin AF on it. Same routine: after a shower in the morning, then at night after washing my feet. After 3 weeks, the cuticle is still clean. So, fingers crossed that this fixes it.
I tried tea tree oil and Vick’s Vaporub for several months and nada. All the drug store medications with pictures of big fungusy toenails on them specifically say, on the back, “Not for treatment of toenail fungus”. I’m not one to care about cosmetic issues, but it’s distorting my toenail to the point where it digs into my toe and causes occasional pain.
For Pete’s sake. This thread is more than two years old at this point, and the OP is still trying friend-of-a-friend recommendations.
I had massive problems with toenail fungus for 20+ years (very thick, scaly nails on all “minor” toes, and discolored patches on the big toes). Eight of my toenails were essentially chunks of flaky matter, and periodically I would peel off layers or grind them down with an emery board to keep them from poking holes in my socks or hurting too badly when I wore shoes. I slathered them off and on over the years with various creams, ointments, rubs, and anything else that seemed like it would help. Nothing did.
I finally broke down and got a prescription from my doctor for pills. After a few months, the last of the flakiness / discoloration was gone, and my nails have been fine ever since.
Regardless of what topical or folk remedies promise, it’s impossible for anything applied externally to completely eradicate the fungus if it’s well-established in your nail bed. You might as well try to fill your car’s tank by spraying gasoline on the fender.
At this point, sparky!, you’ve spent a considerable amount of time, effort and money by trying multiple recommendations from everybody and their brother. The only person you haven’t listened to is the medical professional who can actually cure your condition.
Go to your doctor. Take the prescribed medication. It’s not expensive, and the risk of any serious complications is negligible.