What with a bunch of microbiology under her belt, and a compulsive nature, my wife was very fastidious in keeping the toenail swimming in Vicks.
The stuff probably doesn’t work if you let the fungus come up for air.
My thick pinky-toe nails seem to be genetic, my mother has them as well and all of my grandfather’s toenails were like that. Never had a trauma or infection as far as I know.
How did she keep the nail covered with it, did she put a bandage or rubber toe glove over it or something?
Kept a sock on it. If you use plenty of goo, it’ll mess up the sock some, but keep the toe coated all day long.
I apologize if this is a slight hijack, but it is toenail-related. One of my toenails (the Little Piggy That Stayed Home) has rolled itself like a tube. It is about 85% round, and the sides are almost touching. It doesn’t cause me any pain, but it is difficult to trim. Is this just a strange case of ingrown toenail?
I have these thick, incredibly hard-to-cut toenails. So did my mother.
I suspect sometimes it might be hereditary.
I did not have any luck with Vicks Vap-o-Rub, but did get good results with an over the counter solution called RECLEAR AF, which was recommended by my podiatrist.
The active ingredient is Clotrimazole 1%. RECLEAR AF is a thickish, clear liguid that you apply over and under (as much as possible) the nailbed daily (or so). I find it is easier to appy following a bath or shower.
I have been using it about 6 months and the fungus that was causing the thickened and opaque nail, which used to affect about half the nail, has now reached a point where I think I can trim it off and be finished soon.
There’s actually a bookabout fighting toenail fungus, and I believe it recommends a combined penlac / lamisil approach.
I’ve tried Penlac alone and it didn’t work. I also tried Vicks Vaporub and Tea Tree oil, again without success. I can’t take Lamisil due to conflicts with other, more important, prescription drugs I’m taking.
J.