# Toenail fungus (eww!) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 16, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303 "2012-06-16T00:30:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/61 "2014-08-20T22:13:14Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > 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. Umm, actually, I’ve spent very little money. If you read my recent update, you’ll see I’m having a good improvement with the Lotrimin AF. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/62 "2014-08-21T00:51:42Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Umm, actually, I’ve spent very little money. > > If you read my recent update, you’ll see I’m having a good improvement with the Lotrimin AF. By my rough count, you’ve used / tried the following things: [ul] [li]tea tree oil[/li][li]Vick’s VapoRub[/li][li]bleach[/li][li]over-the-counter fungal liquid[/li][li]first-aid cream[/li][li]Lotrimin AF[/li][/ul] Now, maybe you had all that stuff already lying around and didn’t have to buy any of it. If not, though, you’ve spent more on all this than you would have spent if you’d just gotten the prescription from the doctor two years ago. Plus, you wouldn’t be prying up your nail, or trimming it to the cuticle, in an effort to put stuff on it that may or may not work. I’m not anti-home remedy, but at this point, I’d be sorely tempted to cut my losses and try what the medical professional recommended. It’s what I did, and it actually worked. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/63 "2014-08-21T13:36:36Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > By my rough count, you’ve used / tried the following things: > > [ul] > [li]tea tree oil[/li][li]Vick’s VapoRub[/li][li]bleach[/li][li]over-the-counter fungal liquid[/li][li]first-aid cream[/li][li]Lotrimin AF[/li][/ul] > > Now, maybe you had all that stuff already lying around and didn’t have to buy any of it. If not, though, you’ve spent more on all this than you would have spent if you’d just gotten the prescription from the doctor two years ago. Plus, you wouldn’t be prying up your nail, or trimming it to the cuticle, in an effort to put stuff on it that may or may not work. > > I’m not anti-home remedy, but at this point, I’d be sorely tempted to cut my losses and try what the medical professional recommended. It’s what I did, and it actually worked. I’d rather fight ignorance and show that the home remedies didn’t work. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/64 "2014-08-21T14:38:17Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Go to your doctor. Take the prescribed medication. It’s not expensive, and the risk of any serious complications is negligible. I’d like to echo this. I spent my whole youth with horrible nail fungus. By the time I hit 40 all of my toe nails were infected - Not just small spots under the nails but huge, twisted nails, pushed up by the fungus. I couldn’t take my shoes off without grossing people out. So many people, even doctors, tried the various remedies in this thread. NONE OF THEM WORKED. And it’s not just a cosmetic problem. The fungus can cause other nail problems, plus the torn socks that Sauron mentions. There are number of medicines that work these days. Visit the doctor a few times, take pills for a few months and the problem is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Dradam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dradam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dradam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/65 "2014-11-02T13:32:39Z")
This is how to effectively win the war on toenail fungus, you can apply all the topical ointments in the world and that fungus is gona be laughing at you hidden beneath your hideous yellow nails in fact the moisture from these topical solutions is gona be very welcomed by your friendly fungus, I recommend people “man up” and take control of there damn fungus, you need two things to quickly and effectively kill the toenail fungus, a dremmel power tool and undiluted bleach, in order to kill the root of the fungus you need to get to root of the fungus, that nail has got to go, you sand the nail off with the dremmel, if you are a pussy you’ll ignore this part and continue to apply the lovely tea tree oil on top of the nail!! After you’ve dremmeled your toenails off, you apply undiluted bleach using a glass dropper 3 times per day morning, evening and night, how long do you think your happy toenail fungus will survive this kind of treatment - it won’t ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/66 "2014-11-03T09:16:42Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > It’s not even very important to treat toenail fungus. It’s a cosmetic issue. I would strongly advise against pulling up your nail or drilling holes in it or anything like that. Do you know how many different types of bacterial infections you can get by doing that? They make fungal infections look really good by comparison. It’s not just a cosmetic issue; my entire big toenail got pulled out by accident more than once because it was brittle due to the infection. Pulled out at the root. Didn’t cause any pain so maybe the root was dead or I’m just well 'ard. But any time someone stepped on one of my infected toes it hurt like hell. In any case, cosmetic issues are still “issues,” and with something like this, that not only grosses other people out but can actually infect _them_, it’s not a minor cosmetic issue. > [@Sauron](#): > > 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. Be fair, most of us with toenail fungus tried everything we could before giving up and going for the medication. Sounds like you were the same. It feels like pretty serious medication when it’s just for your toes. But you’re right - medication is the only thing that’ll work. I was prescribed Terbinafine (might have a different name in the US) and that eventually cleared it up. It was really nice being able to wear ordinary shoes, not get odd looks at the pool and not be in excruciating pain every time I banged my toenail. No liver damage. I did stop taking it earlier than recommended because I was put on another medication that is really bad for the liver (low-dose chemo for rheumatoid arthritis) and it has come back a little, but it’s possible the methotrexate (chemo drug) is helping. My liver function is still surprisingly good, so I might risk starting the terbinafine again, except that I’m fed up of taking so many meds. OP, just give in and take the meds. It’ll take a long time but, unlike every other “remedy,” it will actually work. Laser treatment works better than any other topical treatment but still not as well as they do because the fungal infection is in your whole body, it’s just that it’s your toes where you can see it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/67 "2014-11-03T09:30:08Z")
Just as a very slight counterpoint, I took a regimen of Terbinafine/Lamisil and while it did improve matters, it did not fully clear up the fungus on all toes, and now (several years later) it is back and as bad as ever. The big toes didn’t seem to clear up by the time the prescription ended, so I wonder if the issue is that the nails didn’t grow fast enough to really clear out the fungus. Perhaps next time I can get a longer prescription. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/68 "2014-11-03T15:40:49Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > 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. Does it come in a Klein bottle? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/69 "2014-11-04T17:50:44Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Just as a very slight counterpoint, I took a regimen of Terbinafine/Lamisil and while it did improve matters, it did not fully clear up the fungus on all toes, and now (several years later) it is back and as bad as ever. > > The big toes didn’t seem to clear up by the time the prescription ended, so I wonder if the issue is that the nails didn’t grow fast enough to really clear out the fungus. Perhaps next time I can get a longer prescription. I did have to take it for almost a year. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to do it. ---
**Author:** ![unclebunkiefromhell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dec6dc/32.png) [@unclebunkiefromhell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclebunkiefromhell)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/70 "2016-02-13T10:56:32Z")
I bought a one gallon bottle of ’ Splash Proof" bleach and applied it with Q-Tips, almost daily. Compared to the embarrassment of publicly exposing my toes, straight bleach was a no brainer. I didn’t care how caustic and dangerous using this formula might be. Needless to say, at the end of a gallon of bleach, not only did it not affect my skin, it was like taking sand to the beach! As sparky attested, I got maybe a slight regrowth that appeared to be clean but in a short period of time any clear nail was quickly back to frosted yellow. I cant imagine a 10 to 1 bleach and water would even clean your tub, much less my toes. The oral meds are out of the question for me as I suffer from Hep-C and what little of my liver isnt hard enough to bounce a penny off of, it will not take kindly to Lamisil or any other oral treatment. Its ironic but science can detect gravity waves, the Higgs Boson and black holes, but curing onychomycosis without destroying my liver appears to be out of reach! What? Did that hammer to the nails work Sparky? Im willing to give just about anything a shot. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/73 "2016-06-07T12:48:06Z")
I’ve had it on one toenail for about five years, I’ve never seen a doctor, but a pedicurist told me that’s what it was. (No, I don’t go to a pedicurist, she was visiting my neighbor, and saw me on the veranda barefoot.) Stop worrying about it. It never bothers me, and I never think about except when I look at it. To the dedicated zombie patrol: , I don’t give a shit. It’s on the thread menu, and if anyone has gotten this far, it’s because they want to read about toenail fungus, and there’s my input. ---
**Author:** ![Graymalkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@Graymalkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graymalkin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303/74 "2016-06-08T04:27:32Z")
I’d also like to add that as of two years ago I had hepatitis C and two ugly big toe nails. Today, because of visits to the doctor and taking the prescribed pills, my two big toe nails look as healthy as hell and my liver is clear of hepatitis C. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-fungus-eww/625303.md?page=3)