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March 30, 2005 7:01 PM Subscribe
I'm not sure how MetaFiltery this is, but:
I know I'm not the only one cursed w/ toenail fungus -- and from what I've Googled, a lot of people, myself included, have no idea what to do about it. I've heard of perscriptions (Lamisil?, some others as well...), tea tree oil, and various ointments -- but they are all reported as being various degrees of actually effective. Right now, I just file the affected philangees down from the top as close to the skin as is comfortable, but this is only a temporary solution. Anyone know of any treatments that work? Any personal experience with the afformentioned options? Thanks!
This post was deleted for the following reason: removed at poster's request
My dad swears by NonyX Nail Gel. He had toe nail fungus since he was in high school and it treated it in a little over a year.
He tried to Vapo Rub route but it didn't work.
posted by jstew at 8:05 PM on March 30, 2005
He tried to Vapo Rub route but it didn't work.
posted by jstew at 8:05 PM on March 30, 2005
Lamisil works but it takes a good while (3-4 months from memory). I had to go through a second course, but I had left it late (toenail split halfway down). They take a nail cutting first and you have to wait for the test results before they start you on the tablets. I didn't experience any side effects.
posted by tellurian at 8:15 PM on March 30, 2005
posted by tellurian at 8:15 PM on March 30, 2005
Mr friend in the room right now suffered from this affliction. He says "Lamisil's the only thing that works permanently. It takes time -- months. And a responsible doctor will have you take a liver test beforehand, as it can damage a weak liver. But no other treatment will thoroughly eradicate it."
And, he says, you're not as alone as you think.
posted by Miko at 8:40 PM on March 30, 2005
And, he says, you're not as alone as you think.
posted by Miko at 8:40 PM on March 30, 2005
Response by poster: I should mention that on the two affected toes -- i don't even have a nail to speak of. The fungus took care of that about a year ago, and I fairly regularly file everything down.
posted by jruckman at 9:07 PM on March 30, 2005
posted by jruckman at 9:07 PM on March 30, 2005
Hydrogen peroxide. Soak your toes in it. That's what my grandma says anyways.
posted by dame at 9:45 PM on March 30, 2005
posted by dame at 9:45 PM on March 30, 2005
Tried soaking in bleach solution (most recommednations say ~10% - I used 50%) - seemed to provide some relief, but not of a lasting nature -perhaps I wasn't as disciplined as I needed to be. Tried Lamisil & you do need your liver functions monitored while on it. It helped (I was on it ~5 months) but after being off it for an equal amount of time it came back. Then tried Sporonox for about 3-4 months (you take it for one week & then off for three) - it has done reasonably well, although I'm not convinced it knocked it completely out.
Both those drugs are hideously expensive if you don't have insurance (e.g., Lamisil was $258 for a 30-day supply a couple of years ago). If you have insurance, they will probably make it a hassle to fill, requiring doctor recerts on your prescription & other stalling B.S. They don't like to cover the high cost.
I'm headed off to find the Vicks for a little prophylaxsis......
posted by Pressed Rat at 10:14 PM on March 30, 2005
Both those drugs are hideously expensive if you don't have insurance (e.g., Lamisil was $258 for a 30-day supply a couple of years ago). If you have insurance, they will probably make it a hassle to fill, requiring doctor recerts on your prescription & other stalling B.S. They don't like to cover the high cost.
I'm headed off to find the Vicks for a little prophylaxsis......
posted by Pressed Rat at 10:14 PM on March 30, 2005
Long term view: Toenail fungus is extremely difficult to get rid of. Hopefully one of the remedies mentioned here will be effective.
Once you do get rid of the fungus, you will want to prevent a recurrence, and the only way to do that is to avoid the conditions that created the problem in the first place, i.e. encasing your feet in a moist environment.
Wearing shoes ands socks, combined with sweaty feet, provides an ideal breeding ground for all kinds of nasty patogens.
Once you are rid of the fungus, try to avioid covering your feet whenever you can. Bare feet are dry, and dry feet provide no oppoprtunity for fungal- or other onfections to take hold.
posted by Deepspace at 12:09 AM on March 31, 2005
Once you do get rid of the fungus, you will want to prevent a recurrence, and the only way to do that is to avoid the conditions that created the problem in the first place, i.e. encasing your feet in a moist environment.
Wearing shoes ands socks, combined with sweaty feet, provides an ideal breeding ground for all kinds of nasty patogens.
Once you are rid of the fungus, try to avioid covering your feet whenever you can. Bare feet are dry, and dry feet provide no oppoprtunity for fungal- or other onfections to take hold.
posted by Deepspace at 12:09 AM on March 31, 2005
"Bare feet are dry"
NOT always a valid statement! My feet sweat horribly in cool weather, socks at least wick that away.
I have very thick nails on my big toes. It might be fungus. What of it? Is this something that is going to do something other than make my nails thick? I'm not fond of drugs that mess with my liver, I had a bad case of hepatitis, 23 years ago.
posted by Goofyy at 3:53 AM on March 31, 2005
NOT always a valid statement! My feet sweat horribly in cool weather, socks at least wick that away.
I have very thick nails on my big toes. It might be fungus. What of it? Is this something that is going to do something other than make my nails thick? I'm not fond of drugs that mess with my liver, I had a bad case of hepatitis, 23 years ago.
posted by Goofyy at 3:53 AM on March 31, 2005
Lamisil worked very well for me, but then I had insurance that made the treatment fairly inexpensive. Treat it early as really Lamisil only prevents new growth and you have to wait until your nail grows out far enough to eject all of the fungus. I recommend using bleach to clean out your tub/shower and all socks in the meantime. Once the infection was gone, but a week or so before I finished the course of Lamisil, I bleached everything that my feet might have had contact with and tossed out most of my shoes to make sure I didn't reacquire the nasties, also if you have other family you may want to make sure they clean their shoes/feet often to prevent them form getting it. I know that they say this sort of thing can't spread that way, but I'm 99% sure that I picked up my problem with the nasty toenail fungus from dorm showers in college despite my vigilant wearing of flipflops in the shower.
posted by Numenorian at 6:04 AM on March 31, 2005
posted by Numenorian at 6:04 AM on March 31, 2005
I hated the idea of getting my liver function regularly tested so I went the Penlac route. It quickly and effectively cleared up the three worst nails, the ones that were marginally bad are now slightly less marginally bad. I was/am really lazy about using it, especially after the nails that were painfully thick (that I was obsessive about fixing) got better.
It's expensive, so the toes I cared less about fixing got painted every other day, but if you're willing to spend the money to fix the problem it seems to work.
I got mine from the showers in college too. I almost contemplated sending them the bill, since there was a mandatory two year residency requirement, and the floors/showers/bathroom in general were possibly the most disgusted pieces of tile I've ever had the displeasure of enduring.
posted by togdon at 7:47 AM on March 31, 2005
It's expensive, so the toes I cared less about fixing got painted every other day, but if you're willing to spend the money to fix the problem it seems to work.
I got mine from the showers in college too. I almost contemplated sending them the bill, since there was a mandatory two year residency requirement, and the floors/showers/bathroom in general were possibly the most disgusted pieces of tile I've ever had the displeasure of enduring.
posted by togdon at 7:47 AM on March 31, 2005
I kid you not, but Oil of Oregano worked for my nasty toenail. Smells great too. Took a couple of weeks to sort things out. Of course, ymmv.
posted by noahv at 9:19 AM on March 31, 2005
posted by noahv at 9:19 AM on March 31, 2005
I just wanted to say that you're not alone.
Also, I haven't had a chance to try any of the ointments/cures/prescriptions in my thread yet (other health issues took precedence), but have learned a lot about my toenails in the process.
posted by spinifex23 at 10:58 AM on March 31, 2005
Also, I haven't had a chance to try any of the ointments/cures/prescriptions in my thread yet (other health issues took precedence), but have learned a lot about my toenails in the process.
posted by spinifex23 at 10:58 AM on March 31, 2005
If you've got insurance (or even if you dont), clench your toes, bit the bullet and go to a podiatrist. They have physician-level training in the area of the feet (they can for example, take X-rays and write prescriptions), and physicians make referrals to them all the time.
What you have is too difficult to cure without professional evaluation.
posted by KRS at 2:13 PM on March 31, 2005
What you have is too difficult to cure without professional evaluation.
posted by KRS at 2:13 PM on March 31, 2005
Everything says that the fungus grows best in the dark. Why is this? What is it about (sun?)light that causes problems to fungal growth? Can't the fungal equivalent of a deathray be made? Stick your foot in the middle of a bunch of mirrors or something? :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 3:55 AM on April 1, 2005
posted by -harlequin- at 3:55 AM on April 1, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
of course, it takes time to work. be persistent. it'll take a few months at least.
tea tree oil sort of works, but it leaves a yellow film on the nails.
posted by subatomiczoo at 7:05 PM on March 30, 2005