Toenail fungus, please help me how can I get rid of it? Panicking

My DH had this and sorry but nothing topical worked. He ended up taking the oral meds, GP did bloods to check it wasn't affecting his liver and it was all fine and got rid of it completely, though he did have to take it for a few months. If it's upsetting you this much (which I do totally understand) then it might be worth weighing up the risk/benefit with your GP?

Vicks vapour rub morning & night has just about cleared mine in about 3 months. File over the nails then rub it in.
I tried various other things for years with no joy, my podiatrist said to try the Vicks.
No one in my household has ever caught it, I don't scrub the shower after I've used it or bathroom floor for that matter. ( i obviously do clean the bathroom just not after every time I've been in it).

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/terbinafine/
this is a useful read about terbinifine. Most people can safely take the oral tablets. Especially if you have no history of liver or kidney problems and are not on other medication. It’s the most effective treatment for fungal nails :)

None of the topical treatments (and believe me I tried loads) fixed my fungal nail or the fungally infected soles of my feet (vesicular tinea infection I think - horrifically itchy).
Eventually I took the terbinafine oral meds - the GP said I was staggeringly unlikely to have liver problems but I was still paranoid and only took 50% of the prescribed dose. It still cleared both the revolting fungal nail and the persistent itchy blisters remarkably quickly - within weeks.
Are you absolutely sure you can't take them? With hindsight I hugely regret not trying the tablets years earlier as it made such a difference to my life once it was gone. I also soaked my feet religiously in Listerine every night whilst I took the terbinafine. Not sure how much that helped, but I wanted to take meds for the shortest possible time. And the fungus has never returned. Really sympathise OP, it seems like a trivial problem if you've not been there but it's grim.

You need to get under the nail to get to the fungus which is hard. Fungus also hates light and dry heat, they thrive in damp, dark places. So you need to get your toes out as much as possible.

This is what worked for me:

-colloidal silver spray morning and night - between nail and toe
-cutting away as much nail as you can to get to the fungus
-daylight - expose to uv as much as possible
-heat - make a shield out of a thick piece of cardboard with hole for the nail and hairdryer it to as hot as you can bear

took about 3 months to get on top of

NEEM OIL!!! It works!! I only used a few times and it got rid of mine!! Absolutely stinks though!!

DH had dreadful infected nails when we first met. He ended up taking the really strong meds and having blood tests. His nails have been clear for years. But I did get twitchy about the meds.

Totally file the nail down as much as possible. I've had fungal nails and never used a treatment. I think the last one was helped by me using a nail lamp and putting the polish on it but it could just be coincidence and probably isn't very safe or advised. Also you can buy fake toenails if you need to wear open toe shoes.

I had it for years too. It kept coming back because I always became lax with treating it once it was almost grown out. I found rubbing neat tea tree oil into it (and under the nail and on the nail bed after filing it down) eventually worked and I've been fungus free for maybe 3 years now. I did this twice a day religiously.

No one else in the house ever caught it so don't worry about contamination as long as you're being careful with your nails which it sounds like you are.

I have similar. I had a trauma to my toes years ago, broken and loss of nails and some of the nails have never been right since. They got really thick and then broke last year - 30 years after the accident! I also have tried everything including seeing a podiatrist it cost me £65 for them to tell me ‘it’s not too bad’ and just carry on painting them in curanail. I’m now just boringly carrying on doing it every week but I don’t file them too much as that is causing more damage.

I’ve had it quite bad on one foot on 3 toes for over 3 years and it’s massively impacted my confidence. I hate summer - no sandals etc for me. No nice shoes at Christmas if they are open toe etc.

trued the pills for 6 months and was advised to stop them due to impact they were having on me.

Eventually after trying every product and old wives tail.. went to see ‘the foot doctor’ after walking past their shop in a town near me. Saw a podiatrist a week later. Got a treatment there - a spray to take home and another appointment in 8 weeks.

the nhs podiatrist I had previously seen had been so dismissive! This private guy - amazing . He made me feel fabulous.

I’m nearly 8 weeks in of using the spray daily - and I can see a teeny bit of new clear mail growth on big toe.

the spray is a few quid and available online etc. but I’d pay for the podiatrist as they file the nails and keep an eye on things. M

mine cost £45 for treatment and about £5 for spray.

the spray is Lamasil 1% spray.

It's the pain I've found hard to deal with, when it flares up. Both of my big toe nails have been problematic, since I was a kid. I hate that blackness on the nail.

@SweeeetPea If you don't mind me asking, what can you safely use if you are breastfeeding? If anything? The internet keeps telling me different things! OP, I hope this thread is helping you to see that many people have this annoying problem!

Have you tried actual fungal treatment? I don’t mean some tea tree oil thing, but proper treatment. I use the Boots one. You have to apply it twice a day for a month and once a day for probably a year or longer. It will go away. It’s really no big deal and will be unlikely to spread and you can’t easily give it to other people. Just sort it out and don’t panic.

Have you tried this? I got it on Amazon after years of trying everything I could get my hands on and it's amazing!! You don't have to trim the nail everytime and can apply it a couple of times a day. It cleared mine up within a couple of months when honestly my toe nails had been wrecked for years.

I don’t think that’s true. My brother moved in with my mum for about 2yrs and he had it - then she caught it.

My cousin had her big toenail removed so that it wouldn’t spread - drastic I know but an option.

Try not to worry about contamination. It can't contaminate the flat. It's only toenails that are susceptible to this type of fungus. Just use basic common sense hygiene.

can you take antibiotics? I had to take a course of fluxlocicillin for a surgery wound infection and it had the happy side effect of clearing up my toenail fungus.

I don't have time to read the full thread but I feel your pain.

Definitely white vinegar! Foot bath every night.

Candida overgrowth is really common in people with auto immune diseases or immunocompromised people!

You will need to check this against other medication you are taking (really recommend consulting a herbalist or nutritionist for this) but you can take Caprylic Acid Plus by Cytoplan (there are other brands but I had a good experience with this one).

And for maintenance you can take high strength garlic or oregano capsules long term.

Candida absolutely thrives on sugar and simple carbohydrates so a 30 day elimination diet will work WONDERS.

In fact, The Auto-immune Solution by Dr Amy Myers is a great read and includes an elimination diet. Or you can find an example online for free too, it will be called an auto-immune protocol or an anti-inflammatory diet - something like that.

Just to stress this way of eating is a temporary targeted attack on inflammation (and in your case candida). It is not a crash diet or meant for weight loss. Eat as much as you want.

If you don't think you can undertake the whole elimination then just try to cut back on sugar and simple carbohydrates very hard for a month.

Sorry if you've already tried all that!!

You can get decolourised or white iodine but I just used the standard brown solution that you can get from any pharmacy. I also swabbed my nails occasionally with hydrogen peroxide(6%) solution. All cheap remedies basically, I do think the greater issue is clearing away the infected nailbedskin - a soft spongy mess- and the dead nail. I disinfected the clippers and other tools regularly too. As the nail grows, the infected bits become easier to trim (about 3- months in).

Nail removal sugery, then treat the nail bed

or clearanail, holes in your nail and treat

realistically without meds those are the most successful options?

I used the Scholl stuff on one , the one that you paint on and then file the next time . I must have over done the filing as after the 2nd go the nail fell off completely where I’d obviously filed through it and the new nail has grown back perfectly ok .

Go to the doctors. A work colleague had this and tried all the OTC stuff. Eventually went to the doctors who prescribed antibiotics. Result- fungus gone and toe nails recovered!

Go to the doctor and get pills for six months.

Or
Find a therapist that will drill holes in your toenail and apply lamisil. I had that done. It's very effective.