Has anyone successfully got rid of nail fungus?

[RUOKHon]

I have had one infected toenail for about three years. Nothing I’ve tried from over the counter so far has worked. It’s starting to really piss me off. Has anyone got any miracle cures I should try?

I finally got a course of the tablets from my doctor last month after sending nail cuttings off for confirmation it was fungal infection. I've tried all the over the counter treatments and this is the last option. I do feel it may be slowly having an effect...

There’s not just one single type of nail fungus; there are loads, so you need to try everything topical in conjunction. Tea tree and camphor (active ingredient in Vick’s) and Terbinafine cream all together. Most fungi die at 55degrees so lasers can work too. Wearing flip flops helps because your shoes become full of fungal spores from your fungal nail and will continually re-infect you.

I didn't try tea tree oil as I can't stand the smell. I like the smell of vicks, so it's no hardship to put some on. I've read about it working on here thousands of times over the years. I'm not sure if mine is fungal growth or trauma, but I think fungus as my nail was a bit thicker and crumbly. It was getting obvious in flip flops/bare feet and I felt self conscious.

My nails are now less crumbly, thinner & don't 'look a right sight'. They've still both got bits that aren't attached to the nail bed but even that appears to be improving.

I'm terrible for hurting my ties though and my toes overlap a bit - so really no idea.

But I figured putting vicks on was an easy (cheap) option that was worth a shot. I'm happy with the result.

Yoffee - from Amazon

Nothing else worked me, really satisfying fizz when you apply it, like it's dissolving the fungus.

Took a while! But it reduced the hideous look of the nail whilst it healed.

Brilliant stuff! Xx

My podiatrist has been drilling tiny holes in my infected nail...the Lacuna method...and then every day I spray an antifungal spray through the holes. Totally painless.
It has taken 10 months but it has gone. My nail got damaged through hiking.

Go to the GP and get a 3 month course of anti fungal tablets. That's the only thing that worked for me

Also make sure you're not lacking in vitamins. After a while of suffering several re-occurring fungal infections (nail, foot, skin, thrush) my clever GP checked my zinc level which was very low. When this was corrected everything cleared up fast. I have a great diet so no idea why it got so low. I enjoyed eating loads of oysters and steak (along with high dose zinc tablets) for a while!

What do you do with the vicks, just completely cover the entire nail?

(asking for a husband)

Vicks worked for me, even on my manky big toe nail. I had fungus across half the nail, I used an emery board across to surface and applied Vicks a few times, the fungus went black then died our and grew out. I put it on every so often and have no more yellow toe nails!

Another vote for Vick's Vaporub. Recommended to me by my diabetes nurse, it got rid of my big toenail infection really easily. I just put a thick layer over the whole nail before bed and wore a sock overnight, and reapplied it after a shower/bath, and it was gone in a couple of weeks .

My one foot is a state. I've had all nails infected on one foot for about 15 years. I've had one nail removed but the others still look awful. GP won't prescribe tablets due to me being type 1 diabetic. The podiatrist just shrugged and told me to wear nail varnish .

So I just live with it. I'm told that as it's cosmetic they won't do anything.

Vicks makes my nails go black! Is that a good sign? It definitely looks better after using it for a while. But partly because it seems to soften the nail.

After years of trying other things to no avail, I tried the tablets for six months and decided the damage risk wasn't worth continuing as there had been no improvement. Came across something called Excilor - it worked in six months.

Another vote for vaporub here. Worked for me after a few applications. The entire blackened part of my nail just broke off and grew back normally. Couldn't believe it actually worked at the time.

So glad I'm not alone! Have had a manky small toe through Injury and then the big toe (toe punting playing footie with the kids!) and it's all spread now. I tried everything for many years. Got prescribed the tablets but they're just sitting there as was worried about liver. Will persevere with one thing at a time as you say OP and stick with it. It is tedious esp in the morning rushing around with the kids but something needs to be done! Thanks for the thread

Vicks seems to work for me, not been doing it long enough to say for certain though.
I thought I'd cracked it with a rather unconventional method. I caught hand, foot and mouth from my daughter and some of my toe nails fell off but the fungus just came back with the nail

@StealthPolarBear

What do you do with the vicks, just completely cover the entire nail?

I cover my whole nail in a layer in the morning and at night, It has made a bit of my nail go black - but only the bit which was horrible anyway.

Not sure it would apply to your DH but I've avoided wearing nail polish. I figured that it would be better not to "seal" my nail.

Very satisfying that the worst bit fell off yesterday!

Ewwwwww
I will tell him. From what a pp says though in wondering if it might be damage rather than fungal. He runs most days and quite high impact iyswim

Do you think Tiger Balm would work in lieu of Vicks? I have loads of pots of Tiger Balm for some reason but no Vicks in the house. Sounds like that is worth a try first.

It might. It says on my Tiger Balm that it's got camphor in it which a pp said is the good stuff in Vicks.

Sadly not.
I’ve had fungal toenails for 20 years five or take.
I’ve tried tablets, paint, chiropody, I’ve had the buggers off twice (abroad) and have not come to the realisation that I will never have pretty trotters

Do you think you might have psoriasis of the nails instead, @Mydogisagentleman ? It’s often misdiagnosed as fungal nails as the appearance is similar. Every nail infected is definitely a medical issue. What do your fingernails look like? If they’re ridged or flaky too you ought to ask your GP to do a nail biopsy as it’s implicated in a number of chronic health conditions you ought to take measures to prevent.

Same as Mydogisagentleman I’ve tried everything, Terbinafine, lacquer on prescription, Emtrix, tea tree oil, canespro, podiatrist, filing, & the bastard is still there.

I bet you haven’t tried throwing away all your socks and shoes. It’s the continual re-infections that make fungal nails a chronic condition.

@StealthPolarBear

Ewwwwww I will tell him. From what a pp says though in wondering if it might be damage rather than fungal. He runs most days and quite high impact iyswim

I've only got the thick fungal yellow nails on the ones that were previously damaged by running.