Fungal toe nail for 10 years! How to get rid!?!

[weekendawayyy]

I've had a fungal toe nail infection for over a decade! I've tried the file and treatment stuff over the course of months and got rid of it, only for it to return again. I don't want to take those tablets they can prescribe as they are really bad for you and can cause liver damage.

The GP just said I should cover it up with nice nail polish!

Anyway has anyone here had a really stubborn fungal toe nail for this long? And how did you finally get rid of it? Are there any over the counter treatments which actually work?

Tea tree oil on it 3 times a day

fungus infection love sugar.
OP go low carb for a bit and you will see the difference.

Starve the bastard.

I've had it for 20 years. It's on every nail bar one. I can't take the tablets as I have had liver problems in the past and whilst I can live with the manky toe nails, I can't risk any damage to my liver. I file them down once a month with attachments I bought that fit my scholl pedi tool. I've tried tea tree oil and some nail fungus stuff from Super drug that cost a fortune but didn't make a difference. I now just paint over them to cover it up. What's this about Vicks? I've not heard that before, how often etc are you supposed to use it?

Has anyone had the lasers?

I cured it with a tip I read on here years ago. Submerge toes in a mixture of white vinegar and Listerine for a minute every day. It doesn’t kill it but it stops the fungus growing, so if you do it religiously and keep trimming the nails to keep them as short as possible, eventually it grows out. I was sceptical but it worked.

On the thread I read, a poster had cured it in one fell swoop by accidentally dropping Cilit Bang on it. I didn’t fancy that approach 😆

Good luck it’s a bastard.

I’m answering this because this is literally me 😂 I would say I’ve had my issue for over 10 years, I literally cannot remember them being normal and I’m nearly 30. I’ve tried every over the counter medication going and the only thing that will work is going to the GP and getting some proper medication. I ended up going to a dermatologist in the end but a gp will help you. For certain meds you have regular blood test so don’t worry about liver damage. All I can say is don’t put it off it will not go on its own and I’ve been to many people who say that over the counter stuff just doesn’t work unless it’s very mild. I’ve had it for that long I might miss it in a weird kind of way, it’s been my constant companion for as long as I can remember but it needs to come to an end 🤣🤣🤣

Yes, I have! I have one big toenail that’s been fungal for 15 years now. I had two courses of laser at a Harley Street podiatrist (feet4life) each course was 4-5 painful sessions. It did absolutely nothing.

I’ve tried everything, including the dodgy tablets that mess up your liver – they took me off them after about three weeks, as it was, indeed, buggering up my liver. 🙄

After nearly 20 years I have learned to live with it, and here is my strong recommendation :

• Go to the podiatrist three or four times a year and get it properly filed and trimmed back as much as possible.
• enjoy coloured nail polish just for the summer months and let your nail recover for the other 8 to 9 months of the year.

There was an excellent BBC radio documentary a few years ago that looked into this. They found that no matter what you do, even if you throw out EVERY shoe you own and even if you get the nail completely removed, it grows back about 50% of the time. In fact, fungal nails grow back about 50% of the time, no matter what you do. Really after this long, you just have to accept it and learn to live with it. Regular visits to a good podiatrist are the key.

As you found the file & paint product worked for you, why not try that again?

I found it worked really well - although, like you, I found that the fungus returned a year later. But I used the same product again, and my nails have been clear since then (that was two years ago).

I realised the reason it came back the second time was because I started using nail polish on my toenails again. Nail polish dries out your nails which can create an environment for fungal growth, so nowadays I rarely use it.

I tried the laser and can agree with poster above that it hurts and does not work! I think I'm at about 22 years or fungal toe nails now! I just paint over them with nail varnish and try to ignore...

I'm afraid I have this and have had to delay treatment because of pregnancy and breastfeeding. It's been 5years now. Hoping to finish BF soon and be able to have proper treatment. Nothing else had worked for me but not tried laser.

same here mamabear715 - thought it was an infection but actually injuries ‘trauma’ from running. So worth getting a second option.

@crunchypeanutbutterontoast It definitely LOOKS like an infection, doesn't it? I was being so careful for years so that I didn't pass it on.. ;-)

I had one for years, didn't bother trying anything though.
Then one day I started to file the nail to thin it thinking it would look better, however it must have been slightly thinner over the infection. I got a vertical split in the nail, it stunk of infection, so gave it a wash.
I have done nothing else to it since just carried on as though it's not there. It's nearly grown out now, will have to see what happens next.

I've used the prescribed paint on treatment and had a 6 month course of terbinafine. It's come back both times - I've had it for 30 years now. It's only on one big toe so I just keep them painted.

My dad had this for years. He tried Vicks and it worked. He applied it every day.

I did get a quote for 2 nails for lazer, just before Christmas. It was going to cost 600 quid. I decided nit to because the scientific evidence is not really there...(hopefully) yet.

Emtrix here too and it is working, have to do it daily. I combine it with an anti fungal spray.

DH has one so I'll show him this thread for ideas.

He was googling and on one American site the person had used bleach, which seems all kind of wrong.

For those using tea tree oil do you use it neat or does it need diluting?

I'm not sure he'll go for the painting over it tip. 😃

This is going to sound weird, but it worked for me. Neat bleach, painted on toenails.

I used to have a horse who had a fungal hoof infection. The farriers told me to paint neat bleach onto his hoof twice a day for a few weeks. The fungal infection cleared up in no time.

I had a fungal infection myself a few years later. Tried over the counter stuff, nothing worked. I decided to try the farriers suggestion, and painted my toenail twice a day with bog standard toilet bleach for a few weeks. Other than discolour my black socks, I had no ill effects and the infection cleared up very quickly and has never returned.

obviously, no GP or pharmacist would recommend this approach, and I did so at my own risk, but it worked for me!

I've had it for well over 20 years now and sometimes my big toe hurts as the nail is so thick, its too big to fit comfortably in my shoe. I've had to stretch my shoes on that foot so they fit better.

I'm going to try the bleach suggestion. I'll mask the surrounding skin with sudocreme or Vaseline and then apply bleach with a cotton bud, very carefully.

No! No pain at all, honestly was fine

Vicks worked for me. Every night before bed, then socks over it. It worked really fast on my left foot but took over 6 months for the right foot. The look great now.

@MattDamon did you also file the nail down or did you just apply Vicks to the nail on top?