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

[disgustingandashamed]

It is really distressing me today. I had it on 1 toe, tried over the counter blend thing of teatree oils with some other stuff, has not worked and now another toe has it.

I have a lot of autoimmune illnesses which are much more serious realistically but for some reason, the look of my two nails now has really upset me today.

It sounds stupid but I feel so panicky at the idea of it taking over all my nails. I currently have nice finger nails.

Today I can't stop thinking about contamination and how I will never be really sure if our apartment is properly clean now again? I feel like everything my foot touches is contaminated like the sheets and towels etc and I wash them on max temp to try to kill fungal spores but I feel so gross and filthy.

I can't take the oral medication that can affect liver and kidneys - what can I do instead that actually works? Or is the reality I will just have this for the rest of my life now?

Podiatrist was unhelpful as he didn't think it was that bad. But it looks awful and now spreading.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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 :)

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).

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?

Thanks all this post has been very useful .., am dreading the summer and will get a medical pedi before I go on holiday as I’ve left it too late!

Hi I've never heard of a medical pedi. CannI ask where you go for this thanks

I have a couple of fungal nails. I don’t have any autoimmune conditions. I have never heard anyone dying of fungal nails, so I just ignore them, cover them with nail varnish during the summer, not in the winter as they don’t show with winter shoes. No one else in the house, DH mainly, has been infected.

Marking place

Have you seen a podiatrist for a proper diagnosis? I had what I assumed was a fungal infection for years and treated it as such. That's probably what it was originally, but the podiatrist tells me it's "just" nail damage.

It doesn't look any better, but it's not going to spread.

@Ewock try your local podiatrist and see if they offer this service. If you are london based then there is Margaret Dabbs clinic, website worth a check out regardless to see that’s out there!
@Confortableorwhat yes doctor confirmed years ago. I never took the tablets but the varnish but they’ve got alot worse and I’m really embarrassed. I put nail polish on as don’t want DP to see 🥲

You need to cut out added sugar from your diet as this feeds the fungus - you will need to be fairly ruthless. If you then crave something sweet, have a bit of fruit but not grapes or dates. Then just rub a bit of tea tree oil or neem oil into your toenails every day. Then wash hands. Easy. Don't worry.

I'm sorry if this has been said up-thread...

I recently saw a chiropodist/podiatrist [privately] about this.
She said that often you can kill active fungal infection, but the damage is done and the issue is constant reinfection.

Her advice was:
Hygiene -wash thoroughly and dry very carefully - use a hairdryer on a low setting, clean socks every day.
Use Lamisil cream on the soles of the feet, between the toes and on the infected nails every day for a week.
Apply Gehwol nail oil daily [got this via Amazon] It's anti-fungal and way less drying than tea tree oil.
Very important: Scholl anti-fungus shoe spray on all the footwear in the house to avoid constant reinfection. [also got this off Amazon]

She has trimmed the thickened nails right down, it didn't hurt much and I think they do look better, but I'm resigned to this being a long job.

@VeronicaBeccabunga thank you!
I take it using nail polish is a no no?

I'm sorry, I didn't ask her, my nails are not really nice enough to paint and now a couple of them are cut right down so there's nothing to varnish 😳
I have another appointment next week, if I remember I will ask her!

FWIW I really do rate the Gehwol oil stuff as I'd dried my poor nails and cuticles right out with tea tree oil so the skin was sore and cracking.

@disgustingandashamed it sounds to me like you might have contamination OCD. Do you think that could be the case?

Your house is not contaminated, you’re really over thinking this, I wonder if you need to talk to GP about OCD/ intrusive thoughts. It’s just some manky toenails not bubonic plague lovey

I know how you feel, OP, as I had the same. I saw a podiatrist who said he couldn't help and to see my GP instead. I made an appointment with surgery, and a week later, we went into lockdown, so I never actually got seen, and you can guess the rest. Prior to a podiatrist, I, too, tried tea tree oil, but it made no difference. In the absence of a GP appt, I did my own research and decided to try Amolfine or Curanel from Amazon. I followed the instructions for Curanel and, within six weeks, saw a huge difference. As it lessoned, I used Vicks alongside, so I would recommend Curanel as it certainly worked for me. Good luck, I sympathise as I know how distressing it can be.