Fungal toe nail/s. Treatment?

[Tansie]

I have six toenails that are affected (years in humid Oz). Both big toes have a section along one side, both 4th and 5th toes are completely affected.

I am using a Dr Scholl preparation which cost £18 odd in Boots where you file the flat of the nail down once a week for 6 weeks and apply what looks like clear nail varnish to the affected area every day for a year. You have to change your socks etc very regularly and not reuse any of the supplied nail-files to avoid fungal spores. The idea is that the affected bits will start to grow out and in a year, will be all grown out.

Well, after 6 months, I'm not sure it's working!

Has anyone had any success with self-treatment?

Has anyone gone to a podiatrist/chiropodist with it; how often do you have to go and do you mind telling me what they do and what it cost?

TIA

Dragging, trust Uri.

It just goes.

tried tea tree oil too - did nothing

Oh.

Tea tree oil has worked better than any6thing else for me, including a year on Lamasil tabs from GP,
Am almost clear, have added occasional painting with Listerine mouthwash to tt oil.

With 6 nails affected, you are v unlikely to get anywhere with over the counter stuff.

I kidded myself for years it was working before I gave up and had the prescription meds. Tea tree oil total waste of time.

However the meds have a serious risk of liver failure - very few people will get this but it seems a serious thing to risk for what is essentially a cosmetic problem. On this basis some GPs won't prescribe it (and you might not want to take it). Also as people have said above, you need a very long course and even then success is not guaranteed.

Clearly they worked for me and I was fine as are many many people. However if a podiatrist near you does laser, and you can afford it, that might be a better option to try first.

Out of interest, why does the number of affected toenails matter? Serious question. I get that having 2 adjacent implies cross infection, but on both feet it's the outer side of my big toes and toes 4 and 5 (though, if I look carefully, I'm not entirely convinced toe 4 on one foot is infected!).

Is that having more than one or two implies 'prone-ness' to fungal nail infections?

Nice dark nail varnish-works a treat!

On one toe of each foot dark nail polish would look like I'd tried to paint over a sliver of cheese rind. Not a good look mine look like this but without the hairy bits

Use Curanail....it takes a while - took me 9 months for my toenail but that's because it takes that long for a toenail to grow out. Curanail just stops it from spreading up the nail. Good luck!

I have just started a course of terbafine so searched Mumsnet and found this. Podiatrist I saw said over the counter stuff only works if you have a tiny spot of it.

I can't wait to have nice toenails again.

Use your brain dimwit
The nail will take months to grow out so “2 weeks” is a out right lie
Only someone stupid would say such a thing
Any remedy saying something like this should be ignored

I have got all my toes nails affect badly bar one!
Had this for years like over 20 years and have tried every remedy there is including actually cutting with razor blade the nail down to remove infection also then a rotary sander
Then after mopping up blood treating with all sorts bleach teatree oil concentrated salt solution and all the solutions you can buy and ,,,,

NOTHING !!
Sorry to disappoint and maybe it will be different for you but nothing I’ve ever done will get my nails growing clear again :(
So now I just file them so there not so thick , still put treatment of some kind on just in case , but don’t have hope anymore
Only thing that ever seems to make a slight difference is nailner spray on solution
BUT don’t spray it on as it will burn your skin and is a waste of the solution to be spraying over large area, spray into the cap and use a ear bud to apply to edge of nail it will seep into infection , do this a couple times a day 1 after morning shower, again before bed
Slow progress as always but can see it working , NOTHING else does

Just to add don’t cut your nails down with razor blades like I did
Didn’t help and was a bit extreme

I've had horrendous fungal toenails for years. Tried all the OTC stuff and got some topical stuff from the doc years ago on prescription. Nothing.

Then I saw a suggestion to try Tea Tree oil. It has worked!!!! I put some on each toenail every morning. Took a while to show results but nails are growing back clear and staying that way,

@Spodge hi, just wondering how bad your toenail was? And exactly how long to see results?
I've got an awful looking toenail on my big toe it's brown/yellow and can see white underneath. I've tried various things over the years and none work. Have been using Excilor paint on clear varnish for a year now and little improvement. Think it's also spread to other nails it's a nightmare

@kissmelittleass I’ve been using it for a good year now. I think it was about after 3 months that I noticed something different. In that the horrid bits were growing out properly. Before, the growth would seem ok but then the fungus spread back down even while I was still treating. Both my big toenails were white and brittle. One second toenail was thickened and growing at a weird angle. That is the most stubborn but is much improved. The big toenails look pretty normal, though they remain a bit brittle.

I tried all the home remedies and OTC cures before I got a prescription for terbinafine which really worked for all bar one (the worst).
In addition I dremelld them down and soaked them in an Epsom salts footbath.

The only thing that worked for me was giving up sugar, as the root cause of mine was an overgrowth of Candida in my digestive system after a stint of antibiotics. Hard work as it was, it was totally worth it in the end.

It still raises it’s head every now and then (usually after a sugar filled Christmas!), but goes back down again, when I’m back to normal sugar levels.