Fungal nails tablet not working.

[Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain]

I’ve had fungal nails for the past few years. Tried the paint on liquid but it’s hard to keep up with so saw the doctor who prescribed a tablet for it. It did nothing at all, no improvement and I took it for 6 months.

What else can I try? Any magic remedies?

I was prescribed the same things. Eventually got all my toenails removed in pairs. Such a relief!

Neat tea tree, once or twic a day? You’ll know within a couple of weeks if you can see healthy nail coming through

Did the doctor take a sample to test for fungal infection before prescribing? Maybe it’s not fungal? I’ve taken the tablets before and mine were also quite bad- I think maybe 7 or 8 nails affected- and I saw results pretty quickly.

I’d also try neat tea tree oil. I find it’s super effective with fungal infections.

I took terbinafine (sp? Was a long time ago!)
and saw results that it was working within a couple of weeks - obviously it wasn’t cleared in 2 weeks but I started to see healthy regrowth.
As a pp asked, did they test for fungus before you were prescribed the medication?

How do you apply it? With cotton wool and wipe over? Dh has it on his big toes.

There was a brilliant sliced bread podcast about this (assessing all remedies as BS or best thing since sliced bread SB) and i can’t remember the details but the overarching memory was that it’s very difficult to get rid of. Definitely needs treatment from doctor. Herbal remedies etc only “work” because you didn’t have fungal nail infection in the first place. Worth a listen.

I used the paint on stuff. Worked fine. I read a tip to file over the affected area to allow the stuff to penetrate the nail. Only had it on one toe and it did have to grow out but was gone in about 6 months.

I’ve had fungal infections in my big toenails for many years, and couldn’t get rid. I heard about someone suggesting Vicks Vapor IB, on Mumsnet in early Dec, but didnt have any to hand, so decided to try the strong menthol & CBD ultra muscle balm that I had ordered from Holland and Barrett. I gave my two toenails a bit of a sanding woth a nail fil, and slathered it on, then after about half an hour went to bed. I didn’t think anything of it, then happened to look at my toenails closely in early Jan, while having a bath, and there was different textured nail growing through from the base of my nails. It is much flatter than the old nail, so there is a deep ridge down to where the new nail is growing. I will have to wait for another few months for it to grow our completely, I try and file and slather on the muscle balm when I remember (it is now maybe weekly), just to stop re-infection I suppose. I was fairly shocked at this - and googled, and I think the menthol / eucalyptus does something, but crucially i think the CBD actually completely breaks down the structure of the fungus (I found an academic paper about it). Anyway, it is still going well, maybe I will report back to this thread in a few months to check in when i can see if it has completely worked or not.

And when I mean I have had fungal nails for years, I mean decades!

I had a treatment where they drill little holes all over your nail and you spray lamisil in. Very effective.

But if terbafine did nothing it is surely something else?

Go to a podiatrist and get them to treat it. I found the paint on stuff to be very effective though.

Yep, if the prescribed medication did nothing then it’s not fungal. They’re probably just thick nails.

Mine has cleared after years of trying to sort them. I stopped all the topical treatments but I started taking a calcium supplement.

I had this...lacuna method. Worked!

It is definitely fungal as I can see it. At least it looks like it. Maybe I’ll go back to the doctors to check again and test for fungus. I have some tea tree oil somewhere too so will try that. Bastard nails!

What were the tablets you had, OP? Griseofulvin?

I have had one little problem child nail (next to my little toe) for about 30 years now. Back in the day I tried everything, nothing worked. Drs took clippings for testing and despite how it looked, it was not fungal. They said it was probably scar tissue in the nail bed from some kind of injury.

I just have gel nails all the time now, and file that one down myself before my appointments.

I tried Terbinafine twice and it worked slowly to an extent but never cleared it, I was on for
9 months then a year and a half and I started
fearing for my liver. I just keep them painted now, I’ve tried everything to no avail

You should’ve seen the effects of Terbinafine after a couple of months with the fresh nail growing out. Ignore the tea tree oil bollocks - if it’s a proper fungal nail, then it’s systemic, no amount of tea tree oil in the world will cure it. The gp told me there were two types of fungal nail and two types of treatment so if Terbinafine hasn’t worked, you’ll probably need the other (rarer) one.

My dh had it on ALL his nails for the longest time. I finally got him to the docs who tested it and gave him Terbinafine. He took them religiously for 6 months and you could see no difference. BUT nearly 18 months on most of it is now finally grown out. Seems his nails just grow incredibly slowly!! 🤷

Try another medication. Itricanazole 3 times a day cleared mine after tirbinifine failed. Almost immediate result.

I went to a chiropodist with mine and she told me that it wasn't fungal, it was mechanical damage caused by hiking and running. Mine improved a lot when started taking more time to lace my hiking boots properly. I'd be looking at other causes. Did the doctor actually get a sample tested?

That is what I think I’ll ask for next, I had Terbafine.

No no sample tested. They didn’t ask for one.

The doctor should take a scraping for analysis. Your particular fungus may be uncommon and need a different anti-fungal