Toe nail infection (glamorous (not))

[pleasestopsnoring]

Not sure if this is a daft question or not, but here goes

Do I need to throw out all my nail varnish?

If its fungal yes and sterilise all your nail tools such as clippers etc

I googled, not necessary.

My MIL has had a fungal toe nail infection for years - her new chiropodist recommended rubbing in Vicks Vapo Rub on a daily basis (yes, strange I know) - this has been a great success and her toe nail is now growing strongly.

Throw out your nail varnish

Get barbicide for all your tools (clippers etc)

Wash socks on highest wash possible

Don't share a bathmat. I got some cheap towels and used these on top of the bathmat so as not to share with DH ( and changed regularly)

Use anti fungal spray in your shoes daily

Get topical treatment if it's one nail

If it's more than 2, you need to see the Dr

My GP gave me an anti fungal but the thing that nixed my infection and fixed my nails was cold laser treatment

It was a few months before my wedding and I was adamant I wasn't having minging feet walking down the aisle. Expensive but it worked

If topical isn't working, I'd see a podiatrist

BTW don't use TCP or Dettol for your tools. They're antiseptic but not antifungal. You need proper barbicide to protect against fungal infection

You do need to ditch the polish as fungus loves damp and low light, exactly what layers of polish provide.

I put Vicks on but I also put:

• pure tea tree oil
• pure lavender oil
• vinegar.

Sometimes whilst I'm in bed and with my mini spray bottle I just keep dousing my toenails with vinegar or I soak some cotton wool pad in vinegar then use a plaster to hold it onto the two big toe nails and leave it on overnight.

Get as much fresh air to your feet as you can.

You have to file down the nails (never sharing it with other toes, keep your hands covered and don't re-use the file) and I don't just mean the length, you need to file down the surface of the nail or anything that you put on won't soak down into the nail sufficiently to do any good.

By late 2016 having battled the fungus for a year I thought oh fab, you've sorted it. But just a couple of months ago I could see it had come back - just in time for the summer! I've not been able to wear any shoe or sandal where my toes are on display as whilst they no longer look gnarly and yellow, the lengths of the nails are all over the place as I have to constantly file them down to keep removing the fungally bits.

It's fully managed though and I'd say I'm 80% there - I'm not sure if I'll ever get rid of it tbh! I tried Curanail and so on - didn't work and in fact tea tree oil / vinegar have worked very well. Remember to protect new shoes by putting a plaster over infected nails so the spores don't get into the interior of the shoe, and consider throwing out any slippers for eg that you've worn without socks so as to not reinfect yourself. I change tights socks every single day also to make sure I'm not reinfecting. Tumble drying items that might have come up against the spores is also an important step as it dries the item out such that the fungal spores can't survive.

Good luck with the fungal battle!

Yes to what everyone else has said but also throw out any shoes you have worn barefoot when you've cleared the infection.
Toe nail fungus is a bloody awful thing to get rid of.

My dad once cured a fungal toenail infection by putting raw honey on it. A cousin suggested it and we all laughed at her, but it worked!

Ok you've scared me enough
Have bought a treatment from Amazon with good reviews and will give it a go. It been on one toe nail (right big toe) for a few years but hasn't really done anything, I've just covered it with nail varnish. this year it's spread to the other big toe so I've stopped ignoring it