Fungal toe nail treatments pls

[WinterNightStars]

Hi

what do you guys recommend that has worked for fungal toe nails?

I’ve read about tea tree oil, Vicks, lamisil, curanail etc but hard to get a feel for real experiences.

already on meds that can upset liver so oral meds last resort.

thanks

My nails are fungal and I have tried tea tree oil. It's very harsh and I had to stop using.
I find that Vick's on clean feet helps - I use the cheap version from the £1 shop and apply it liberally.

Lamisil didn't work for me.

Vicks every night is helping... if I skip a few days it starts to get worse. My plan is to file regularly and keep using vicks for a few months. Also heard of foot soaks with listerine mouthwash which contains menthol etc and tried it a few times. I think that one needs more time and requires patience. Easier to put on vicks.

Margaret Dabbs Foot Hygiene Cream. Put it on thickly all over and under the nail. I did this to my elderly parent's fungal nails and you can see the new, fungus free nail growing in.

after months of trying canastan, Vicks etc , I bit the bullet and bought online :(

Its working

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Treatment-Toenail-Softener-Toenails-Solution/dp/B0F47H1RX8/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3EXMFKANN75SH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zCpfKlIxISXaupwaDy7bKiZfFPUsO67af6n8LXeafvs0nVbkJVwbw_AGUy2M2qH9k7lx0OTxNkjDC7YdqKqCZFDeap9sdjpNVHTc8fKNG3ETgVL87RtTD9e2i-l7StJhingb7h44KX2ZmXcNQJqMuIYvsGs-27UNYD5nh9mt9_0E1eq4o6cXsmqArCdexAcrp__n1NxcvxsTdH4uxhnctuA15KfnEyqp_WCBYBqDWv5x2RFxBr3clDhV7ftrxpIBlaxlRQFRs0mpXO-6tT__66qH4LKHTPk1HMWNJB5SmQo.O971MPwq8JvasV-vEWHwgqUUtBs9S3wNzfZiwwxugsE&dib_tag=se&keywords=Nail%2BFungus%2BTreatment%2Bfor%2BToenail%2CFungal%2BNail%2BTreatment%2BExtra%2BStrong%2BToenail%2BFungus%2BTreatment%2BNail%2BRepair%2BGrowth%2BTreatment%2BNail%2BSoftener%2Bfor%2BThick%2BToenails%2BToe%2Band%2BFinger%2BNail%2BSolution%2B30ML%2B(Blue)&qid=1752620233&sprefix=nail%2Bfungus%2Btreatment%2Bfor%2Btoenail%2Bfungal%2Bnail%2Btreatment%2Bextra%2Bstrong%2Btoenail%2Bfungus%2Btreatment%2Bnail%2Brepair%2Bgrowth%2Btreatment%2Bnail%2Bsoftener%2Bfor%2Bthick%2Btoenails%2Btoe%2Band%2Bfinger%2Bnail%2Bsolution%2B30ml%2Bblue%2B%2Caps%2C69&sr=8-6&th=1

Sorry for the link, I dont know how to make them smaller

Im using this twice a day, I did file a wee bit and. I cut the nails as short as I could bare, and I can now wear my trainers again. Pain has really eased, the nail is looking better, and its only been 5/6 days so far

Are you sure it's fungal

I was driving myself mad with 'fungal toe nails' on my big toes for over a year. I sent clippings to the GP and that found no fungal nail infection and eventually came to the conclusion it was just natural nail thickening due to age with disclosuration due to medication I was taking.

All that money wasted...

The item linked by @suki1964 seems to only have tea tree oil as an active ingredient.

I’m pretty sure one may be fungal but I’ve had thickened toe nails for years due to age/trauma. Out of interest has anything helped to improve the appearance of your thickened nails?

Regular filing and buffing

Lamisil is the only treatment with Terbinafine so it's the only thing that should work. However, my whole nail was fungal and when I knocked it, the whole nail came away, so the fungal went. My other toenail was half fungal so I cut that away and put Lamisil on both toes. It hasn't returned

There is nothing in that to treat nail fungus. It's literally oils of various sorts

You mention you are on meds that can affect the liver...if you don't mind my asking, would that be for psoriatic arthritis by any chance? Nail psoriasis can sometimes look very similar to fungal nail infections

The tea tree oil is anti-fungal. The other oils might make it less harsh on the skin.

I’m 69 and over decades I’ve used every fungal toenail product sold in Boots and Superdrug, plus tea tree oil (with and without lemongrass oil), Vicks, povidone iodine, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice… most for a year or more at a time. I asked my GP as an aside when I was there for a routine appointment and was given an envelope in which to put a selection of toenail clippings for analysis. I was too embarrassed to hand it in to the receptionist.

Last month I had a week away at a beach resort, for DD’s wedding, and as I was desperately conscious that my feet might be noticed, I booked a toenail reconstruction. I emailed the place offering these LCN and Toeflex reconstructions to say I’d understand if they thought my feet were too dreadful to work on.

When I got there, the person thoroughly inspected the nails, used an electric thing to burr them flat and smooth, and said they’re not fungal nails at all, but an entirely hereditary condition.

My big toenails were reconstructed, the others painted, and I twinkled my toes in the sunshine with a confidence that I would never have believed possible.

Im getting them done again in a few weeks!

Yet it is working for me , hence I recommended it

tea tree does work , but unless you know how to mix it can burn and cause a lot more problems.

one toe is nearly clear , after a week , the other has a way to go yet.

Tea tree is effective, @suki1964 ,and the oils probably make it less unpleasant to use. If it works for you, great, it's worth it.
I might try using a carrier oil with the tea tree oil.

My deleted post was about the reconstructed toenail. I'd be wary of having it done due to a possible reaction or infection. Maybe the pp went to somewhere who'd be thorough enough to take full consideration of those possibilities.

Foot cream containing urea can help alleviate thick toenails.

The only thing that worked for me was tea tree oil. I dabbed it on nightly with a cotton bud - now down to a few times a week for maintenance.

@Paetina ,do you use it neat? My skin gets very sore if I use it.

Curanail is the only treatment that worked for me. It was recommended by the pharmacist and poodiatrist. I applied it twice a week not as instructed once a week which helped. Expensive though at £30 but it lasts a while and works. Also makes sure you don’t have any athletes foot anywhere in your foot that may have caused it and wear socks always never bare foot in shoes.

We live 5 minutes from the beach and we've been about 6 times in two weeks. At first my feet stung a bit but walking through the salty water and rubbing feet/nails in the sand has worked wonders!

I was recommended Excilor pen by a pharmacist and it has worked. It has taken probably best part of a year and I am still applying it as when I stopped it started growing back. I hope if I use it for long enough that will sort it. I think it makes a hostile environment for the fungus so it stops growing, and eventually you have cut away all the affected nail. The pen is hard to get but I have got a paint on one now

I saw a foot health practitioner, a few years ago to get a treatment called clearanail. She drilled microscopic holes in the nail (couldnt feel it) then I used lamisil daily. I saw her every few weeks for about 3 or 4 months

Curanail is what worked for me, and as you say - applied much more often than suggested. I would also suggest ignoring the flimsy files that come with it, and using something more industrial strength. I used one of those foot files. I'd had fungal nails for years on my big toes, and my podiatrist recommended Curanail. It took a while, but when I ramped up the number of treatments and used a better file it made a huge difference. They are clear now.

A chiropodist came and put some liquid on my toe nail that removed the top layer. Then I used curanail weekly. Didn't miss a week and it worked, slowly but surely.

Yes, neat - but try to keep just to the nail. Tiny bit might get on skin (under nail) but not noticed it causing soreness.