Hi! How much did you have to pay for the manicure set? My concern about the filing from underneath is that you may put pressure on it and have it lift up, which the fungal toenails already have a tendency to do.

For years I have not been able to bare my feet, the nail fungus was so bad.In Febuary I started to soak my feet in hot water and epsom salts, then dry them well and cover my toes with vicks, put on cotton socks and off to bed. Did this each and every night and come July 1/o7, I wore open toe shoes for the fist time, not sure what did the job the salts or the vicks. but I realy do not care . Thanks to the tip I found here my feet are happy.And for added bonus my heels are soft and no more cracks.
Thank you

I am very interested in the polish. Where did you find it?
Like you, I like the change that filing brings about. I have read so much about the nail fungus, I don't remember where I have seen it, but I think the fungus may feed on the cast off cells and tissue under the nails, so it may be important to get as much of that out as possible. This is so exciting reading about people getting better rather than making themselves sick taking prescription meds and depleting their bank accounts doing it.

I got the polish off justfortoenails.com. It's pricey, but it was invented by a podiatrist and having the tea tree oil in it is great so that at least the polish may not be as bad to have on your toenails for short periods of time. The color chart they have on the site is not very accurate. I ended up buying all the colors just to experiment. The ridge filler is probably a waste. Go for the darker colors. My favorites were Romance - an orangey red that is really pretty. I love the Burgandy because it is a dark red and covers other undesirable shades well. I also liked the Bronze Star - an orangey brownish metallic color - it covers well too. Burgandy my favorite though for toenails. The Honey Glaze is a really nice lighter color - I use it on my fingernails (that thankfully have never had fungus, but hey preventive maintenance is a good thing!) and it may be fine for your toenails if they aren't very discolored. I like the other lighter shades too, just not for covering discolored toenails. I think the shipping was the same no matter how many bottles you ordered (can't remember for sure) and if so it's cheaper to get what you want in one order. I too am glad to have people to be able to vent about this with. It's like a dirty little secret you have to hide from most of the world. I have learned a lot and am seeing improvement rather than worsening. Determined to stay on the "natural course" and not the pharmaceutical. I am kind of iffy on the pee thing although I probably could stick on my toes in it. I kinda do wish I had a laser though - zap that @#$% into oblivion! Good Luck!

This weekend I tried sanding underneath the nail. I think using an orange stick works better for me and in addition I don't have to worry about breaking the skin. I, too, am dreading the cooler weather and the need to wear regular shoes again. Anybody got any suggestions to keep up the fight while undercover?

You can buy a UV light on ebay. I did. Except it was cheap and only lasted 6 times. Maybe the laser? I have used a magnifying glass, ever so briefly. I don't want to set my toenail on fire! Nor do I want to go blind looking while I'm burning...
I am intrigued with a remedy that I found on that curezone website for toenail fungus. A mother wrote that her 19 year old daughter had some other ailment, some mucous congestion or something of that nature. She was instructed to cover the bottom of her daughter's foot with a thin layer of vaseline, not up the sides or the heel. Then take 12-15 cloves of garlic, pressed and mix it with a different batch of vaseline and spread that on the existing vaseline. Wrap the foot in saran wrap and go to bed. You can't walk on it, as it supposedly would burn the feet. She unwrapped it the next morning and the garlic was green and the fungus was gone. I do find it hard to believe that the fungus would be gone. From what I've read on other websites, you have to grow the toenail out. But it nonetheless sounds interesting! (Get all the details--I may have overlooked something important, on the curezone toenail fungus website.)

nic05,
Try taking showers at night before bed to make sure your feet are nice and dry in the morning and then switch socks or remove them completely when you get home.

I've just started the twice daily vinegar routine and will post with results. After searching around I'm amazed at the people who get so angry with the idea of using methods that change the nail environment to discourage growth rather than "curing" it with medicine. Living creatures require an environment that is hospitable to them, I don't see how changing the PH of the nail area to kill or discourage fungus or bacteria growth is not a cure. Stuffing our feet into socks and shoes all day gave them the break they needed, time to get medieval on their a$$!

I'm all about debunking quackery and pseudo-science, but this doesn't seem far-fetched, it's at least worth a month of my time to see if I can see a difference.
BTW, if there is any difference I'll post immediately 'cuz I've had this for a couple decades now and it's time for it to go. Don't have the money for medicine and my liver is probably borderline anyway due to excesses in my 20s.

I was thinking about the cold feet in the winter thing and I thought of something I am going to try. I am gong to take some toe socks and cut off the very tips of them so that the toenails can hang out, but at least you will have some warmth on the rest of your feet, preferrably slathered with some kind of antifungal before you put the socks on.

What do folks use to sterilize and sanitize nail clippers, files, etc. to prevent spread and reinfection. Started using distilled white vingar three weeks ago and seeing much improvement. This is in addition to keeping my feet dry, changing socks, keeping out of shoes and into sandels as much as possible.

I soak my toenails clippers in rubbing alcohol for 5-10 minutes. The vinegar drops change the environment that is hostile to the fungus. You may not see any improvement at the base of the growing base for at least a month. You are attempting to treat the part of the nail that is not yet visible. That's the problem with this fungus. People think they're going to see immediate results. It can take up to one year to grow a nail and people get fed up after two weeks--and the growing nail is not even visible at that point!

I checked out that website. I must say, I don't know quite what to think. I am pleased with my progress so far. After the first setback I have, I may be willing to try some of it. I have a friend who is into much of what is on the website. He is also into ghosts and UFOs, so I have my doubts about what he tells me. I guess I'm conservative by nature, so I will be a follower rather than a leader in some of this stuff. If anyone tries any of this (Beck protocol, etc.) please post your results. I'm open minded, but basically a chicken.

SpunkyB-how do you deal with the stuff under the nails. Do you just scrape it out or file it out. I guess I haven't thought enough about the importance of that. Please forgive my gross questions. Everytime I read someone elses postings, it raises new questions. How far back do you trim the nails? It would be great if someone would invent a fake toenail that was permeable so that we could all look great while we treated our #%$^&& fungus. Surely one of us could come up with something! Enough of my rambling. Luck everyone.

Last year, I was a little overzealous in my cleaning underneath my nail and I actually created separation and the toenail lift myself. I cooled it and it is better, but my toenail with the longstanding fungal infection is cocked at an angle quite a bit. I have to be careful. I take one of those white plastic dental flossers and use that implement to "clean". But I've actually seen that white tip actually (accidentally) go below the line of infection--thereby pushing the infection further down. It's bad enough that the minute that I think I make progress, that I go backward, but even worse when I am the cause of my reversal!
I trim the nail as far back as possible. One of my toenails I am unable to trim back. And I am guessing here, but I think it is the nail bed that is visible. So I am unable to trim that one very much. And the other is separated. I did buy a $20 nail clippers made by Revlon and it actually says on the packaging that it is made for thick toenails. And that is helpful. Unfortunately, my nails grow very slowly.
I think a fake toenail would be bad. It would only serve to hold in moisture, like nail polish. Lighter colors are better than the darker colors, which don't allow much light penetration. Of course, the lighter colors wouldn't work for me, as my part of my toenails are brown. Pretty ugly! But I wear bandaids.

Thank you for that information on Citricidal! I'll save it for future reference.

Hey-my nails are growing crooked too-is that common with the fungus? I too think that some of the nail bed is exposed. The soaking and the initial filing with the really rough board have thinned the nails until cutting is not as much of a problem anymore. Before, I was worried that if they were so thick now, what would they be when I got so old that I couldn't cut them myself. I have managed to get them cut pretty much straight across and hope that as they grow, I can train them to grow straighter. Right now I have about a quarter inch of fairly normal looking nail. Probably won't work, but it doesn't hurt to try it. My husby has a shiatsu foot massage thing. I may start using it and see if it might increase blood circulation and make the nails grow faster. Once again, when you are doing twenty things at once, its hard to know which ones help and which ones don't. It sure is nice to have contact with people as obsessed with destroying this fungus as I am. We may be wierd, but we're not alone!

I do the two steps forward one back thing. I've been using the iodine and I know that that kills the fungus, but besides putting it around the 3 sides, I've also been putting it underneath the nail. And I just today discovered that it contains water, so I am wondering if I've inadvertantly made myself lose ground. I am not going to do that any more. Interesting aside--the first time I used the iodine, I applied it at night and then put on the o.o.o. and wrapped it in a bandaid. The next morning, all around my toe was covered in dried black specks. The iodine killed the fungus and it got floated out from underneath the nail, in the oil. Too weird! That's the only time that that has happened. I think the foot massage is a great idea. I've been doing jazzercise for about 7 months now. It all has to help! I know what you mean about doing the twenty things. It's a mystery. Like me finally guessing that the iodine behind the toenail might be problematic.

Hello all, just thought I'd share how things are going for me. Fungal toenails going back over 10 years on all nails on right foot...at one time my big toenail only joined my foot at the base! Earlier this year I started treatment again in earnest...painting different things on my nails daily. I used a combination of citricidal (try Higher Nature in Burwash, East Sussex or Health food shops..I'm in England), tea tree oil, neem oil and white vinegar. But I also used a product called 'Monophytol' which I got from Boots (who don't seem to do it now..let me know if any of you are able to get it) which I painted on twice daily. My toenails are generally pinker not so yellow and the middle one has grown back healthy all the way Hooray! My other toenails are not good, but I have found that cutting off any part which isn't attached and then thinning them by filing helps the stuff to really get to the parts that it needs to. I think you have to be careful not to damage the cuticle area though. The other thing I've done is worked at it from the inside by doing colon cleansing and taking lactobacillus products. I'm hoping that the other nails will follow suit if I keep it all up, although my big toe is a tough one as the fungus keeps getting a hold and spreading right down to the base again. I'll keep you posted!

Citricidal is available on Higher nature website. www.highernature.co.uk and I think they ship outside the UK.

Regarding cooler weather and shoes and socks. I have seen white socks recommended as best for fungus. What do you think? I suppose some cute and comfortable boots would cover white socks okay. White socks or colored? Would it make a difference?

From what I've read, white is preferred. Cotton absorbs the fungus, but synthetic would wick away moisture, which I would think would be preferable. Confusing. I don't think boots are a good idea. Too much foot sweating. I've purchased black footies that I wear with shoes during the winter. I've even been known to walk around the office in them, to let my feet breathe.