Being a nail techician many many years ago, we'd often see the yellowing discoloration in someone that continually polishede their nails with dark colors. They would put the dark red or brown polish on, leave it on for a week, take it off and put it right back on without allowing the nails to breath or have sunlight.

If you are going to polish your nails, use light colors or do the french manicure thing, that is very sexy of both toes and fingers and the clear polish allows the nails to have sunlight.

Bridget

I have had severe toenail fungus for 3 years. After trying OTC products, I asked my Dr. about it. She recommended Vicks to start. When that didn't work, she wrote a script for Penlac. It would produce good results for several weeks until it was time to cut my nails. When I did that, the fungus would creep right back onto the new growth. Because I lifted or disturbed my nails?
Anyhow, I have a doctor appointment in about 2 hours and I was going to tell her that I guess I'll finally start the Lamisil. I found this site as I was searching for side effects of Lamisil.
Now, I think I will try vinegar and tea tree oil for awhile and see what happens!!
Thanks all.

I have been experiencing a toenail fungus problem particularly in my left big toe for the better part of a decade, and I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night as a result of it.

I tried Lamisil about 4 years ago, and it really didn't work for me. I also didn't like worrying about potential damage to my liver.

I've tried Vicks Vaporub to no avail. Tried Tea Tree Oil, too, without seeing any positive results. I will try the vinegar soak. After reading the many postings here, I will try to do it several times a day each day because consistency seems to be the key.

The Clorox pen idea sounds like it might be worth a shot.

Has anyone ever heard about soaking the affected foot in tea? I didn't read any postings about this, but I wondered if anyone else has tried it, and if so, should it be Black or Green Tea?

I'm afraid that I caused a problem by cutting my nail down too far and now I may have launched an in-grown nail situation. This fungus thing is such a nuisance, and it has periodically become painful, but nothing like last night.

To jackmanod, do you think a single clean plastic produce bag might work as well as the Plastic Film? gt

I've had fingernail and toenail fungus for years now. I've been on Lamisil twice, and Sporonox once. Neither of them helped. I've tried every kind of topical cream you can think of. Tea tree oil, Vick's, and hydrogen peroxide. Those didn't work either. I think I even tried the vinegar, but I can't remember now. Since a lot of you have had success, I will try it again for a longer period. I hope you all come back to update! Good luck.

Well, I definitely think there's something to this treatment! I have been doing the vinegar with a cotton ball twice a day (or more when I think about it) on my 4 toes that are affected for about a month. I am noticing the new growth at the base of the nail is much better- not totally normal, but kind of white/clear instead of yellow. I've had a bad case of fungus for several years so I figure it might take a pretty long time to grow out.

Interestingly, I just got back from 2 weeks at the beach, and the sea water seems to have helped A LOT! The nails seem to have shrunk and dried out, pulling away from the nail bed so I can cut them a lot shorter, and all of the gunk under the nails is gone. Sorry if this is TMI!! On my 4 little nails, the really bad part is almost all gone. My big toenail looks like it's going to take awhile longer since it's so much bigger, but you can definitely see the difference at the bottom. I'm going to look into some kind of sea water soak to augment the vinegar. But the vinegar must be helping because I've been to the beach before since I've had the toenail problem, and it never helped this much.

Anyway, I just wanted to update here since it seems like a lot of people check in to this board. I am totally excited that this really might be working after all these years!!

take care,
Lisie

Hi,.I ran into this thread a couple of weeks ago because I was determined to rid my toes of the fungus that have been attackining my toenails for over 20 years now.
Thank you Amy for posting the results of your husbands abiltity to cure his toenails.
I have tried sporonics before with temporary results. And after reading side effects decided not to take them anymore.
In my mind I new that there had to be a natural remedy to cure toenail fungus.
Now, I have been applying apple cider vineger to my toe nails with a q-tip everyday twice a day. and vicks before putting on sock and shoes everday. Also I baught new socks that are designed to draw moister away from your feet. They are call double dry by CHAMPION.
The first week I noticed that the toenails were actually changing. Not looking better in color but dry when they were always soft ond moist underneath the nail. I cut them as short as possible so that the vinegar would penatrate more easily.
After two weeks now of being consistent and with support from myt wife who will buy me some tea tree oil. I can almost see the new nail apearing but I know it takes months, not weeks to grow out. I will post updates for the skeptics.
And speaking of skeptics that say nothing works. I believe that if that is what you believe then that will be the results. As for me i believe that I will have normal toenails 6 months from now.

Like most people on this site I have the same problem with yellow and ugly toenails. I have read alot of the posts on this site and I started the vinegar and vicks treatment. I will continue to post updates probably once a week. I am hoping and praying that this works for me. Thank you to all the people who have put there two cents in on these treatments. Because I know what its like to never be able to go barefoot, or try to hide your feet in the sand on the beach.

I am replying to the post about the acidophilus beer soak. My fiancee also had horrible toenail fungus. His tonails were thick and yellow and they were crumbly...if that is even a word. I, too, went online and searched for something to try and help him because the Lamisil is sooo expensive...we just couldnt afford it. I also came across the acidophilus beer soak and decided to give it a try. Boy this stuff stinks when you mix it up because of the vinegar but I am amazed to say...it works! You can buy acidophilus at any vitamin store..we got it at Vitamin Shoppe. Make sure it is live acidophilus...you will find it in a refrigerated cooler. You mix 50 thousand acidophilus bacteria(7 1/2 teaspoons if you are using a product that contains 2 billion), 1 liter of white distilled vinegar, and 1 liter of guiness stout beer. Soak feet for 20 minutes to half an hour at least 3 times a week. If you can, soak everyday for quicker results...keep nails cut short so the solution can soak in better. Its amazing, I didnt think anything could help his nails! I hope this helps someone out there...it surely helped my fiancee!

You can laugh all you want about the beer soak but it worked wonders for my fiancee's toe nails.....

CUT SCRAPE FILE CLEAN SOAK DRY, REPEAT, for a year and half or longer!!!
Ok i have a really persistent strain of the fungus, and I think the longer you have it, the longer it takes to remove it 100 Percent, outta the skin tissue, out of the nail bed, out of the nail root. This all takes time. After about 13 months not, I failed about month 5 i stopped my vinegar treatment. Although I see a nail that is 80% clear today, this is not 100% success. One of the downside of removing your nail or pulling on it i found was that it just damages your nail bed so much it takes forever to grow back, so just clip it, dont pull it off. The reason I feel is that it takes time, for me, id say the little vermins were hiding (in the millions/billions no doubt) in the toe itself. When I apply any of the remedies, i actuallyl feel nerve pain, like all the vermins are doing a retreat from the surface of my nailbed back in the toe. Some results after 13 months might be helpful:

1) I started on the Apple Cider and I spray my toes twice day. It's alot more convenient than soaking in a big pan, but im sure soaking IS THE WAY TO A CURE especially since as your nail grows back, you wont be able to clear the skin it grows over, so soaking gives you lots of time to get the vermin out of your skin first!!! Personally, if it takes me 3 years to cure 100% I'll take convenience over time. This might be wrong on part, because once that nail grows back you can't really remove it or get under the nail to fight the problem. Maybe on day 2 and for a few months, the soak might be for you, I see alot of people saying it's fantastic. Vinegar Soak?

2) Citricidex Grapefruit Seed and I also bought some Apple Cider Pills although I think this all good from trying to kill them from within, my body is so full of sugar, food for the critters, I have not seen the kinda results I expected. Possibly more water in my diet or just make sure you drink 2 glasses of water with it to add more water if you have poor circulation like i do.

3) Ok I tried the Vicks for a few months but it still started growing back Opaque colored (this is where a good acidiphilus soak, in my opinion, would have been better to CURE THE PROBLEM, HOWEVER, rule #1 should be to FILE FILE FILE. Think of your nail as having 4 Quadrants and really go at it filing, every week. Get that nail sanded down like 80% THINNESS, you will feel alot more comfortable with your shoes off because they will almost be clear again not opaque. I used VICKS, but i just got tired of smelling like mint all day long.

4) I bought the Potassium Iodide and DMSO. Although I see alot of improvement, again, Im not there yet. DSMO could be as hazardous to your health as Lamisil Pills, I DO NOT KNOW. I think if you gonna spend 30 bucks, going with a acidiphilus soak seems to me like a better way (especially to get it out of your skin tissue).

5) Ahhhhh bleach water and tea tree oil to just mix things up, but do this during periods when your not scraping off the next 5 layers of hard skin. I just went back to bleach after a year, it burns but i dont doubt its helpful.

6) DONT STOP DOING SOMETHING TWICE A DAY, ANYTHING. Because IF YOU DO, I got bored after month 5 even though I think this is like 2 year project for me. Yes, thats how stubborn this process is. I think I could reduce this in half if I gave up sugar and just drank those rec. 10 glasses of water a day. Print out what you know, and do it.

I just wanted to stress that for those of you who know that your fungus might be more stubborn than others:

1) It's going to take 1-2 years to cure
2) Dont get mad, "get even", by doing daily soaks, if I had to stress one thing is that once you remove your nail, you have a VERY LIMITED TIME to hit that stubborn skin with something. You should know if you mess up within the first 4 months, then you already lost the battle. Why? Because it takes years for that fungus to destroy your nail to the point where you can remove it easily, so since you know this, and once the new nail grows back, you must attack as much of TOE/FINGER as possible because the new nail will now be attached to the skin probably abnormally still because you didn't soak in the early stage. I wish I had been more diligent now a year later, as I can not hit that nailbed the same way.

P.S. The funny thing about my simple Vinegar, Peroxide, and Vicks "remedy" i started with (even though Sporanox Pills failed) I should of known spraying my skin couple times a day wasnt gonna do the trick to cure me. If you dont want the 100 dollars for acidiphilus soak, try soaking your feet in vinegar and please post for everyone.

3) As the nail grows back, FILE FILE FILE it down. I was disappointed that by the 6th-8th Month, I had a new nail that was growing ever so slow and opaque not clear and not healthy. Then I read about Filing/Sanding that nail down. OH VERY NICE, WOW what a difference, I had a nail that was almost clear, very thin, but clear. Hoever, since I failed to do step #2 in the early stages, I have a new nail that is attached and I can no longer really hit the underside of the nailbed/root.

I be checking back, as I right this, I wonder if a person out there has been really been obsessive about soaking their feet in just Apple Cider Vinegar during the early growth period, and how well that worked. The Vermin are so much a part of your skin tissue, that its not about the nail at all, kill the skin problems with soaks, and you have just created an environment with good healthy skin and the nails grows into this healthy environment. If you try to tackle just the nail and still have 30% infected skin, you missed the boat entirely.

I am just glad that others are as obsessed with curing this as me! I agree with the pp about soaking, just don't have as much time as I'd like to devote.

I have lived with this god awful fungus for years! I was treated with Sporanox years ago (temporary improvement) but it did not last. At first it was only on one foot and now has spread to the other. In the last five years I have tried: Leucatin (did not work), all internal supplements that are supposed to fight fungus - yeast cleanse, olive leaf extract, etc. I have used Deggurcide,which basically seemed to kill the nail and make it peel off, but not real improvement in new growth. I have used the beer soaks, Aztec foot soaks, tea tree oil, etc, etc. I use something every day, but still fight this! I file, soak, etc. but I only seem to back it down and not really cure it. I too am obsessed with ridding myself of this life altering disease. I love shoes!!!! I love cute little sandals!!! Unless you have dealt with this you have no idea what it is like to have to keep your feet basically hidden from view. I sometimes get it backed down where I can wear cute shoes briefly, but it is a lot of work. Artificial nails on the big toe work great, but always the danger of one falling off at an inopportune moment and I am afraid doing this will only make it worse. I am now applying a mixture of oregano oil, DMSO, tea tree oil and grapefruit seed extract twice a day and soaking as much as possible. Has anyone had the peroxide mixed with the vinegar make your feet more scaly? I am not sure if it was the peroxide or the DMSO I added to the soak that may have done this. I just read about a product called Varisi that claims to cure (ha ha) even through nail polish or artificial nails. It says not to cut the nails at all during treatment. This is contrary to everything I have read about treating this. Any comments about this product??

I have found that a good way of making your toe nails grow fast is by eating a lot of gelatin. Gelatin comes from the connecting tissue of animals like cows and pigs. These connecting tissues range from tendons to hooves. They provide what the body needs for hair and nail growth. When I have consumed large amounts of gelatin it has made my hair and nails grow faster. At least that has been my observation. So if you use the vinegar remedy, the process will go as fast as your nails can grow. So eating gelatin would increase the speed of your nail growth and thereby making the remedy a much faster process.

How deticated are people really about soaking. Do they get the skin band nails have to almost be PICKLED for the first 6 months BEFORE that new nail has time to grow back, AND to allow your dead layers (of both skin and nail) to full off. THAT AINT EASY FOR THIS USER EITHER. I agree with the previous post about 7 or 8 back about whether people have a plan BEFORE they tackle this problem. I didn't really, I just started yanking and spraying. Not really a great idea. Either way you should plan on spending over 100 bucks or more per year NO MATTER WHICH WAY you do it. I decided that since my shoes are the first thing to get kicked off when i get home, that instead of spraying (which after 15 months, not seeing a 100% cure, i think because it dries so fast and I have a very stubborn fungus, not sure), that I started using birthday balloons, and I can spray under the balloon all day long if I want to. Come on who is really going to soke everyday, I'm cutting the tops off birthday balloons, and allowing it to really soak for hours and hours and hours. Im trying the Bleach Pen, Vinegar, Peroxide. When it gives me too much discomfort (usually I can have it on from 5pm til almost bedtime, I noticed that if its cutting off circulation, just snip more of the balloon off. This works great for Big Toes and Soaking, because lets face it, I would rather soak for several hours, instead of lugging around a tub i might spill, added expense, less time soaking with this method, and quicker too. Writing this I have already had my balloon on my big toe for last 4 hours today, who can say that?
It's really my Big Toes I want to cure, as recently, using the same clippers for my other big toe, has spread the fungus to a good nail.

Hi,

a good friend of mine was using 'LAMSIL' for a year with *severe* side-effects- constantly tired, irritated, sick, headaches, stomach aches and upsets- really terrible! But it seemed to be working as the fungus was almost gone.

On returning to the doctor, he was prescribed 'TERBINAFINE', which the doctor told him was "exactly the same as Lamsil" (and of course cheaper, I must add ;).

Since then, most of his side effects are (almost) gone, however after a year of Terbinafine the fungus has been growing back.

He went back to the docs and demanded the 'LAMSIL' pills again, angry that two years have been spent fighting the fungus, possibly unnecessarily, because LAMSIL IS NOT EXACTLY THE SAME AS TERBINAFINE- much weaker, apparently.

Now for two weeks he is on Lamsil and is feeling really terrible again. I'm very worried about the harm these pills are doing to his body. I'm encouraging him to try the vinegar and vicks remedies, though I doubt these will work if something so strong as Terbinafine won't.

Has anybody else experienced this with these medications, and if so, did you find a solution?

Any info much appreciated,
Thanks.

I have used the vinegar and vicks every morning before I put on my shoes and go to work. When I get home the first thing I do is take off my shoes and socks, and keep them off and apply vinegar. This wasn't working at first until I read the post about filing down the thickness of your toenails. Now after one more week of doing the same treatment after filing down my toenails it seems that it is working much better. I am confident enough to wear flipflops on my vacation now. But I know that I am going to have to continue the vinegar/vicks treatment for a long,long time. Also, if I know I am going to be at work for overtime I take an extra pair of socks with me and change them after eight hours. If you use a spray bottle for the vinegar instead of a soak, one bottle of vinegar will last a long time. I hope this helps even one person.

I just wanted to add that soaking my fungus troubled toenails in sea salt helped to soften them and even helped some with the discoloration. I was told that sea salt would cure them, but that was not the case for me. However, the soak did help enough that I could paint my toenails and wear sandals without anyone knowing I had fungus underneath. I would wet my toenails some and then pour the salt on my toenails completely covering them. I let that set for about 10-15 minutes and then I would scrub it in. I would then pour about 1/4 box of the salt into a tub of water and soak my feet for about 20-30 mins. I did this twice a day for a while. Since it is not a cure all ( at least it wasn't for me) I can't really tell you for how long you should do this. I start doing it a few weeks prior to starting to wear sandals. Also, it will soften the rest of your foot so that your heals won't look cracked. I continue the soak twice a day for the summer months while I'm wearing open toe shoes.

PS
This soak soften my nails enough as to make it much easier to file them down. You might want to try the soak if for nothing more then that reason.

I'M NOT ALONE! It's comforting but sad that there are more like me that have to go through this. I've had toenail fungus since I was in Junior High.

Until I tried Lamisil in college, I never wore sandals. The Lamisil worked great, with no side effects (luckily). For the first time ever, I started wearing sandals. But as soon as I stopped taking the lamisil, the fungus grew back.

Now I'm trying to get my treatments back on track. This is the fourth day of my Acidophilus Beer Soak. I just whipped up a new batch (once every three days): 1L vinegar, 1L Guiness, 60 billion acidophilus organisms (from the capsules). I filed my dry, cracking, discolored, 'crumbly' separated nail before using the treatment. I hope it helps. Whether you want me to or not, I'll try to keep you posted as to how it's going.

Thanks for listening!