I empathise with everyone on here fighting their fungus problem. I too have longstanding toenail fungus and have tried so many things without success. I did see an Indian doctor who recommended a herbal powder called Triphala. You boil a large teaspoon full of this in water and then soak your foot in it. It needs to be done everyday...what I have noticed when I have used this is that it really gets rid of the fungus in the skin on the foot, but I haven't done it for long enough to see if it makes a difference with the nails. I do think it's worth looking at fighting it internally by paying attention to diet and maybe using natural antifungals as well as doing the external stuff. Just starting a new fight against my fungus! Good luck everyone!

well i am trying the vinegar and filing and after 35 years my fungas is clearing up. I can not believe it.. I have taken the Lamasil twice and tried all over the counter stuff. This is amazing... I have only been doing this for 2 weeks since I found this forum.....

How much new growth have you had in two weeks? You cannot change the existing fungal part. You can only grow out the healthy new growth. Filing does change the appearance, makes it look better, but until a whole new nail grows out, you won't really know until you cut off the discolored nail, if you've truly gotten rid of it. I've had many setbacks with mine. I think it's almost growing out and then boom! it grows farther down toward the base. And that could take 6 to 12 months...

I have suffered with toenail fungus for 4 years now and belive me I tried EVERYTHING!!! vinegar, tee tree oil, listerene, vicks, penlac and Lamasil. I was under the impression that I caught it from getting pedicures. Well, I just left the podiatrist yesterday and I finally got my answer. The doctor was great. He has been working with feet for 30 years (God bless him).
I would notice slight differences with different remedies I would try, but nothing ever 'cured' it. I finally tried Lamasil but I did what was called a pulse dosing and then an abreviated dose. Basically taking it seven days a month with a 3 week break, but saw very little differences. Then I took half doses of lamasil for 3 months and it seemed to be working, until I stopped it. I decided to go to the source or the problem and see the 'foot doctor'. He told me that toenail fungus is hereditary and that I would never really cure it. Bummer. I live in Florida and literally LIVE in flip flops/sandals. Fortunately my toes aren't in terrible shape (possibly the lamasil). He gave me a topical gel called naftin hcl 1% gel to put around ALL my toes once a week for the rest of my life. He said things like lamasil, spornox, may temporarily treat it, but it would never be cured. He said I likely didn't 'catch' the fungus from getting pedicures since many women go forever getting pedicures and never get fungus. However, if you are suseptible to getting it, hence hereditary linkage then you will if not, well lucky you.
This naftin gel works, at least he swore to me it would, so I'm hoping it does. This whole ordeal has been depressing. I will keep you posted.

I have suffered with toenail fungus for 4 years now and belive me I tried EVERYTHING!!! vinegar, tee tree oil, listerene, vicks, penlac and Lamasil. I was under the impression that I caught it from getting pedicures. Well, I just left the podiatrist yesterday and I finally got my answer. The doctor was great. He has been working with feet for 30 years (God bless him).
I would notice slight differences with different remedies I would try, but nothing ever 'cured' it. I finally tried Lamasil but I did what was called a pulse dosing and then an abreviated dose. Basically taking it seven days a month with a 3 week break, but saw very little differences. Then I took half doses of lamasil for 3 months and it seemed to be working, until I stopped it. I decided to go to the source or the problem and see the 'foot doctor'. He told me that toenail fungus is hereditary and that I would never really cure it. Bummer. I live in Florida and literally LIVE in flip flops/sandals. Fortunately my toes aren't in terrible shape (possibly the lamasil). He gave me a topical gel called naftin hcl 1% gel to put around ALL my toes once a week for the rest of my life. He said things like lamasil, spornox, may temporarily treat it, but it would never be cured. He said I likely didn't 'catch' the fungus from getting pedicures since many women go forever getting pedicures and never get fungus. However, if you are suseptible to getting it, hence hereditary linkage then you will if not, well lucky you.
This naftin gel works, at least he swore to me it would, so I'm hoping it does. This whole ordeal has been depressing. I will keep you posted.

I have heard of people who have gotten rid of the toenail fungus and not had it come back. I think your doctor is full of it. Keep working at getting rid of it!

I had never had this problem but I read here that it could be hereditary. I don't know about that. After 30 years of pedicures I finally got the nail fungus. I saw a show that claimed if the salon did not sterilize the drain you were susceptible. In the 80's in NYC we had to have our own instruments at the salon. They would pull out the bag with your name on it. It was mandatory here during the AIDS epidemic. Now it is not. But even though they sterilize the metal equipment they can't do that to the emery board. I think that is how I got it. I have rec'd more good down home inexpensive advice from this forum than from the m.d.s. Thank you all!

Hi;

I've had toe nail problems for many years. Recently I started using Mycocide NS and I'm seeing great results.

How long have you been using it? And where do you buy it? How much does it cost? Thanks!

I applied tea tree oil diligently, twice a day. After one month I noticed redness and irritation in the flesh just below the nail. A few days passed and I kept applying the oil, but the redness turned into blisters and started to bleed. I also experienced a severe rash over most of my body. Not everyone gets good results from tea tree oil.

Just to verify I tried again about six months later. The redness and blisters returned after only three applications. It seems my immune system has developed a fast response to reject the foreign substance.

I've had a fungal infection in my big toe for the past 10 years. The nail was completely seperated from the nail bed under about 1/2 of the nail - very yellow, dark and nasty.

I've been asking my general practioner for years about options - he told me there was nothing I could do except take the pills, which were dangerous, expensive and not that effective. So I gave up.

I recently went to see a podiatrist and found I have several options. The first thing I'm trying is a topical treatment he says is as effective as the Lamisil pill (he also told me the pill isn't as dangerous as people think). There are a few newer topical treatments that apparantly work well.

So, the first thing he did was cut off as much of the infected nail as possible. I voiced concern about it coming back ingrown, but he said this is an urban legend, so about 1/3 of my nail was gone (it was painless). He also sanded down the remaining portion of the infected nail (not the healthy part). He prescribed me a topical that I apply twice a day - and I occassionally file the unhealthy portion of the nail. There is a generic, so it only cost me $12 with insurance, which will last months. The stuff I have is NailStik (I don't know if that's a brand), but it says 50% urea.

I've been taking pictures, which I will post once more nail has grown out, but within 3 weeks I have noticed a big difference. The nail doesn't look nearly as bad, and there's new growth where the infected area used to be.

If this doesn't work (which it appears to be so far), I'm going to have the nail completely removed. The nail is stil healthy towards the cuticle, so removing the infected portional altogether is supposed to give it a fresh start.

My last option will be the pill, but he said if I'm diligent about the topical treatment it should have the same results... so far it's been great. I can't believe how much better it already is, and I'm ecstatic I have the chance to lose my ugly nail! On a side note - I asked him how a topical can work it if doesn't get under the nail - he said that the nail has pores that allow the medicine through, which I didn't know. This is also why he sanded it down - to allow for better penetration.

Sorry this is so long, but I'm so mad I didn't realize there were so many options. I could totally see the vinegar solution mention here working - the basic premise seems to be keeping an environment where the fungus can't survive. But with as cheap as the topicals your doctor can prescribe are... I'd go with the prescription stuff. It comes in "sticks" with felt or something on the end. Easy to apply and convenient, plus it's odorless.

Good luck... I can't wait to wear sandals again.

"I applied tea tree oil diligently, twice a day. After one month I noticed redness and irritation in the flesh just below the nail. A few days passed and I kept applying the oil, but the redness turned into blisters and started to bleed. I also experienced a severe rash over most of my body. Not everyone gets good results from tea tree oil."

Interesting. I am just about out of tea tree oil, and I will not be reordering due to its bad odor. I thought maybe because I pulled out my nail instead of cutting off the bad one might have caused my redness, OR the warnings about DMSO irritating the skin. Also, I can not tell any difference using DMSO and TTO and IODIDE, its just too expensive to justify the bad smell, the purple coloration of the nail, but it did make my nail a little shinier and pinker, however here again, I am not sure it was because I was really good about FILING my nail down that month.

I see alot of interest here using Vinegar. This might be a crock of @$@#$ for some long-term fungus. After 16 months now, all Vinegar has done is slow the fungus down and with monthly filing, no one is going to even know you have it, BUT YOU STILL HAVE IT. I do not consider all these people saying they are quote, seeing results, or it is almost completely cured, etc. to be credible, as they do not return after a year or more, and say the same thing. But, I have wasted enough time on previous posts explaining my fungus is very, hard to get rid of, with my poor ankle circulation.

I also thought the post about the person who used like 10 different so-called home remedies, even with Lamisil, and it looked like it went away, and came back. This stresses again how resiliant fungus is, and how just a few critters in the skin or body can start the whole thing over again. I would be interested to know about your most recent work with Oil of Oregano, Olive Oil, DMSO, but like I said, DMSO (is this stuff toxic?) and Tea Tree Oil just made it APPEAR it was better, but I am not spending the money on more. Where are the people who used Tonaftate and Monostat etc, I do not see them back here saying Yep, this stuff killed it, and my nails looks normal again. Hope I do not get you too discouraged, but this thing seems nearly impossible, and only a dedicated individual can even come close to winning. I am not there after 16 months.

I thought the response about me using the balloons and having too much moisture was interesting. i did not understand, and I still don't, if the moisture used is Vinegar and Bleach, isn't this just like soaking, and let it air dry, I was doing that anyway, because the balloons tended to irritate me or burn, so I gave up on that method (plus its summer, I can't deal with this, but was a nice idea). Now I am just spraying Vinegar (still using the wrong vinegar, because Apple Cider Vinegar is nearly impossible to find), and sprinkling Garlic Powder for now (I am in-between methods, as I am not sure where to turn next). I am still popping my Grapefruit Extract, although that Florida Best looked promising, I still have not used the Acidipholis Soak yet.

Some things on my mind, Camphor, Oil Of Oregano, Olive Extract or Oil?, Rosemary, Foot Creams with Tonaftate/Mycocide/Monostat in them works but for how long, I have heard most creams just slow it down or makes it look normal. Well, I can do that with Vinegar and Filing, and save the expense and toxicidity of some of these things mentioned.

I've got stubborn fungus, too. Had it for 35 years. I am currently doing the two drops of vinegar around the toenail edges, decolorized iodine, oil of oregano (topically), ozonated olive oil and clotrimazole. And I do a weekly soak in cornmeal. I also use the Clorox bleach pen and liquid bleach, too. The first time I used the iodine, I knew it was working. I applied it at night. Afterwards, I applied the o.o.o. and covered with a bandaid and went to bed. The next morning there were little black specks dried all around my toe. The o.o.o. spread the dead fungus. Even now when I use the liquid bleach on my nails during my morning bath, I see the black specks come out. And the Clorox bleach pen turns the fungus black. So there are certain things happening that I equate with results. Sadly, I still have the fungus, though. It is extremely stubborn. I think the longer you have it, the harder it is to destroy. I've been on my mission since December 2005. As time goes on, I am even more determined and keep adding to the routine. I stopped drinking alcohol on June 2nd. I am no longer the Belle of the Ball! I have started new things to try to rid my body of the fungus internally. Just after I stopped drinking, I started taking olive leaf extract. I also drink Kefir which is supposed to help fungal infections. I am drinking a glass of water with two tablespoons of ACV twice a day. I just started that seriously in the last week. I also added carrot juice, which is supposed to help fungal infections. I am adding fresh minced garlic to the virgin bloody mary that my boyfriend makes every morning. I wish I had kept a journal of what I was doing when, because last year at this time, my toenails were better than they are now. (I know this because I did take a monthly photo.) With doing so many remedies at once, sometimes it is hard to know what works the best. I think at that time that I was taking orally the oil of oregano softgels. I think I will add that into my daily routine.
Interestingly, when cleaning my toenails, I did see that I dug down too far and inadvertantly spread the infection deeper. Great. I am also trying to sit in the sun as the critters don't like sunlight. I even try to keep my tootsies outside of my down comforter, to give them fresh air. I do notice a difference in the way that I feel since I started taking the olive leaf extract. Far less brain fog--definitely more alert, more focused. The cornmeal soak is interesting. It is time consuming--one hour per week, but not only is my whole foot cleaner and softer, the toenails themselves are different. I have brown on my toenails and they are less brown due to the cornmeal. I can even tell during the soak that it is working. I had read on the internet that you must do the weekly soaks for one year. Last year I was doing them for about 3 months and got complacent and stopped, due to the expenditure of time.

http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=82305

Basically, it says that as of July 2, 2007 there will be a generic pill available because the patent on Lamisil ran out (usually means cheaper too).

Also, an over-the-counter cream will be available.

I haven't checked out your link, but I will. I did know about Lamisil's patent expiring. But then there's still the health risk. I know of someone who took Lamisil, got rid of the toenail fungus. It came back. She took Lamisil again, it came back. She took Lamisil again and got rid of it, and that's been over 10 years ago.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and a couple of months ago, I was on Craigslist and saw a listing for UCSF, looking for people with toenail fungus, wanting to have a trial for some new drug that they were planning on bringing to market. I sure hope so!

I thought I posted last week but for some reason it didn't show up. I have been doing the vinegar thing diligently for 3 months and 1 out of 4 toenails has grown in almost normal. The others are better but not there yet. I definitely think there is something to this! I have also been applying topical lamisil on the days when I have to wear shoes for work. Otherwise I only wear flip flops.

As far as it being hereditary, I totally believe it, because everyone in my family has a problem with it.

Good luck,
Lisie

hey amy i was wondering i have the fungus problem can i use the red wine vinegar?

I don't really know for sure how important the type of vinegar is. But generic white vinegar is cheaper so I'd go with that :)

I posted awhile ago to let everyone know about my somewhat success with Vinegar. I say somewhat because I still have one stubborn nail that is ugly. Personally taking medication scares me. My sister in law took Lamisil with great success she now wears sandals and flip flops. I on the other hand have not worn open toed shoes since the early 90's. I traced back my fungus to the removal of ingrown toenails. The podiatrist I saw cut and burned the sides of my big toenails. They both were infected and was given antibiotics. But because the skin was exposed beneath my toenail, I believe that is how the fungus got started and just thrived on my feet. Sometimes it is so frustrating, especially right now when it's summer to not be able to let my feet breathe and wear cute shoes that show your toes. Another thing I have added to my routine is spray my shoes with Lysol every night. It makes sense right? They're a breeding ground for germs. I also try not to keep a pair of tennis shoes longer than 6 months to a year, depending on how often I wear them. I also only wear white socks. I seem to remember someone telling me once that black or dark colored socks aren't good for your feet, so I've avoided them. I think this web site is awesome. I check it often and love hearing about people's successes with different solutions. The application of Vinegar every night has become a routine for me, just like brushing my teeth and flossing. I wish I didn't have to do it everyday but honestly, the pain and itching that these toenails used to do to me was far worse than than taking those 10-15 minutes to apply the vinegar and allow it soak in and dry. I know this is not a remedy for everyone but you must be very strict in doing it if you're gonna try it. I'm on month 16 of doing the vinegar treatment. I'm willing to wait and see if the final big toenail gets better. All the others seem fine and no fungus has come back yet.

Do you spray once or twice a day? I am glad for you that you're having success. Please keep the rest of us posted. I had soaked in apple cider vinegar and hydrogen peroxide a year ago and then stopped. I couldn't remember why I stopped, so I tried it the other day. The brown area got bigger, moving toward the toenail base. Too much moisture. I guess that's why I gave it up. It so difficult to gauge what works and what doesn't...

Would everyone write in and let us know what treatment that you're using and how it is going? That would be helpful to know--thanks!