Toenail Fungus Photos, Forum, Links

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From: student 6
Date: 18 Jan 2005
Time: 08:25:45 -0800


Comments
I have had wow, that is not very clear about what you are saying. Did you really mean that? What next? toenail fungus on all 10 of my toenails for at least 10 years now, and i have tried sporanox (too expensive and bad side effects), tineacide (an OTC cream) and tea tree oil (which i am using now.)
i want to ask if it is good for me to file the discolored nails down until they look pink (which is what i normally do) to apply the oil. i use it 2-3 times a day.

does anyone else find the tea tree oil effective? if so, what do i look for as far as improvement and how long did it take for your cases?

[Forum transfer]

From: D.
Date: 14 Feb 2005
Time: 08:18:34 -0800
Remote Name: 70.66.254.252

Comments
Filing the surface of the nail is beneficial as it helps the drops to penetrate through the nail.

The old fungus should be filed out from underneath the nail as soon as it is loose enough to fall away.

[sufferingmadly]

I tried Tea Tree Oil for over a year and it never worked. I think it may have kept the fungus from spreading but it did not kill it. I've had a very hard time with this.

[ilyndee]

I have nail fungus of 3 toenails. Ask your dermatologist... NAIL FUNGUS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE TOTALLY CURED. No matter the treatment, chances are it will eventually return. 50% of all nail problems seen by doctors are caused by nail fungus. Check out --- sorry advertising not allowed on this site, thanks -- for all of the facts on nail fungus. Especially note Risk Factors and Prevention. Once you get your nails to a point where the nail fungus is no longer evident, you MUST follow the prevention to reduce the incidence of reinfecting the skin with the fungus. There is no quick fix here. If you are not willing to invest the time, then do not bother to even start, you will not succeed.

I have noted that many of you have tried several treatments at the same time. We as humans unfortunately have evolved to a point of believing that more is better. This is where we can get into trouble. Different treatments, when used at the same time can actually cause more harm or one treatment can cancel out another. So please, pick a treatment and stick with it.

There are no fast and easy cures for nail fungus. Any treatment will take months to show the best results. WHY?? Measure your nail in millimeters. The average nail grows 1mm per month. If you have a nail 10mm in length, then it will take at least 10 months to grow from the nail’s base to the far tip of your nail. An investment in time is needed to get positive results.

I have been using an over the counter (OTC) product of Thursday Plantation Laboratories, Ltd. This product is in solution form. The bottle has a small brush attached to the inside of the lid, similar to that used to apply nail polish. This solution is called The Original ANTI-FUNGAL TREATMENT For Nails with Tea Tree Oil. The active ingredient is 12% Undecyclenic Acid, an anti-fungal medication. The Tea Tree oil in this solution contains a minimum of 36% Terpinen-4-ol. I purchased this item at The Vitamin Cottage. They sell lots of GNC products, so you might be able to get it through GNC. Thursday Plantation products are distributed in the U.S. by Natural Organics, 548 Broad Hollow Road, Inc., Melville, NY 11747-3708. Web site is: --- sorry advertising not allowed on this site, thanks -- then click link to direct you to store near you.

There is more to treating nail fungus than just spraying, powdering, rubbing or painting a product onto your nail. My nail fungus is NOT gone. Why? I was getting excellent results on my way to eliminating the fungus under my nails. I actually had grown new healthy skin under the nails in much of the previously fungus infected areas. Then, I became complacent about solution application and removal of the fungus infected skin.. The fungus that was down deep under my nails is gone. The skin is now pink and firmly attached to the nail. But, the fungus is still present at the upper edges of my 3 nails. Don't stop treating like I did. Treat until the fungus is totally gone.

Step by step, here is how to treat your nails.
1) Trim back the nails on the toes that are infected.

DO NOT USE THE SAME MANICURE SCISSORS OR CLIPPERS ON YOUR HEALTHY NAILS AS YOU DO ON YOUR FUNGUS AFFECTED NAILS. YOU WILL SPREAD THE FUNGUS TO YOUR HEALTHY NAILS. Do you only have one set of scissors and clippers? There is a product that hair and nail salons use to sterilize their instruments to prevent fungus and germ spread. It is Barbicide. Maybe your local salon will sell you a small jar of it. Or, you can search the web for places to Feet can be numbered as the toes come it. I used alcohol to clean my instruments, but still I spread the fungus to my third nail from the other two. Now I use Barbicide to sterilize my manicure instruments and have had no more spread.

2) Now shower or soak your feet in warm water to soften the nails and skin around the nails.

3) Dry your feet well. Using the little brush in the bottle, apply the Anti-Fungal Treatment to the skin around and under the affected nails. Make certain to pull the little skin folds away from either side of the nail and using the brush, work solution down into these areas, also. Then, apply solution to the nail itself and the base of the nail. You also need to apply a small amount of solution to each of your unaffected toes to prevent any spread of fungus to them. You do not apply so much solution that you have it dripping off of your toes. Once the solution is applied slip your feet into a pair of flip flops, sandals or other open toed shoes for 20-30 minutes. Then you can put on the shoes of your choice.

4) If you also have Athlete's Foot, you MUST treat that at the same time you are treating your nail fungus. Often it is the same fungus that is causing both foot conditions.

Caution to those who fly commercially. Athlete's foot has become a common occurrence of airline travel. We take off our shoes for x-ray and bare footedly walk where thousands have walked before us. Put socks or plastic bags on your feet when you remove your shoes. Before replacing your shoes, remove bags and dispose of or remove socks and turn inside out and launder as soon as possible.

5) Keep your feet clean and dry. Do not wear closed toed plastic or synthetic shoes. Do not put on damp shoes. Rotate shoes to wow, that is not very clear about what you are saying. Did you really mean that? What next? that the shoes you are putting on have thoroughly dried from the previous wearing. If you wear socks, wear only those that will wick the moisture away from your feet. Change to clean, dry socks daily or more frequently if your feet sweat a lot and stay damp. As a further precaution, spray the insides of your shoes at least once a week with Lysol spray to kill bacteria. Air dry before wearing

All of these steps and precautions are meant to break the chain of continued reinfection with the fungus. If the fungus remains on the surface of your skin, no amount of medication or treatment will eliminate the nail fungus.

6) At day's end, wash and dry your feet. Repeat #3 with the anti-fungal solution. Let your feet air dry for 20-23 minutes in flip flops or sandals before going to bed.

7) After a few days or more (each person's skin reacts differently) of treating with the Anti- Fungal Treatment solution you will notice that the skin around and under your infected nails will begin to welling of your runnign across your nails, call cuticles will be the worst illness that a doctor cou away after showering or soaking. Much of the under nail skin is that thick, grainy tissue infected by the fungus. In my experience, I noted that it is of major importance to remove this fungus infected skin. Remove it carefully and gently. You could use your cuticle nippers to remove this dead skin. But, be careful. You do NOT want to cause any bleeding or damage to the underlying healthy tissues. As time goes on, with continued anti-fungal solution treatment and welling of your runnign across your nails, call cuticles will be the worst illness that a doctor cou skin removal, the fungus affected skin around and under the nails will be removed, leaving a space under the nail. Gently clip down and remove the nail over these spaces. This opens up these deep areas to be more however, I think once cured, washed and dried. And, it allows you to now apply the solution to the infected tissues that were originally deep under the nail bed.

This entire process of removing the fungus infected takes time, weeks in fact, so have patience. You do not want to rush the process or force remove skin that is not ready to be removed. Use common sense. If it hurts or if it bleeds then you have gone too far. If you have any problems during this process stop immediately and see a doctor. I do not want you to follow what I do and harm yourself. A success for me is not necessarily a success for you.

8) Keep treating till you have removed all thick, unhealthy tissue and nail has been trimmed down to that point. Do not disturb the pink healthy skin. Now it is time to let the nail reattach to the nail bed as it grows. Still apply a small amount of the solution to the cut edge of the nail, as in 3#. Don't forget to continue applying a small amount of solution to unaffected nails and skin, also. This should prevent reinfection of the fungus. Watch for any new signs of fungus.

Good luck.