Question about nail fungus treatment?

[Kellydelly]

I am taking my daughter to the foot doctor later today to try and get her infected toenail treated. I am wondering what kind of treatment the doctor is going to suggest. I am not keen on the oral antifungals, and from what I have read and heard topicals aren't very effective. I figured that he would just take the nail off, but the receptionist who made our appt said that he doesn't usually do that. I am just wondering what to expect so I can research more before we go. I have read that OTC topicals don't work, I have read that tea tree oil can work. I am wondering if anything really works, I guess ? Has anyone done laser treatment? Thanks for any input .

I think I am worried that the doctor is going to try and sell me on some expensive treatments that may not work, considering I know fungus is hard to get rid of.

 

[lovetoscrap]

DD18 has been fighting fungus/infection on her big toe for several years. She had one laser treatment but our insurance didn't cover it and due to other logistical problems we opted not to finish that treatment. We also didn't want to go the oral anti-fungal route and opted for topical creams. However she has never been good about using them regularly. About a year ago most of the nail had to be removed. Now that prom is coming up she is much more interested in taking care of the toe and trying to get the nail to grow back. The prescription creams weren't doing much good so based on a hint we had heard in the past she has been using Vicks Vapor Rub on it daily and then keeping it wrapped up to keep it on. It is already looking much better!

 

[Kellydelly]

DD18 has been fighting fungus/infection on her big toe for several years. She had one laser treatment but our insurance didn't cover it and due to other logistical problems we opted not to finish that treatment. We also didn't want to go the oral anti-fungal route and opted for topical creams. However she has never been good about using them regularly. About a year ago most of the nail had to be removed. Now that prom is coming up she is much more interested in taking care of the toe and trying to get the nail to grow back. The prescription creams weren't doing much good so based on a hint we had heard in the past she has been using Vicks Vapor Rub on it daily and then keeping it wrapped up to keep it on. It is already looking much better!

My daughter is 14 and for the past year didn't care about the toe, but now suddenly she is interested in fixing it . Now the infection has taken a good hold on the nail. I am not going to pay big $$$ for anything our insurance doesn't cover. I think it should just come off. She's not going to be good about applying medication, I don't think. She's a bit bullheaded.

 

[Procrastinate]

I understand the concern with the oral medication, but I did want to pass along that my husband took it and found it to be effective. He did have to go for periodic blood tests during the treatment due to potential side effects. He also had to be patient as it takes quite a while for the diseased nail to grow out. He was on medication for three months, but it took longer than that for the bad part of the nail to grow out.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

My DSis had toenail fungus. Her Dr. wouldn't prescribe the oral because of the side effects (she was 1 year post-chemo for lymphoma), so she religiously soaked her toes in Listerine mouthwash for 15 minutes every night! By the time the nail grew in totally, the fungus was gone. It took almost a year though, and she never, ever skipped her soak.

 

[Kellydelly]

My DSis had toenail fungus. Her Dr. wouldn't prescribe the oral because of the side effects (she was 1 year post-chemo for lymphoma), so she religiously soaked her toes in Listerine mouthwash for 15 minutes every night! By the time the nail grew in totally, the fungus was gone. It took almost a year though, and she never, ever skipped her soak.

Did they take her toenail off?

 

[DisMN]

Listerine is a good one, the amber version. It does take many months of doing this to see results.
The one I used and that worked very very well was regular old Vicks Vapo Rub. Smear that stuff on the offending nails at bedtime, cover feet with a pair of old socks. This may sound like overkill but I bought a couple of multi packages of toothbrushes at the dollar store and once a week applied the Vicks and then used the toothbrush to brush the nail, particularly focusing on the nail edges and underneath the front growing part of the nail.

4 years later and fungus has not grown back. I had had the weird toes for many years and thought everyone had them. Was nice to find a solution that was cheap and avoided the oral meds.

 

[JediBonas]

I had this for years, topical meds didn't touch it. I

 

[JediBonas]

Sorry, phone issues.


I finally went on the oral meds when I was in college. I did need blood tests every few months but it was the only thing that worked. My affected nails fell off and grew back beautifully. I know you're hesitant to try the oral meds, and if the nails don't look horrible/don't bother her I'd hold off, but they are the only thing that worked.

 

[Kellydelly]

Well the doctor surprised me a bit by not really recommending anything . He said it could be fungus or it just may be a damaged nail bed. So we watch it for a few months and see if it grows out or changes. He did give me a script for the topical nail lacquer medication, but said it doesn't always work. It sounds like nail fungus may or may not die, no matter what you try. Ughhhh. I think it is fungus, not a nail injury. I guess we will see. Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[marcyinPA]

My DS 18 has really ugly feet and toes. His one big toe nail has fungus. We opted out of the oral meds because of the side effects (he was already on Accutane at the time and one heavy duty drug is enough!)

I am going to have him try the Vicks idea this summer when he is home on break from college. Cheap, easy, no side effects. Sounds like a good plan!

 

[Christine]

I had my toenail removed and it worked like a charm.

My mother had one for years (after an injury). She used Lamisil a few times and it didn't work. It was horrible. She found a "vinegar" cure on Walt Stoll's website and she did that religiously for about 4 months (applied white vinegar to the nail bed morning and nigh). I can't believe it but it was the only thing that worked. But you have to be dedicated.

 

[DisMN]

As someone else said it does take dedication to doing this at least once every few days, or every day depending on your treatment. IMHO the Vicks (camphor) therapy is so inexpensive and safe that I wouldn't hesitate to try it before anything else.

Here's a short excerpt from webmd.
"Camphor is also active against fungi that cause infections in the toenails."

 

[lsyorke]

A culture of the nail should be sent. Many think they have fungus, when it's just a damaged, thickened nail. If it's not fungus, there are topical things that help thin the nail. No way to know what's going on without a nail culture.

 

[Kellydelly]

A culture of the nail should be sent. Many think they have fungus, when it's just a damaged, thickened nail. If it's not fungus, there are topical things that help thin the nail. No way to know what's going on without a nail culture.

The doctor did not recommend a culture. He said it takes weeks for results. He said we need to watch it and see if the nail grows out, that it could be either fungal or an injury and it is hard to tell and difficult to treat. Because there is no pain he didn't think the nail should come off. So we are going to treat it like it's fungal, since that won't do any harm, and see what happens with it.

 

[kkandaj]

The doctor did not recommend a culture. He said it takes weeks for results. He said we need to watch it and see if the nail grows out, that it could be either fungal or an injury and it is hard to tell and difficult to treat. Because there is no pain he didn't think the nail should come off. So we are going to treat it like it's fungal, since that won't do any harm, and see what happens with it.

My podiatrist took a nail sample, sent it off and it came back within 2 weeks. It was a fungus and now I'm using what's called Formula 3. He said you won't know if it's working until the nail really grows out.

He did talk about the oral meds, but insurance doesn't cover them and they are expensive (and can cause health issues). Laser treatment is also not covered and is extrememly expensive. The prescription topical isn't covered either but it's only $35. You apply it just like nail polish twice a day.

I would like to try some of the home remedies--have heard coconut oil works also. I honestly have no idea how to get rid of it, but I'm using the Formula 3 for now.

He said I most likely got it from getting pedicures--then talked to me about all the people that use the same nail polish, etc. Eek! Needless to say, my pedicures have stopped and no more sharing nail polish.

 

[DeaverTex]

I'm watching this one with GREAT interest. I haven't had toenails for a while now. I have talons, and I hate them. Misshapen, thick, and impossible to trim without a belt sander and a chainsaw. Frankly, I'd soak my feet in Drano every night and smear 'em with moose poop every morning if I thought it would give me real toenails again.

 

[leebee]

Soak them in vinegar. The white vinegar you buy in the store is 5% glacial acetic acid. We use GAC in the lab for all kinds of things and it's pretty effective against a variety of fungi. When I worked for Hickory Farms, we'd soak the cheese planes and knives in vinegar to cut down on cross-contaminating the cheeses (because, you know, cheese molds regularly…). Good luck!

BTW… apparently this question is "going around" Facebook these days, but I am not sure what the deal is. People have commented things like "yeah, I know it's a joke, caught me again" and stuff like that.

 

[CF'er]

Last year I had a nail lift off the nail bed. Didn't hurt it just lifted off. I finally had the whole thing removed once I figured it wasn't getting better. The dr sent it off for fungal culture and it was negative. I got a stern lecture about the horrors of pedicures and how that is probably where/why I had my problem. Almost a year later and the nail has almost grown totally back in. I really miss my pedicures but am hesitant to go back. So even if you have it taken off it will take probably a year to grow back. As for prom season... this is the way to go...

 

[Earstou]

Last year I had nail fungus on my big toe. I tried Vicks, but it didn't seem to do anything for me.
I ended up removing as much of the bad nail as I could (remove as much as you can without pain) and then soaking it in equal parts vinegar and water. What I found online said to soak it nightly for a few months.
I ended up not being very good at doing this, usually only soaking my foot 3-4 times a week for about three weeks.
But it did the job! My nail is almost completely grown back and looks great!