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Horrible subject, so please don't mock me!
I've had it on and of for years. Nothing really seems to make a dent in it, treating it every day for months, filing the nail and then varnishing it with special paint doesnt work. Even accidentally ripping the nail off and treating the root of the toe didn't sort it.
Has anyone got any useful suggestions on how to get rid of it?
You can go to the docs and get some drugs that will clear it in a few months (iirc). One side effect is that you could die although that is apparently fairly uncommon.
Go to the docs. The gear he gives you will start working immediately.
I think it's called terbinafine.
simondbarnes & zippykona thanks. I think I've had that in the past and it did work, but they are not keen on prescribing it as it can cause liver damage, so they push me back on the endless cycle of painting and filing my nails.
Yes! Well, no I don't know, but I did find a website today:
Whodathunk it. 🙂
Pulse therapy with Itraconazole. One week on, three weeks off. Repeat for as many months as it takes for the good stuff to start growing again.
It's podiatry central around here this afternoon. All we need are some ingrown toenails for the full set. 🙂
but they are not keen on prescribing it as it can cause liver damage, so they push me back on the endless cycle of painting and filing my nails.
Which doesn't work!
You may need to have a liver function test (blood test) prior to, and during the treatment if you go past three months or so.
As above, the pills from the Doctor, however it can take 6 months to work fully.
The other option is file down the nail, then use household bleach.
3 times a week, and you'll see a difference in a month.Just put a few drops on the infected bit, leave it 5 mins then wash it off.
Right bunch of stinkers aren't we? Terbinafine is doing the job rather nicely chez nous. Had to go for bloods to make sure it wasn't knackering my liver in the process...
...the day after the works night out.
Haven't got the results back yet, think I should be worrying about a follow up consultation?
Normally you ring up your docs and they tell you whether you have severe alcohol toxicity or not.
Vicks vapour rub and socks? I know!! Let the mocking begin.
I had one for 6 years , nothing would shift it after loosing half a nail playing football . Id given up on the filing painting with curanail for 6 months and then got aggressive with it (every day filing re-apliying and trimming) and wore the Vicks and sock method of a night.
Its gone .. nails a bit wonky mind and started to ingrow a bit but some electrical cutters and a warm bath sorted that ..
Hopefully i can wear flipflops and speedo's with pride again this year !
Had it years.. just on the big toes... weird how it always seems to be the big toe on most people.
Anyway.. I've tried everything over the years and NOTHING has worked, although I've not had the pills. A few times I've managed to almost rid myself of it then it will seem to come back in 24 hours with a vengeance taking the whole nail out.
Given up trying now and just keep the nail cut as short as possible and hope no one looks at my feet.
now that we have got to the Non Medical cures here's one that i'm convinced worked for me.
white vinigar soaked in tissue and wrapped round the offending toe, sock on top. leave for an hour, repeat daily. either it worked or completly coincedentaly it cleared itself at the same time.
Probably not - they phoned me and told me to stop immediately when they got dodgy results back.* Interestingly following some internet quackery advice coating the nail** morning and night with Vicks (the stuff your mother put on your chest as a child) seems to have at least an aesthetic improvement. I ran out of vicks and used a cheap copy and it didn't work as well (just switched back to the real stuff so we will see), there is a difference in the ingredients so it is possible this is not all placebo effect.Haven't got the results back yet, think I should be worrying about a follow up consultation?
* that was several years ago and I have largely ignored it since. I've not died.
** actually I suspect the important thing is coating the cuticle so the new nail grows in without the fungus.
As Sparkerfix has said Vic's or a generic copy will work. Dry your feet well after washing and coat liberally with the stuff. There is also a concoction that you can make yourself using white vinegar and tea tree oil. Apparently its all about the pH.
Have issues with both big toes - the tablets from the docs didn't do anything - they have taken samples and can't actually tell what it is, but given it has been there for 20+ years - each time I went to the docs about it, they didn't think there was anything wrong - they also think it has been so long that it is well embedded.
So talk to me about this Vicks thing...when and how often do you apply it? How long before a change starts being seen?
Just to describe how bad it is - my left nail is very brittle and grows but is so thin it breaks off very easily - pretty much no real toenail to speak off, there is then something else underneath the nail that almost peels off in strips. Right nail is not attached to toe but is pretty thick - both look hideous.
I'm pretty sure they will never be fixed properly, but it would be good if I could make some improvements to them.
my left nail is very brittle and grows but is so thin it breaks off very easily - pretty much no real toenail to speak off, there is then something else underneath the nail that almost peels off in strips. Right nail is not attached to toe but is pretty thick - both look hideous.
I'm pretty sure they will never be fixed properly, but it would be good if I could make some improvements to them.
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Mine went away after the treatment for a burst gangrenous appendix, sorry I know, probably not much help.
Aye...pretty much
Cured mine with daily application of neat tea tree and lavender oil mix, combined with sunlight and salt saturated water. Ok it's not exactly beach weather, but I think you can DIY it....
Tea Tree oil applied morning n night sorted mine out.
get a dog
mine makes a bee line to the bad toes and licks it for a while
bugger me it improved in a few days and cleared up in a few weeks
He also keeps checking it out most evenings by pulling my socks off and having a good sniff around .
Oregano oil worked wonders for mine
Had the strong drugs, didn't work, at the moment I'm just cutting them right back, will probably try gp again when I get back up. North. Other option presented was nail removal but that ain't fun apparently
This is one of those medical conditions that a large proportion of the population has, but there is no effective cure. I lump it in with tinnitus and procrastination.
As well as treating it, you need to stop the constant reinfection. I had it for 10 or 12 years and while the treatments or pills would help, stop those and it was back. I finally realised I needed better shoes that didn't give me sweaty feet. I chucked some old shoes out, bought some leather soled and upper shoes and wore those as much as possible, and sprayed athletes foot spray into any old shoes I kept to kill the fungus spores.
I used curanail as well as terbinafine, when the pills stopped I continued the curanail for ages, well past the nail looking ok... Maybe a year in total. It hasn't come back in 2 or 3 years now. Good shoes seems the key for me.
My feet do sweat a lot, so suspect this doesn't help. I do tend to wander around the office with just socks on (and clothes! Behave.) to try and reduce the moistness.
If you have, or need to constantly treat, athlete foot then that's a good guide you have the perfect warm and moist fungus flourishing conditions which need tackling.
Cotton socks breath best