Toe nail fungus anyone????

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Permalink Reply by suse on March 16, 2008 at 12:54pm

Hi- fungus tends to be a systemic thing- even though you might just be seeing it on your toe-nails :) -you might be glad to have the outward sign and inspiration to tweak your immune system as much as you can- it is also much more common than people might like to think. Check out Olive Leaf Extract, which as well as being immune boosting, is known to counter-act fungus- Oregano oil, taken internally, is another one ( check out Oreganol Etc)- as well as not putting into your body food-wise what might contribute to fungus. Fungus feeds- and proliferates- on sugars ( accessed from the blood stream) I don't know how you eat, but cutting out sugar and candies is a number one line of personal 'defence' .On the foot care front- keep your feet uncovered as much as you can at home, only ever wear cotton socks and avoid shoes that your feet cannot breathe in (synthetics/trainers etc).
hope this helps xx

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Permalink Reply by Elle Blythe on March 16, 2008 at 1:05pm

I don't know if you'll find any source to back this up, but I use Evening Primrose Oil capsules on my nails when dealing with infection. I actually cut open the capsule and apply to all of my nails. I've tried a number of other things, but this is the only one to seem to have any noticeable effect.

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Permalink Reply by genie on March 16, 2008 at 11:41pm

After chemo, I found out that minor toenail fungus can become major (due to extreme stress on the immune system). This happened to me on one toe and caused the nail to come off -- well, half off. I went to see a podiatrist because I thought the nail might need removal but she just trimmed it about half way down. Then I asked her what I could do about the fungus and she said that now that now that it was exposed to the air, it would clear up on its own!!

So there's a natural (albeit rather drastic) nail fungus cure -- trim the toenails down below the fungus.

My nail is back now and the fungus does seem to be gone.

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Permalink Reply by Carrie Belair on March 17, 2008 at 12:41am

I did a quick search and seems Listerine is a good agent ....soak yer toes!

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Permalink Reply by Caroline on March 17, 2008 at 7:55am

During Taxol, both my big toenails turned really gnarly looking and one of them came off and the other is still hanging in there. I was told this is a relatively common side effect of some taxanes and they will grow out on their own. They do look disgusting at this point but seem to be improving.

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie on March 17, 2008 at 9:36am

I think there are different kinds of fungus, so you'll need to find what works on the one you've got. It took me a long, long time, but I finally got rid of mine. My toe nail was not attached to the nail bed where I had the fungus, so I cut the nail back to expose as much nail bed as I could and applied FungiCure, a product I got from the drug store. It's an over the counter liquid that you kind of paint on. I also had tried tea trea oil, but that didn't seem to work for me. The main thing is you need to be diligent about applying whatever you use. I did it at least twice a day. And then once you think it's gone, keep applying it. Those funguses are sneaky things. I thought mine was all gone so stopped applying the medicine and had a pedicure. When I removed the polish I found that it had grown right back to where it started and I had to start all over again! I'll also second the comment about working from the inside as well but cutting down on sugars. I think the internal drugs that the doctor offers are not woth the potential risk to your liver. I wasn't willing to trade my liver for a toenail! Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by farmgirlErin on March 17, 2008 at 5:23pm

Hi! Back in another life, I used to dance for a ballet company, and during that time I had this for YEARS before I stumbled by happenstance on something that worked for me. Every night in the shower, I took an old toothbrush, scrubbed it on a bar of soap, then scrubbed the offending nails. I also kept them cut just as short as was comfortable/tolerable. When I got out of the shower, I applied tea tree oil directly to the nail. I can't remember how many times a day I did the oil, but I know I did it after the shower/nail scrub. Everyone's different but that's what worked for me. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Kandi Crill on November 20, 2008 at 6:13am

I have never had this but wanted to let you know that Dr. Oz just talked about this on Oprah this week. You can probably get information on it on Oprah.com. I remember he mentioned about using tea tree oil in a foot soak and about the importance of keeping the feet as dry as possible.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Ann on November 20, 2008 at 9:10am

Vick's vapor rub. Slather it on the toe at night. It worked for me.

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Permalink Reply by Cindy on November 20, 2008 at 11:05am

My husbands side of the family has toe nail fungus, and none of them have weakend immune systems, they are just "lucky" I guess. Anyways, the pediatrician has said repeatedly that the Vic's Vapo-Rub is the best thing, put some on at night, with a pair of socks and it should clear up.

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Permalink Reply by Sandy K on November 20, 2008 at 11:24am

Hi Becky! Through the course of chemo, I have had slight problems with my feet and get them worked on once a month. Anyway, the gal that works on them told me at one time that even healthy people have fungus on their feet. The way that the feet are taken care of determines if it becomes a problem. The problem with chemo, is that with everything compromised, fungus tends to get ugly. I mostly have problems in some of my toenails. I am just using an over the counter fungus liquid that I brush straight onto the problem spots and it seems to be keeping in under control and improves it. I have also used spray that mostly goes into my shoes and not directly onto my feet. My biggest problem right now is that I am on a drug that causes "hand and foot syndrome" so it is hard to tell what is one and what is the other. At any rate hope this helps. Good luck! Sandy

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