My toe nail fungus is still here; not as grotesque or thick as it was before, but still here. My fungus is white and occupies the whole nail - well what is left of it. My nail started bugging me a few weeks ago - so I began trimming it back. My nail is almost entirely gone, I have not pulled it out entirely though. The nail bed is intact, but the fungus is in there too.
I decided I would white vinegar on the fungus to see what it would do. I sat in a chair and held my foot in a water vinegar mixture while watching General Conference one weekend. General Conference is a semi-annual broadcast from my Church. This occurs in 4 -4 hour sessions over the weekend. So while I was watching our church leaders, prophets and apostles of the Lord deliver messages, I was also working on my fungus.
My toe had been itching lately - the two day vinegar fixed that right up. The itch was gone. I also noticed that it softened the nails up quite a bit, I imagine is should probably be able to get in there and work on the fungus pretty easily. Since I don't have hardly any nail, I imagine I have a better chance than average.
Well, I understand that with this remedy you are supposed to soak it daily. I didn't get around to it all this week though and the itch started coming back if it ever really left the nail. The itch did leave the toe with the vinegar treatment, but I don't recall if it left the nail. So last night I dabbed the nail bed with some bleach.
Well I guess I should soak it now, while I am working on this blog. Hold on a sec... OK. Now my toe is back in the vinegar water mixture. We will see if I can keep this up all month.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Fighting My Nail Fungus
This is a little more background on my nail fungus and some of the things i resorted to early on. At first the fungus wasn't very bad, it covered about a third of my nail. I consider myself lucky - I only have it on one nail, many people suffer from fungus in several nails. Even though only one nail was infected, I did have a fungus that was on the skin early on as well. I soon found that the entire toe and much of my foot itched and burned.
I tried several over the counter (OTC) products which gave me some releif, but they were unable to get rid of the nail fungus or the foot fungus entirely. These fungi are definatly a hardy variety. I went through several cans of Tinactin or other brand sprays, yet the fungus would not go away.
Due to my frustration in this ongoing battle and a growing sense of desparation, I began to expirement. I discovered that by using my pocketknife, I could scrape away much of the fungus from my skin. I was scraping off the top layer of dead skin and I assume some fungus was coming off with it - it probably was. Besides making my foot red and sore, this scraping combined with sprays was able to remove the fungus from my foot, I rarely have a problem with it now. Even if it hadn't gotten rid of the foot fungus, it sure felt good to give it such a good scratch.
Now bear in mind, this did not remove the nail fungus - I still fight that problem to this day. I will also mention that when I used my knife, I would sometimes cause spots on my foot to bleed. I would never apply the antifungal agents to my foot if I had any open sores, I felt that was too much of a risk. I feel inclined to mention that You should not scrape your fungus with a knife and you should not spray anti-fungal medications on open sores - doing so may be a risk to your health.
My nail was still infected. I figured I would use the knife on the nail - I cut away at it and applied sprays. However, the nail fungus would always come back. I completely removed the nail at one point. When it grew back the fungus was in the whole nail, not just a third of it as before. I can only conclude that by removing the nail completely, the fungus was able to spread deeper into the nail bed.
I let the nail grow back uninhibited for a while - the nail had a thick ugly gray matter built up under it and was raised somewhat. It also began to cause some pain. Enough was enough. I repeated the process of removing and cutting the nail again with some variations. I also experimented with bleaching the nail bed, soak it in apple cider vinegar, and scraping the bed.
Now my nail looks better than before, the fungus is not as dense or discolored as before. It is currently a splotch white nail. I think I will soon likely begin another round of treatments and document the day to day changes on this blog as I go - with photos of course. Let's hope it works this time.
I tried several over the counter (OTC) products which gave me some releif, but they were unable to get rid of the nail fungus or the foot fungus entirely. These fungi are definatly a hardy variety. I went through several cans of Tinactin or other brand sprays, yet the fungus would not go away.
Due to my frustration in this ongoing battle and a growing sense of desparation, I began to expirement. I discovered that by using my pocketknife, I could scrape away much of the fungus from my skin. I was scraping off the top layer of dead skin and I assume some fungus was coming off with it - it probably was. Besides making my foot red and sore, this scraping combined with sprays was able to remove the fungus from my foot, I rarely have a problem with it now. Even if it hadn't gotten rid of the foot fungus, it sure felt good to give it such a good scratch.
Now bear in mind, this did not remove the nail fungus - I still fight that problem to this day. I will also mention that when I used my knife, I would sometimes cause spots on my foot to bleed. I would never apply the antifungal agents to my foot if I had any open sores, I felt that was too much of a risk. I feel inclined to mention that You should not scrape your fungus with a knife and you should not spray anti-fungal medications on open sores - doing so may be a risk to your health.
My nail was still infected. I figured I would use the knife on the nail - I cut away at it and applied sprays. However, the nail fungus would always come back. I completely removed the nail at one point. When it grew back the fungus was in the whole nail, not just a third of it as before. I can only conclude that by removing the nail completely, the fungus was able to spread deeper into the nail bed.
I let the nail grow back uninhibited for a while - the nail had a thick ugly gray matter built up under it and was raised somewhat. It also began to cause some pain. Enough was enough. I repeated the process of removing and cutting the nail again with some variations. I also experimented with bleaching the nail bed, soak it in apple cider vinegar, and scraping the bed.
Now my nail looks better than before, the fungus is not as dense or discolored as before. It is currently a splotch white nail. I think I will soon likely begin another round of treatments and document the day to day changes on this blog as I go - with photos of course. Let's hope it works this time.
Friday, February 10, 2006
How I Caught a Toenail Fungus
How I Contracted a Toe Nail Fungus
I got a toeail fungus in 1997 and it has been with me since. I don't know exactly how I got it - I suppose it came from one of two sources. I had friends who had a dirty shower - I used it once. This wasn't the first time I had used a dirty shower; however, it was the first time I used theirs. Despite this shower being dirty and my soon to be affected toe in it, I don't think this was the likely contributor of the nail fungus.
I had also scraped my toe at an apartment complex swimming pool - it bled. I beleive this was the more likely cause of my fungus. I don't recall which occured first, taking a shower in my friends apartment, or scraping my toe at the pool. They could have occured at nearly the same time for all I know. I do know that since that summer of '97, I've had a toe nail fungus.
I recall that in the early years, my fungus seemed to affect most of the front of my foot, - but only one nail. I am assuming that I likely had more than one fungus. I was able to eventually clear the foot fungus with lots of effort. The longevity of the nail fungus however is one of the reasons for these articles.
I got a toeail fungus in 1997 and it has been with me since. I don't know exactly how I got it - I suppose it came from one of two sources. I had friends who had a dirty shower - I used it once. This wasn't the first time I had used a dirty shower; however, it was the first time I used theirs. Despite this shower being dirty and my soon to be affected toe in it, I don't think this was the likely contributor of the nail fungus.
I had also scraped my toe at an apartment complex swimming pool - it bled. I beleive this was the more likely cause of my fungus. I don't recall which occured first, taking a shower in my friends apartment, or scraping my toe at the pool. They could have occured at nearly the same time for all I know. I do know that since that summer of '97, I've had a toe nail fungus.
I recall that in the early years, my fungus seemed to affect most of the front of my foot, - but only one nail. I am assuming that I likely had more than one fungus. I was able to eventually clear the foot fungus with lots of effort. The longevity of the nail fungus however is one of the reasons for these articles.
Treatments and Natural Remedies to Cure Toenail Fungus
While I was fighting my toenail fungus I came across several different treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus. While I did not try every home remedy, the few that I did try varied in their ability to cure the fungal infection in my toe nail. Some of the treatments that I heard of or tried were a bit more extreme than others and cannot be recommended. Listed below are some of these treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus.
Vinegar
Soaking your nails in vinegar (apple cider or distilled) for 30 minutes a day for several days.
This is one of the methods I tried. Although time consuming it is easy to do if you simply give yourself a foot bath while watching TV, using the computer or some other sedentary activity.
Herbal Oils
Tea tree oil and oil of oregano are known to have antifungal properties and have been used to treat nail funguses.
Epsom Salts
Soaking the affected nails in Epsom salt baths daily may help dry and cure toenail funguses.
Colloidal Silver
Silver is known to inhibit growth of various pathogens; too much silver can also pose health risks. Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver particles in a solution, usually purified water. Quality and concentration will likely vary by manufacturer. Colloidal silver is often sold as a cure or protection against a variety of ailments. Colloidal Silver often listed on the internet as a remedy for toenail fungus.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) kills bacteria and other organisms by oxidation. It is a great topical disinfectant. It can irritate and damage the skin if left on too long. I suspect there could be a risk of unintended tissue damage if this were used enough to actually cure a toenail fungal infection.
Iodine
Iodine is a common antiseptic frequently used on the skin and in wounds. It is known to be effective against fungi.
Listerine
Listerine is an antiseptic. You can soak your infected nails in Listerine to kill the fungus and spores. Some discoloration may occur.
Vicks Vaporub
Vicks Vaporub is also commonly mentioned as a way to cure toe nail fungus. Some discoloration may occur.
Bear in mind this is not an exhaustive list of treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus, and there are several things you can do to make your toenail fungus treatment more successful, such as keeping your feet cool and dry. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence on the Internet in support of these treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus listed above. While medical evidence may be lacking for some of these natural remedies, many of them are known to have antiseptic, anti-fungal and antibacterial properties which either may destroy the toenail fungus or inhibit its growth. Trimming your affected toenails down or having the nail removed when treating them will also help. Doing this alone however will not cure the nail fungus, since the fungus resides in the nail bed and toenail, this will allow your treatment to get closer to the fungus and nail bed and may help if you have a treatment that can be absorbed into the bed and nail.
I will likely post other of treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus along with results in this blog as I discover them.
Vinegar
Soaking your nails in vinegar (apple cider or distilled) for 30 minutes a day for several days.
This is one of the methods I tried. Although time consuming it is easy to do if you simply give yourself a foot bath while watching TV, using the computer or some other sedentary activity.
Herbal Oils
Tea tree oil and oil of oregano are known to have antifungal properties and have been used to treat nail funguses.
Epsom Salts
Soaking the affected nails in Epsom salt baths daily may help dry and cure toenail funguses.
Colloidal Silver
Silver is known to inhibit growth of various pathogens; too much silver can also pose health risks. Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver particles in a solution, usually purified water. Quality and concentration will likely vary by manufacturer. Colloidal silver is often sold as a cure or protection against a variety of ailments. Colloidal Silver often listed on the internet as a remedy for toenail fungus.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) kills bacteria and other organisms by oxidation. It is a great topical disinfectant. It can irritate and damage the skin if left on too long. I suspect there could be a risk of unintended tissue damage if this were used enough to actually cure a toenail fungal infection.
Iodine
Iodine is a common antiseptic frequently used on the skin and in wounds. It is known to be effective against fungi.
Listerine
Listerine is an antiseptic. You can soak your infected nails in Listerine to kill the fungus and spores. Some discoloration may occur.
Vicks Vaporub
Vicks Vaporub is also commonly mentioned as a way to cure toe nail fungus. Some discoloration may occur.
Bear in mind this is not an exhaustive list of treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus, and there are several things you can do to make your toenail fungus treatment more successful, such as keeping your feet cool and dry. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence on the Internet in support of these treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus listed above. While medical evidence may be lacking for some of these natural remedies, many of them are known to have antiseptic, anti-fungal and antibacterial properties which either may destroy the toenail fungus or inhibit its growth. Trimming your affected toenails down or having the nail removed when treating them will also help. Doing this alone however will not cure the nail fungus, since the fungus resides in the nail bed and toenail, this will allow your treatment to get closer to the fungus and nail bed and may help if you have a treatment that can be absorbed into the bed and nail.
I will likely post other of treatments and natural remedies to cure toenail fungus along with results in this blog as I discover them.
Toe Nail Fungus Infection 101
Toe Nail Fungus Infection
A toe nail fungus infection (onychomycosis) is a common nail fungal infection and health concern among otherwise healthy individuals. These infections are generally time consuming and difficult to resolve because they are not just a topical infection like athletes foot, but a fungal infection in your nails. These fungi live inside the nail and feed on keratin, the protein that makes up your nails.
Risk Factors for Getting a Fungal Infection in the Nails
There are several different risk factors that can increase the likelihood that you will contract a nail fungal infection. The first risk factor is age. Toenail fungus cases are relatively rare among younger populations, however their frequency of occurrence increases with age.
The environment your feet are in is also a significant contributor to your likelihood of contracting a nail fungus. If you spend a lot of time wearing shoes that keep your feet hot sweaty and that do not breathe well, you are more likely to contract a nail fungus in addition to general foot fungus infection or athlete's foot. These nail fungi thrive in dark, moist places and easily reproduce inside of your shoes. The combination of sweat and heat that is produced by wearing shoes creates an environment that is ideal for these fungi to thrive. If you have poor hygiene, or walk barefoot on public locker room or restroom floors, your chances also increase.
Injuries can also be a significant risk factor for contracting a nail fungus, scrapes and tears in the nail or skin can introduce the fungi into the nail and give it the opportunity to spread. It is important to properly clean and treat any injuries sustained in order to prevent infections.
In many cases a toenail fungus will appear only as a cosmetic health issue - it may be very difficult to get an insurance company to pay for the costs of curing it.
Once a foot is infected, the fungus may spread from toe to toe on the foot.
Symptoms of Nail Fungus
Infected toes can be identified by their thick deformed discolored and often flaky nails. They may be softer than healthy nails and have a yellowish to brown appearance. The nail will also accumulate gray or white buildup underneath, and sometimes along the cuticle. Over time as the nail continues to grow, wearing shoes may become painful. The nail will eventually begin to decay as it becomes soft and brittle. A foul smell is often present and the nail may eventually fall off. Once a toe is infected, the fungus may spread from one toe to another on the foot.
Treatments for Nail Fungus Infection Sufferers
I have heard that it is possible that a toe nail fungus infection can naturally heal if the conditions are right. Wearing open toe shoes and keeping the feet dry are essential, arid environments can greatly assist in maintaining dryness. However, you should bear in mind that it is very rare and highly unlikely that a toenail fungus will disappear on its own, even under ideal circumstances.
There are several different treatment options available to you for nail fungal infections, however the effectiveness of each option varies greatly depending on the type and location of the particular fungus involved and the type of treatment. There are both herbal and home remedies for nail fungal infections, and medical and surgical treatments for nail fungal infections. Some treatment options are more dangerous than others. None of them are quick fixes, but with a little education you may find one that is right for you.
A toe nail fungus infection (onychomycosis) is a common nail fungal infection and health concern among otherwise healthy individuals. These infections are generally time consuming and difficult to resolve because they are not just a topical infection like athletes foot, but a fungal infection in your nails. These fungi live inside the nail and feed on keratin, the protein that makes up your nails.
Risk Factors for Getting a Fungal Infection in the Nails
There are several different risk factors that can increase the likelihood that you will contract a nail fungal infection. The first risk factor is age. Toenail fungus cases are relatively rare among younger populations, however their frequency of occurrence increases with age.
The environment your feet are in is also a significant contributor to your likelihood of contracting a nail fungus. If you spend a lot of time wearing shoes that keep your feet hot sweaty and that do not breathe well, you are more likely to contract a nail fungus in addition to general foot fungus infection or athlete's foot. These nail fungi thrive in dark, moist places and easily reproduce inside of your shoes. The combination of sweat and heat that is produced by wearing shoes creates an environment that is ideal for these fungi to thrive. If you have poor hygiene, or walk barefoot on public locker room or restroom floors, your chances also increase.
Injuries can also be a significant risk factor for contracting a nail fungus, scrapes and tears in the nail or skin can introduce the fungi into the nail and give it the opportunity to spread. It is important to properly clean and treat any injuries sustained in order to prevent infections.
In many cases a toenail fungus will appear only as a cosmetic health issue - it may be very difficult to get an insurance company to pay for the costs of curing it.
Once a foot is infected, the fungus may spread from toe to toe on the foot.
Symptoms of Nail Fungus
Infected toes can be identified by their thick deformed discolored and often flaky nails. They may be softer than healthy nails and have a yellowish to brown appearance. The nail will also accumulate gray or white buildup underneath, and sometimes along the cuticle. Over time as the nail continues to grow, wearing shoes may become painful. The nail will eventually begin to decay as it becomes soft and brittle. A foul smell is often present and the nail may eventually fall off. Once a toe is infected, the fungus may spread from one toe to another on the foot.
Treatments for Nail Fungus Infection Sufferers
I have heard that it is possible that a toe nail fungus infection can naturally heal if the conditions are right. Wearing open toe shoes and keeping the feet dry are essential, arid environments can greatly assist in maintaining dryness. However, you should bear in mind that it is very rare and highly unlikely that a toenail fungus will disappear on its own, even under ideal circumstances.
There are several different treatment options available to you for nail fungal infections, however the effectiveness of each option varies greatly depending on the type and location of the particular fungus involved and the type of treatment. There are both herbal and home remedies for nail fungal infections, and medical and surgical treatments for nail fungal infections. Some treatment options are more dangerous than others. None of them are quick fixes, but with a little education you may find one that is right for you.
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