Oh yuck. The toenail on my big toe gradually has become thick and yellow. It’s only that one toe but its ever so gross looking. Would like to hear if anyone has had to deal with this and if so what if anything cleared it up. Apparently the oral medications can be a bit risky. Any topical treatments that have helped?
Also my fingernails have become wonky and ridgey though not discolored. Not sure if there is any relation. But just throwing that out there.
I got a complimentary fungus along with a pedicure 
Same as you, just the one big toe.
What finally cleared it up was tea tree oil, applied twice a day.
I have also developed the ridgy nails, but attribute that to age.
If you are not an {ahem} elder, check for vitamin deficiency.
I have that in one toe. Nail was forcibly removed by a naughty pony in one massive stomp and turn. Never had it looked at. Nail bed is totally damaged now. I tried the oral meds, I had an allergic reaction to them so now I live with it. I may end up having the nail totally removed which is going to look totally gross but it can’t be worse than the nail I guess. I completely bums me out…
I’m missing both big toenails permanently… one due to the exact same cause. In both cases I had them removed temporarily first, but they didn’t grow back any better so I just got rid of them. The one removed by a horse happened when I was a college student. I did have some oral and topical medications first but none of them really made a difference. The other nail was removed when I was in my early 30s. Yeah it looks weird, but I’m not into sandals or pedicures or any of that, so I don’t really care. I do a lot of sports where my feet get beat up, dirty, wet, etc. so my remaining toenails aren’t exactly pretty either (and I’m often missing a few of them as well).
I have the ridges on my fingernails - as long as they are up and down the length of the nail, that’s a thing that happens with age. If you have ridges from side to side that can be a sign of other issues.
Thanks for this. I actually had it removed once and it grew back just as bad so I may end up being done with it. I’m struggling with the concept but it may just have to be done…
I’m going to try the tea tree oil and also make doc appt. Not sure if I should see dermatologist or podiatrist. I was thinking maybe they (or I) could just file down the thick yucky part and that way a topical could work better. I heard they have some new meds out for fungus which I suppose I could consider. The skin around this toe is also super dry and thick. I’ve been trying to file it down. I can see getting finger nail ridges with age but I’m not all that old (I think) 57. Also my fingernails rather quickly got ridgey and there seem to be some “dents” in the nails. Skin on my hands has been super dry to the point of cracking. It all kind of sucks though I realize these are pretty minor health issues compared to what many others face.
I’ve been fighting a small spot on my big toe for years and years. It gets better with daily tea tree drops and making sure the nail doesn’t get long. For a while it was gone but apparently gotta keep up the oil…so it’s back again. I’d go the tea tree route personally. Healthy, no side effects no heavy drugs.
I got a prescription for an oral treatment from my dermatologist. But I decided to try harder to get rid of it myself first. I soaked a couple of times a day with vinegar and mouthwash. In between I used an anti-fungal cream. And I kept cutting and filing my nail as much as possible. It was slow going, but I got rid of it and (knock wood) it hasn’t come back!
I had this years ago. I got a topical from the drug store. I cut my big toenail short and basically jammed the topical up under the nail into the gap caused by the fungus. It worked, knocked it out. But also the problem had developed over the winter. I had a summer week on a beach where I made sure to get lots of salt water on it and wear open toed shoes. I think I ended up putting nail polish on my toenails which seems all wrong but it let me go around with open toed shoes and everything air out.
I was also “gifted” some fungus with a pedicure. I tried every over the counter treatment. Tea tree oil did nothing.
Two weeks ago I saw my Podiatrist and she had my liver tested before she prescribed Lamisil. At the end of the month I will have my liver tested again to be sure the Lamisil isn’t being damaged.
I could have tried the prescription topical, but my podiatrist said it was maybe 30% effective, the oral med (pill) is 80% effective, so I went for the pill.
She also said it takes about a year to see new healthy nails.
You might consider a keto diet. There a lots of anecdotal stories in the keto community about how cutting out the sugar helps battle persistent fungal and yeast issues. The anti-immflammatory affects might be helpful as well.
Please do not suggest doing keto to cure toenail fungus. That’s silly in all types of ways.
Why ever not?
Keto is an extremely well researched eating pattern that lowers insulin resistance. The American Diabetes Association now recognizes Very Low Carb Dietary patterns in its best practices literature. Insulin resistance has a long list of metabolic disorders that are associated with it–including having a stronger correlation to heart disease than LDL. You want to increase your immune function to fight off things like, say, fungal infections? Lots of good research shows that reducing inflammation in the body improves general immune response. Reducing your sugar and carbohydrate intake is the single biggest dietary change you can make to reduce inflammation. You want to make a guess at what fungi typically feed on? Google it. And we’re back to keto. So ignore it and write it off as a fad diet all you want, but it is still the single most researched eating pattern of the last few decades with plenty of anecdotal evidence of people seeing an improvement in toe fungus.
Use vicks vapor rub! Make sure to rub it into the nail and nail bed 2x per day. Your new nail will grow in without any fungus. It isn’t quick since you have to continue until all the old nail has grown out, but it works. My Dr had me do this instead of Lamisil.
I had no luck at all getting rid of the fungus without going on Lamisil. It kept it at bay for several years, but it’s back now. Same tore. I have not re-visited going back on medication yet.
SO had bad fungus on both big toes, he had the nail resected, and it did not 100% cure the fungus. I was surprised that the doc did not have him on topical anti-fungal once the nail was removed.
Please show me the data
Is your Google broken?
I’ll give you a head start anyway. Here’s a link to VirtaHealth https://www.virtahealth.com/research. They are in year three of a long term study of a keto diet for management of type 2 diabetes. The first 18 months of study was so significant that it was the final push for the American Diabetes Association to include it as a recommended eating plan to address Type 2 diabetes. (Here’s the ADAs Journal for dietary plans https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/early/2019/04/10/dci19-0014.full.pdf). The most interesting thing on the VirtaHealth study is they looked at a lot more health markers than just those that directly relate to Type 2. If you’ll go to the link and scroll down beyond the Type 2 results there are good results as to improvements to the inflammation markers C-reactive proteins and white blood cell count. Also keep going for some cool stuff about keto on the markers for cardiovascular health. Continue to scroll for links to the peer reviewed material.
If you want studies that show the correlation to lowering inflammation and improved immune function you on your own–I think I’ve given you more than enough here to get started. And that one should be pretty easy. Does keto solve toe fungus? I have no idea. I clearly explained there was a significant amount of anecdotal evidence–probably go to Reddit if you want to see some of it. As we both know anecdotes aren’t scientific evidence. But there is certainly enough scientifically interesting work happening with keto that someone shouldn’t get randomly jumped on by some internet jerk for suggesting it as an interesting possibility that others have found success with.
Lol -Silly goose, of course “my” google isn’t broken- I searched there and also reddit. Found nothing with data. Thanks for the info. 
your fav internet jerk 
You cannot be sure that it is a fungus without a culture. My podiatrist swore that I had a fungus - but it was culture negative multiple times. My ugly toenails are due to trauma - horseshoes (with horse attached) and poorly fitting shoes. And the worst toenail made me think I should have it removed - but my podiatrist said that the nail serves a purpose - it protects the delicate bone beneath it, even if the nail is ugly. She gave me a topical called Formula 7 (tolnaftate 1 % Solution) which is an antifungal and also softens the nail a bit, and I use it for the softening effect. That has helped the ingrown damaged nail straighten a bit.
Yes! I have diligently been using essential oils twice a day (usually tea tree, but also clove and eucalyptus) and it has gotten better - but not all clear. Much better actually. Periodically when I trim my nails (just the big toes are the problems), I file the surface as well to help the oil soak in. They say to do that once a week but I never get around to it that often. The skin on the toes is not scaly anymore either. Baby soft, but I also use a Ped-Egg every week, more or less. But yes, it has been a year now.
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