The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

Tonenail Fungus

Listerine and vinegar,is it the white or apple cider vineger?
Thank you for People's Pharmacy Pharmacy.

I am a dietbetic and I have a crack under my little toe and I would like to know what I could use to cure it up. I have tried almost everything I can think of.

I am about to start the Listerine soak for my toemails with long-standing fungus plus a recent involvement of three fingernails...not sure it's truly fungus there; could be just old age. I am also troubled by bunionesque calluses on my great toes. Doc gave me samples of Carmol40 which is an excellent softener, but available only through script. Any OTC suggestions? Thank you very much and I will let you know how the Listerine does for my fungi. C. Wise

I read, somewhere on the inernet, about Tree Tee Oil. I have been using this on toe fungus and it is working. Whereever I read it, said that it usually takes 3 months. It has been about one month for me and it is working.

I had problems with cracked, caloused soles and toenail fungus. I had medicine but it did not go very far....one of the items in the medicine was Urea which I believe is a by-product of urine.

SO..........I started soaking my feet in my own urine and WOW!, IT CLEARED UP THE CALOUS, THICK SOLES AND THE TOE NAIL FUNGUS.

I've had great success with tea tree oil on toe nail fungus. Like all treatments, it takes a couple of months (at least) depending how extensive the fungus is. The tea tree oil seems to stop the fungus from growing, then you have to wait for the nail to grow out. I use a q-tip and put the oil all over the affected nail and under the nail. Once or twice a day (and especially after a shower or when feet are wet)The fungus starts to dry out and flakes and falls out. I also cut the nail back into the area the fungus has been removed from. Then you just let the nail grow out (while continuing the treatment).

Editor's Note: Some people are allergic to tea tree oil. Please be cautious when applying to skin!

I had toenail fungus, and the nail was about to come off. My doctor referred me to a podiatrist, but commented that if it weren't so far gone, he would recommend putting Vick's VapoRub on it. Well, I tried it anyhow. Got results within days. Saved a trip to a podiatrist, and three years later the nail is perfect.

I have had a darkish, reddish, yellowish fungus on my big toe for several years (no cracking or pain). It seemed to get worse if I had toenail polish on, or if I would leave the polish on for a long time.

I started putting Vicks VapoRub on it, trying to remember to use it day and night, but sometimes forgetting. I got rid of almost all of the fungus after many months, maybe a year.

Unfortunately, when I used toenail polish again, the fungus returned. I'm trying over-the-counter fungus remover, but without much luck. Maybe I'll try the Listerine and vinegar.

I have been using Vick's VapoRub and hydrogen peroxide for three weeks. My nails look better than I'd ever dreamed!

I discovered I had some toenail fungus on one nail, and wanted to clear it up fast in time for a pedicure appointment at a fancy spa. After reading all the suggestions here, I decided to try the Vick's VapoRub. After just one night, the nail looked almost completely cured!

THIS POST IS A REPLY TO KAEZI posted on Aug 7, 2007......................

Hi Kaezi, I am a licensed nail technician, and what you are explaining doesn't sound like a fungus, it sounds more like just stains from the polish. Reds and darker color polishes especially tend to do that. They usually leave a light-colored tint on the nail plate (usually yellowish/reddish).

Fungus USUALLY (but not always) will have some kind of chalky-looking marks on the nail plate, as well as some sort of lifted area somewhere around the side walls.

I would suggest getting your nail nice and clear again (you could even try buffing it with a medium/fine grit buffing block) and then whenever you paint your nails, always use a base coat polish before the actual colored polish. This creates a barrier between the nail plate and the polish. See if that helps clear up the discoloration.

Also try to change the polish about every 2 weeks or so, as the longer you leave on a polish, the more likely it is to stain, with or without a base coat.

Hope this helps clear things up. :) :)

I was told by a NHS direct nurse that she used Tea Tree Oil (100%, not the mixed) and got good results. So I tried it, and it's working. I'm now taking oral meds too, because I've got two nails with it, but it's keeping it dry but supple...

I like what I see!!! GO TEA TREE!

I caught a fungus from a nail salon! I used topical presription medication for my toenail fungus for 2 years. I started using Listerine about 6 months ago, and after awhile, also hydrogen peroxide. My nails are clear but I have to keep using it. I plan to try Vick's Vaporub as a preventative. Best regards.

Ooil of oregano works great for toenail fungus and a whole slew of others ailments. Used it on infected toenails and the next day noticed a difference.

I picked up toenail fungus after a professional pedicure, and I started treating it with topical fungicides as soon as I noticed symptoms. Lucky for me, things hadn't deteriorated too much. After a few months with no improvement, I started applying Vicks VapoRub twice a day in addition to a once-daily fungicide treatment. There's been a vast improvement within two months, and my nail is close to normal again. So go Vicks!! Why don't doctors tell you this stuff?

I have had good results with wild oregano oil which I've read has good anti-fungal properties. Anyone else using this?

My husband's toenail fungus was terrible. I read your article about using vinegar and water to heal the fungus. My husband started this treatment a few months ago, soaking his feet almost every night. The toenails on one foot are completely healed and the other foot only has one toe left. We are believers in this remedy and love your column. Thanks for giving such good advice.

I had toenail fungus and I put virgin coconut oil on my feet. It is great for the skin and an anti-fungal. It cleared up my fungus! You can buy it at any organic food store. Great for all of your skin and face! Test it to make sure you are not allergic!

I was interested in the commercial for "Lamisil" and asked my doctor if I could try it. (I have classic high blood pressure/diabetes/obesity approx 70 lbs over...) My pharmacist filled the script with generic "Terninafine" 250 mgs--28 tablets per month--which I took whole for 4 months and noticed a marked change in the health of my toe nails. I reduced the dose 1/2 pill per day for the remaining year (8 months) and the fungus in my toes totally disappeared.

I now use 1/4 tablet per day as maintenance, and a side bonus is that my feet no longer have an offensive odor even if I wear shoes in sweaty situations. And a plus is I don't have any side effects with my other meds...

ps. Love your show JaroP

Nothing works for me. My primary MD prescribed Nizoral, and I was extremely allergic to it. Use tea tree oil, oregano, alcohol, nothing works to rid me of the scourge. Now that urine treatment sounds like a winner. Piss on it!
Michael

No one has said whether it's best to use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar for toenail fungus. Would someone please help me with that?

I have had very thick toenails for several years now and had one podiatrist tell me it was a fungus and then another tell me it wasn't, just trauma to my nails. I had a lab test and it came back negative for fungus. So what is causing this thickness of my toenails?

Vinegar: either white or cider. I also found that getting full strength vinegar under the nail got quicker results.

Urine: I have had dry, cracked, patchy dry spells on my hands all of my life and nothing helped long-term. Someone mentioned using my own urine, and I started peeing on the patches out of desperation--IT WORKED! The episodes are far and few between now (mostly happens in winter), and urine did it.

I've been doing the 50/50 Listerine and vinegar for about 2 months, and it is definitely working. The nails on both big toes are 1/2 perfect! Since it is/was an infection, has it been taken care of (and I just have to wait for it to grow out)? Do I have to keep doing the treatment every day?

I tried the listerine treatment a couple times, not long enough to get results. However, I just want to warn people not to use the blue listerine--it turned my feet blue, and it took over a week for the stain to go away!

I developed what I thought was a toenail fungus on my left big toe. It was flaking and calcified. I used Vicks Vaporub on it applied with a Q tip every morning after showering. It started improving after several weeks and after about 4 months it had grown out perfect. It happened again and I used Listerine in same way. The improvement was immediate and it has not returned after more than 12 months.

Once the nail starts growing in nicely, does the treatment need to be continued? Is the infection gone?

I went to the doctor today about my thick yellow pinky toenail and the one next to it on my right foot. He told me I had one of three options. I could use Penlac which is a prescription liquid you apply to the toenail directly, Lamasil, which we've all seen the commercials for but requires a liver test first! or.... VICKS VAPORUB! Yes, the doctor said Vicks! So, I'm starting the remedy today and hopefully this works! He said any of the above-mentioned methods would take about 3 months to see real results. So, I hope this helps someone from a doctor visit or expensive prescription meds!

When I needed treatment for toenail fungus, my doctor suggested I soak my toes in Listerine for 30 minutes a night for thirty days. I sent my husband to Costco for a giant jug of Listerine. He returned with the minty one. It is blue. I figured it would not really make a difference. It did. My feet turned blue and no amount of scrubbing could take the color off. My husband laughed until he cried.

After switching to the regular one, my toenail fungus did clear up, but the nails themselves were very dry.