The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

Two of my friends have successfully treated toenail fungus with vinegar foot baths. (half a cup of ordinary vinegar to a small basin of water - soak for 5 - 10 mins. Repeat a few times.)
I don't have any more friends with this problem, so this is a very small sample.

I completly cured toe nail fungus with a soak in Lapacho Tea, Pau de Arco (spelling)I soaked my feet daily for several weeks with warm (almost hot) water. I broke up 4 capsules in a pan of water and the fungus eventually went away. Pick a time wher you can do this everyday. It worked for my mother-in-law as well.

I am 69 years old and have battled toenail fungus off and on for more years than I care to remember. I have tried the vinegar soak and nightly applications of VapoRub several times over the years and have not experienced a long term cure of the fungus.

Several times my toenails have begun to grow out normally during the year long treatment periods, but ultimately they fail to permanently eliminate the fungas caused distortion and discolorment of the toe nails.
I am unwilling to try the Lamisal treatment because of the cost and potentinal damage to the liver and other side effects. I've not yet tried the hydrogen peroxide treatment, but plan to do so. I've also heard about the cornmeal paste treatment but wonder how and whether it actually works.

Are there any other home remedies I could try? Thanks!

I spray my toes with cider vinegar and water while in the shower to prevent fungus.

I have a couple problems with this original 'testimony'.What does the writer mean by 'three times'? Three one month treatments? How far apart? Three THREE month treatments? At what point did she start the hydrogen peroxide/Vicks treatment? There is NO WAY she could have 'NO MORE" toenail fungus in one month. The nail would have had to completely grow out. Perhaps it was already 'cured' by the Lamisil, but that was not apparent until the nail grew out coincidentally at the time of the end of the peroxide/Vicks treatment. It seems you'd have covered these possibilities. I would expect better of Peoples' Pharmacy!

I have had good luck with tea tree oil. I apply it to the affected toenail twice a day, and the affected area will grow out with the nail.

I've battled fungus and purple toes on both large toes for probably 25 years. I tried Penlac for at least 2 or 3 years, to no avail. Running/jogging exacerbates it. Two years ago, my wonderful podiatrist in Chapel Hill, Dr. Anderson, suggested I'd increase my odds of success if I removed the nails (leaving the nail bed so they'd grow back). I had her do so immediately. (It really wasn't painful, though it sounds awful). I then treated the naked beds with the Naftin ointment and with penlac as the nails grew out. This was 100% successful for one nail, and probably 60%-70% successful for the other historically more damaged nail (it cured the awful purple, but it's thicker, yellow, and detached midway). The best part -- both now appear to be normal, so I can wear open toed sandles without band-aids or embarassment.

I'm now trying to cure the stubborn 2nd nail. We're trying a mixture of listerine and vinegar, twice a day. Dr Anderson has a patient who did so for a year and cured her fungus. I've also 'doubled up' by putting Naftin on it as well. When the prescription only Naftin runs out, I think I'll add in the vapor rub treatment nightly. Although I have some penlac remaining, I've abandoned that as a cure. It's just too expensive, and the odds of success are too low.

Other advice -- I'm very careful to buy synthetic socks (sweaty cotton encourages fungus) (you can find them readily in running stores; the discount stores, and golf, haven't figured it out yet), to change my socks quickly after running, to use orthodic supports in my running shoes (minimize crushing impact damage), and to generally avoid nail polish (to let them breathe). I also take biotin as one of my daily vitamins, which nourishes hair and nails.

Net-if you're really determined, try removing the nails, then 'piling up' on the other home remedies. With persistence and several years of patience, it WILL work.

To find a "cure" seems questionable from reading many, many sites on this subject. I have been using Penlac everyday for 6 months on two toenails. The baby toenail, which was the worse of the two, is now normal in color and no longer thick, but doesn't look perfect yet. The big toe is worse. Although, only half the toe is affected and does not penetrate to the bottom, it has thickened. I was able to cut most of the baby toenail off without any pain, but not the big toenail.

I'm really not sure what I should try, and if I should try all of the home remedies together at one time. One reads that Vicks works, and then in the next statement, that it doesn't work. This is quite confusing.

After reading a great deal, I wonder if it might make sense to try hydrogen peroxide, lamsil cream, vicks, and Penlac all together. Has anyone ever tried that?

My husband and I have tried successfully Tea Tree Oil for nail fungus and athlete's foot. The secret is that you have to be persistent.

Tea tree oil successfully eliminated my toenail fungus. I applied it with a cotton swab at least once a day (at bedtime) and twice a day if I could remember. It took a few months for the fungus to totally disappear, as the toenails grow so slowly, but the new nails came in beautifully. A few months after I stopped using the oil, the fungus has reappeared slightly, so I'll start again.

I used the Vicks (greaseless version, not as messy) every night for three weeks. My big toe nail was almost all black and another toe was very thick.

After 3 weeks, the black area on the big toe is noticeably smaller and the thick toenail has not gotten thicker. I also used the hydrogen peroxide every morning. I'm hooked and will keep this up until I wear no polish on my nails!

Did I not hear on Peoples' Pharmacy to simply pee on your toes? I tried it and it worked. First on athlete's foot and then on a fungus caused by a salon manicurist.