Some people seem oblivious to their gross toenails. They walk around barefoot or in sandals with ugly yellow or even black nails oblivious to bystanders. Their thick, misshapen nails really need help.
Others are embarrassed, but don’t know what to do. This reader came up with a solution for nail fungus after her doctor’s home remedy failed.
Nail Fungus Remedies:
Q. I’ve been embarrassed about my toenail fungus for years. A dermatologist recommended soaking my feet in cornmeal mush, so I tried that. I didn’t see much improvement after about two months.
I then tried putting Vicks VapoRub on the toenails each morning and night and saw improvement after just two weeks! The toenails have flattened back out from the “tenting” I had prior to the Vicks application. Also, the nails are no longer yellow.
I’ll have to be patient and wait for the toenails to grow out, which can take up to six months, but I will finally have a “flip-flop” summer!
A. We’re pleased to hear of your success with Vicks. It contains plant oils such as camphor, eucalyptol, menthol and thymol that have anti-fungal activity. We were also surprised and delighted to learn that your physician actually supported the concept of home remedies for fungus. Many dermatologists frown when we mention Vicks VapoRub (or some other home remedy), but there is science to support this inexpensive approach.
A Study to Support Vicks vs. Nail Fungus:
There is actual research to support this home remedy for foiling fungus. A small study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (Jan-Feb, 2011) recruited 18 individuals with onychomycosis (doctorspeak for nail fungus). The authors reported:
“Fifteen of the 18 participants (83%) showed a positive treatment effect; 5 (27.8%) had a mycological and clinical cure at 48 weeks; 10 (55.6%) had a partial clearance, and 3 (16.7%) showed no change. All 18 participants rated their satisfaction with the nail appearance at the end of the study as ‘satisfied’ (n=9) or ‘very satisfied’ (n-9).
Conclusions: Vicks VapoRub seems to have a positive clinical effect in the treatment of onychomycosis.”
Although this study was very small and not a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the results were as good as or better than some very expensive prescription medications for nail fungus.
Another article in ISRN Dermatology (online, Jan. 26, 2012) notes:
“Another treatment option that lacks the side effects of oral anti fungal medications is Vicks VapoRub. This treatment has been discussed in the layman literature but, until recently, has never been studied scientifically. Numerous ingredients in Vicks VapoRub have been studied in vitro, including thymol, menthol, camphor, and oil of Eucalyptus, and have demonstrated efficacy against dermatophytes [fungi]…”
Conclusion:
“Vicks VapoRub has also been shown to be effective in the treatment of onychomycosis without side effects and is a reasonable option in patients who choose to forgo conventional treatments.”
A more recent study was published in The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (Jan-Feb, 2016).
The researchers point out:
“Treatment of onychomycosis is difficult overall. Antifungal therapies are the mainstay of treatment and can be administered topically or orally. Tavaborole [Kerydin], a topical treatment, has recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for onychomycosis and has been shown in two Phase-III clinical trials to have a complete cure rate (a completely clear nail and negative mycology) in 6.5% and 9.1% of participants, respectively. While tavaborole offers a treatment option with minimal side effects and drug interactions, it is cost prohibitive for many in the socioeconomic group studied here. The cost for a 1-month supply is currently $589.45.”
These nurse researchers went on to recruit 20 subjects with nasty nail fungus.
They concluded that:
“Vicks VapoRub was shown to be an effective and safe treatment of onychomycosis in the PLWH [people living with HIV] in our study…
“Current treatment options for PLWH with onychomycosis are limited, not only by medication contraindications, but also by cost. Treatment with Vicks VapoRub could provide effective clearance of infection at the cost of as little as $5.38 per jar. Terbinafine, the current standard of treatment, costs approximately $392.99 for a 4-week supply; with the average length of treatment being 6-12 months, it could cost as much as $3,959.88 to fully treat the infection…
“Vicks VapoRub is a safe alternative treatment for onychomycosis in PLWH. We found that, of the 18 subjects evaluated at 24 weeks, 83% had improvements in affected nails…No side effects were reported.”
People Report Variable Results with Home Remedies:
Different types of fungus may infect the nails, and this may explain why some remedies work better on certain infections than on others. Some visitors insist that cornmeal mush works great while others (like the original questioner) say it didn’t do a thing.
We have outlined a number of other remedies for nail fungus in our Guide to Hair and Nail Care. It can be downloaded at this link. There is also a Guide to Unique Uses for Vicks VapoRub with other interesting stories utilizing this old-fashioned treatment.
