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| Want pretty toenails again? Read below to find out how. |
Toenail fungus is one of those dirty little secrets no one wants to admit they have. Unfortunately, it's difficult to hide, especially in the summer months. But most of us know at least one person that has this hideous affliction. I'm one of those people. Both of my big toenails are thick and misshapen and have been for years. No pedicures for me. Too bad, I hear they're the bomb.
Recently, I decided to try one of the home remedies I've heard about. And as long as I'm doing it, I thought it might be interesting to document it. Someone might find it useful. So, for the next however-many-months I'll post weekly updates (with photos) and tell you how it's going. For now, here is what I found out about the options for dealing with toenail fungus.
Medications
There is medication you can buy to kill the toenail fungus and
eventually your nails will return to normal.
Maybe. In the past, there hasn't been a lot of success from using these medications. However, according to their (likely biased) advertisements, they have anywhere from a 73% to 90% success rate. This
page has a list of the best products on the market and step-by-step instructions on how to use them.
The problem is that they're expensive, as in 50$-a-bottle expensive. It takes at least 6-8 weeks of treatments of the best brand out there (
NailRENEW), which translates to a minimum of 2 bottles. I'm assuming that is for one nail. But who has just one infected toe?
Home Remedies
So, that was the easy way, with the quickest results and best known percentages of success. But it's far from the only way to treat toenail fungus. There are tons of home remedies out there. You can use tea tree oil, corn meal, white vinegar, Vagisil (store brands too) and vapor rub, to name a few. With the possible exception of the tea tree oil, all of these remedies have one distinct advantage over the medications sold specifically for toenail fungus. Cost.
There is a disadvantage, though. Time. These home remedies generally take more time to be effective. Even the best nail fungus medications may take months to work but the home remedies can range from six to nine months.
Effectiveness
As to effectiveness, there are a few reasons toenail fungus cures of both classifications fail. In my opinion, lack of consistency is the most prevalent cause. Most people simply don't have the patience to stick with either the store-bought or home remedy cures consistently or long enough to ensure the fungus is dead. On the page linked above, they stress the importance of not missing a single application.
Another reason these treatments fail is that there are different kinds of fungus. What works on one type, may not work on a different one. Which may partially explain why there are such a wide variety of results.
And even if you manage to stick with the process long enough and are lucky enough to try the right remedy, it may still fail. The problem is that nail fungus lives inside the layers of the nail and surrounding skin. That is why it is so difficult to get rid of. To increase the odds of success, you need to get the treatment where the fungus lives
–inside the nail.
Preparation
Regardless of the type of treatment you decide to use, preparing the infected area is key. Remember to always wash your hands and tools before and after treatment with antibacterial soap. Re-infecting the same toenails or someone else's... That would just plain suck.
You'll need: antibacterial soap, nail clippers, a metal nail file, a nail brush, a tub of warm water and a towel.
- Trim the nails as short as possible without causing yourself pain.
- Push the cuticles back and trim them.
- File the top, sides and front of the infected nails.
- Soak the infected nails in warm water for a minimum of one minute, twice a day.
- Scrub the entire foot with antibacterial soap with special attention paid to the nail beds.
- Dry, dry, dry. This stuff thrives in moisture.
- Now apply your chosen treatment.
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Sunday, September 27, 2015