Toenail and Foot Conditions Archives

Toenail woes TESTIMONIAL

I've read through alot of the archives on the subject of toenail fungus and wanted to share my experience.

I am one who is genetically inclined to this problem. My dad and one of my brothers also have this problem. I'd heard about the "homeopathic" remedies for the fungus but had never taken the time to deal with it. I was to the point of shaving my big toenails back to make them flat and then polishing them to make them look "decent". Letting them go "natural" ensured that I would have pain in the toes but I still didn't think about going to the doctor or doing anything else for them.

I finally went to a podiatrist when I had a rash on my feet that didn't match my expectations for what Athlete's Foot should be and it wouldn't go away. It wasn't on the bottoms of my feet or in between my toes, but more on the top of my feet and along the sides. It was to the point of actually being painful and I was trying to keep my shoes off as much as possible but that wasn't practical at work. Imagine my surprise when the doctor told me that it was Athlete's Foot!

He said that it was the same fungus that caused the toenail problem and we discussed the options of medications that were available. He said that Lamisil was probably the best thing to use since it was (at the time), the newest thing out there and would probably do the best job due to the fungus not having built up a resistance to it yet. He also said that because I was genetically prone to the problem, I would probably have to repeat the treatment every few years to make sure that it didn't return.

I took the Lamisil and almost immediately, the rash disappeared. It was 3 months of treatment and then the wait... One year later, my nails were totally clear and there was no sign of the rash either.

That was 5 years ago. 1 1/2 years ago I started noticing the rash coming back and have been pretty consistent with applying the Tinactin to combat the Athlete's Foot. My nails were ok until last summer when one of my big toes started growing in all white and crumbly. Very strange. Three of the 5 nails on that foot are now infected with the fungus again (that foot has always had the most problem with the fungus while the other foot is still uninfected). I've been without medical insurance for 4 years now and only employed part time so the cost of doing another round of Lamisil has been quite prohibitive.

Last week at work though, someone was talking with another gal about using Listerine and Vicks on their toenails and so I joined the conversation. Of course, I'm a bit leery since I know that fungus comes from underneath the nail and topical treatments are not recommended by the doctors but I decided to do some research and see what I could come up with. This site came up and I'm amazed at what I've read.

I'm planning on purchasing some vinegar this evening and will start the treatment right away. I figure that since I can't afford Lamasil for awhile, I may as well try this and see if it works. If it does, maybe I'll have nice nails and feet again by next summer :)

My boyfriend has an extreme case of the fungus as well and Lamisil didn't do anything at all to his feet. I'm hoping that maybe the vinegar will help him as well. He's a rock climber and dancer and so the thick nails and the pain associated with it are a real problem. (FYI - insurances will cover a portion of the medications if there is pain involved because then it's no longer just a "cosmetic" problem.)

I'll post back in a few months - hopefully with news of improvement :)

Follow Ups:

• Re: Toenail woes Kristen B. 16:19:20 11/03/03 (1)
  • Re: Toenail woes Vinegar TESTIMONIAL Walt Stoll 08:26:37 11/04/03 (0)

In Reply to: Toenail woes posted by Liz on November 01, 2003 at 22:33:21:

The vinegar cure worked on my toenails, but it took two years. I also put a drop of vinegar between each toe and that took care of the athlete's foot!

Follow Ups:

• Re: Toenail woes Vinegar TESTIMONIAL Walt Stoll 08:26:37 11/04/03 (0)

In Reply to: Re: Toenail woes posted by Kristen B. on November 03, 2003 at 16:19:20:

Thanks, Kristen.

Walt