Toenail and Foot Conditions Archives

Toenail Fungus

My doctor has prescribed Penlac for fungus under my big toenail. The area has a small white line arcing across my nail with discolored nail bed behind it. The entire area covers a little more than half of the nail. I have been using it about 3 weeks with minimal if any improvement. I have 2 questions: Can I use the Vinegar treatment along with this medication? Is there any way to get a systemic fungal infection from this infection? The lower part of my nail seems soft and flaky and the skin around the nail is hard..I'm a little afraid to trim too much.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Toenail Fungus fixed-graphic frank 13:34:47 8/20/01 (4)
  • Re: Toenail Fungus (Archive.) GRAPHIC Walt Stoll 09:15:33 8/21/01 (2)
    • No, thank YOU sir fixed 20:17:39 9/02/01 (1)
      • Re: No, thank YOU sir Walt Stoll 08:38:17 9/04/01 (0)
  • Re: Toenail Fungus Nancy 16:08:16 8/20/01 (0)

In Reply to: Toenail Fungus posted by Nancy on August 19, 2001 at 21:39:27:

Hi Nancy! Penlac is a topical nail lacquer treatment for toenail fungus. The lacquer is supposed to permeate the dead cells of the nail, add ciclopirox to the cells, and then prevent moisture from getting into some of the nail cells. Read the Penlac efficacy tests, paying special attention to the "48 week treatment" part and the part that says only 6 out of 110 patients experienced complete cure. Here we'll take a 5 minute break for expletives.

• Almost all proven oral incorporative or topical incorporative treatments, including vinegar, take 12 to 18 months for a completely healthy nail to grow. If your doctor prescribes another oral or topical treatment, save yourself some money and use the vinegar, one medium-sized bottle will last you 18 months.
• The nail fungus infection occurs because your immune system is depressed. Severe depression of the immune system leaves you open to systemic fungus infection. Read about immunity (Stoll, 1998). As for whether the fungus can physically get into the bloodstream from a toenail infection, it seems unlikely.
• If you are diabetic, have the nails trimmed by the appropriate sort of doctor. It is VERY easy to cut yourself and healing of foot cuts occurs slowly in some diabetics.
• Read the Toenail and Foot Archives Front Page for good hygeine tips. I'm serious, read it! Those tips can lessen the length of treatment.
• Don't give up, my toenails are living proof that vinegar applied correctly can restore the toenails.
• The infection can reoccur 12-18 months later when the protected cells are grown off the nail if you haven't improved your hygeine and/or increased your immunity.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Toenail Fungus (Archive.) GRAPHIC Walt Stoll 09:15:33 8/21/01 (2)
  • No, thank YOU sir fixed 20:17:39 9/02/01 (1)
    • Re: No, thank YOU sir Walt Stoll 08:38:17 9/04/01 (0)
• Re: Toenail Fungus Nancy 16:08:16 8/20/01 (0)

In Reply to: Re: Toenail Fungus posted by fixed-graphic frank on August 20, 2001 at 13:34:47:

Thanks!! I'll start the vinegar today. I have clean feet, socks and shoes, but I have been on low dose steriods for 10+ years for Crohns disease. This isn't the first thing I've gotten because of decreased immunity. Thanks for your time!!

In Reply to: Re: Toenail Fungus posted by fixed-graphic frank on August 20, 2001 at 13:34:47:

Thanks, Fixed!

This is a keeper!

Namaste`

Walt

Follow Ups:

• No, thank YOU sir fixed 20:17:39 9/02/01 (1)
  • Re: No, thank YOU sir Walt Stoll 08:38:17 9/04/01 (0)

In Reply to: Re: Toenail Fungus (Archive.) GRAPHIC posted by Walt Stoll on August 21, 2001 at 09:15:33:

I had read about the vinegar treatment in a Home Remedies book I found in the tabloid shelf of the grocery store some years ago. Because of some questionable remedies and the legal disclaimer telling me I could not sue them if the remedies backfired, I questioned the authority of the work and thus the reliability of the cure. At this site not only did I find a knowledgable and experienced doctor prescribing the remedy with precise directions, but dozens of testimonials to its efficacy in differing language. Because of this, the information appeared highly reliable, worth studying and applying for treatment. Good work, Dr. Stoll!

To be honest, I'm the type of guy who could not care less what my toenails look like, or even if they are a little difficult to cut. But the insight into the substandard immunity causes behind the fungus got me curious, so I read some more, checking what I learned here with other sources, weighting their informational value according to their apparent reliability. It was then that I found the cause of 10 years of gastro-intestinal problems, problems I had written off as genetic woes I'd just have to live with, because the doctors I had seen had conditioned me to think thus.

I consider it a great disservice that every doctor I've seen (including my current one) was so quick to proffer surefire cures for my toenails, when the toenail fungus was really a symptom of something serious enough (depressed immunity) to be truly worthy of my attention. What if I had taken their stupid $500 cures and forgotten all about it until my blood-starved gut developed truly severe medical problems? I can't remember whether it was your book or an archived message that tipped me off to this very important fact, but I feel that it should be told to everyone who cares enough about their toes (and rest of body) to search the net for help. Cheers to Bill for putting this on the front page of the Toenail Archives. Please do copy the graphic to bcn.net/~stoll if you like. When I have time I will redo it, spelling onychomycosis correctly and using multiple cases to chart differing progress in different folks.

Hopefully lots of folks bothered by mild symptoms like toenail fungus will discover this, resurrect their immunity, and protect themselves from a world of hurt.

Follow Ups:

• Re: No, thank YOU sir Walt Stoll 08:38:17 9/04/01 (0)

In Reply to: No, thank YOU sir posted by fixed on September 02, 2001 at 20:17:39:

Thanks, fixed.

Namaste`

Walt