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Archive for the ‘Toenail Fungus Treatment’ Category

Curing Toenail Fungus with Prescription Drugs

Curing Toenail Fungus with Prescription Drugs

Thanks to the advancements of modern medicine, curing toenail fungus with antifungal prescription medicines has become quite regular. As this is an infection that can spread easily, both throughout a person’s nails and through a populous, treating it has become of higher concern than it used to be.

What does an infected toenail look like?

The first and most common symptom to develop is a whitish or yellowish spot on your nail. Gradually this will cover your entire nail and you may eventually develop dark yellow and brown spots on the nail. Your nail will become thick and brittle as the fungus burrows deep into and underneath the nail on its quest to spread.

Infection occurs when people are exposed to the spores of the fungus. This can happen if you wander around barefoot, especially in areas that are particularly dirty, if your shoes are dirty or excessively damaged, and if you have particularly sweaty feet as heat and humidity are two key ingredients to a successful fungus growing environment.

Nails can become discolored due to trauma at the nail site, rubbing of the nail from the shoe and even if you have psoriasis. It is best to consult your doctor to determine what is causing the discoloration so that you can work together to come up with the best treatment.

Your doctor will take a sample of your nail and examine it under a microscope as well as have it sent to a lab for culture. The point of this exercise is to determine if it is a fungal or bacterial infection, and if it is a fungal infection, which type of fungus is it? The more you know, the more effective your treatment will be.

Topical Medications

A standard topical medication prescribed for toenail fungus infections is Ciclipirox, commercially known as Penlac. This comes as a nail polish, which needs to be applied daily to the infected nail to destroy the fungal infection. This can take several months to occur, so be patient.

Side Effects

Penlac has been known to cause skin irritation and itching where it has been applied.

Oral Antifungal Medications

Common prescriptives for eradicating toenail fungus infections are Lamisil, known as Terbinafine, Sporanox and Itraconazole. All of these drugs will run at least a twelve week course and it takes about nine months for the nail to grow out to fully replace itself.

All of these drugs come with the risk of side effects. If you suffer severe abdominal pain, headaches, dizziness or nausea, vomiting or jaundice in the skin or eyes or if your urine becomes particularly dark, you need to cease taking the medication and report this to your doctor right away.

None of these prescriptions are recommended for people with liver or heart disorders.

Thanks to the advancements of modern medicine, curing toenail fungus with antifungal prescription medicines has become quite regular. As this is an infection that can spread easily, both throughout a person’s nails and through a populous, treating it has become of higher concern than it used to be.


Welcome To NailsFungus.org

Welcome to the Blog Section of NailsFungus.org

Welcome to NailsFUngus.org - Nail Fungus

In this section you will find articles and videos on nail fungus and nail fungus treatments. Feel free to search for a subject concerning you or just browse around. We have amassed the largest informational database on nail fungus online and are here to help…

Are There Any Over the Counter Nail Fungus Treatments That Actually Prove Effective?

Are There Any Over the Counter Nail Fungus

Treatments That Actually Prove Effective?

As microorganisms go, fungi seem to be one of the strongest strains. It is much harder to kill them than bacteria and viruses. Dermatophyte, molds and yeasts can invade your nails and burrow deep into the nail itself, creating quite the armor of keratin for this marauding nail fungus. This makes treating onychomycoses much more difficult as even powerful antimycotic medications are not always entirely effective. So this begs the question of whether any of the available over-the-counter nail fungus treatments are effective and worth your time and money.

It is an unfortunate but true fact that very few topical treatments, whether prescription or over-the-counter, effectively treat and cure nail fungus infections.

Amorolfine

A very popular over-the-counter topical onychomycosis drug that has been proven to be effective in clinical trials is amorolfine. This topical drug is available without a prescription in a handful of countries such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It’s marketing name is Loceryl. Amorolfine comes as a nail lacquer and is painted on the nail like a polish. This leaves the medicine free to penetrate the nail after it has dried and allows it to work over time, just as the nail fungus does. It is active up to a week, then may need to be re-applied.

Amorolfine works by inhibiting the cell membrane of the fungus. It is only effective on distal (or lateral) subungual onychomycosis. This leaves out proximal subungual onychomycosis and superficial white onychomycosis. Knowing which type of onychomycosis you have contracted is important if you wish to choose this over-the-counter method.

Amorolfine is not available in the United States as an over-the-counter remedy, which is inconsistent with other countries’ policies. There are a few side effects but they are mild and rarely occur with proper usage. A burning sensation while applying the lacquer for the first time has been reported, but it goes away quickly. As online pharmacies become more popular, it may be possible to obtain amorolfine in the U.S. via these services who sell it over-the-counter. However cost may be an issue as Loceryl (the commercial name for amorolfine) can cost around $100.00 – $150.00 for a single 5 ml tube.

There are several over-the-counter anti-fungals that are very successful at treating skin fungus problems but are not successful nail fungus treatments.

Lamisil is a decent oral onychomycosis treatment when it is prescribed in tablet form. However it also has an over-the-counter form of a topical cream, which has not proven effective at treating nail fungus.

Lotrimin (also known as clotrimazole) is very effective at treating athelete’s foot and jock itch but has not tested or been shown as a good nail fungus treatment.

Tolnaftate (or Tinactin) is the third over-the-counter product that although it is an excellent skin fungus treatment, does little or nothing for nail fungus.

A more promising solution in terms of over-the-counter medications is an anti-fungal nail liquid of undecylenic acid. Two different papers, one published in 1965 and the other published in 2008 examined the use of undecylenic acid in treating onychomycosis. The 2008 study shows a positive effect, however in these tests the undecylenic acid was combined with cyanoacylate and hydroquinone. There is no definite proof of undecylenic acid being effective on its own.

In the realm of alternative medicine, Tea Tree Oil, (Melaleuca alternifolia) has been shown to have some positive effect on nail fungus. As it is a naturally occurring fungicide and insect repellant, applying a 100% concentration of the oil to the infected area has been reported by small studies to be able to cure 20% of the cases followed. In two-thirds of the patients followed, using Tea Tree Oil caused an improvement in the appearance of the nail fungus infection. Another study compared the twice daily application of 100% Tea Tree Oil and a 1% solution of clotrimazole. The Tea Tree Oil appeared to be slightly more effective at clearing up the nail fungus problem.

Topical products or removing the nail

All of these topical products are applied and have been tested in cases where there has not been surgery to remove the nail before applying the product. It is possible that removing the nail before treatment, via surgical, mechanical or chemical method, may improve the chances of an over-the-counter nail treatment clearing up a nail fungus as this allows the medicine to get directly to the source of the infection. If you are considering surgery or any other form of nail removal as part of your onychomycosis treatment, please ask your surgeon or doctor for information about follow up nail fungus treatments.

If you do not wish to go the surgery route to solve your onychomycosis issues but do wish to cure your nail fungus, the best chance of success still lies with taking oral antifungal agents, which are currently only available with a doctor’s prescription.

Fungal Toenail Infections and Using Home Remedies

Fungal Toenail Infections and Using Home Remedies

When people think of the phrase ‘home remedy’ they envision something that has been passed down through generations of family members and passed through many people by word of mouth. This is fairly accurate. As most of our grandparents and great grandparents grew up in a time when going to the doctor wasn’t as easy as it is today and when medicinal compounds weren’t that far away from what was already available in the house, many home remedies may seem strange, but especially in the case of fighting toenail fungus, they just may work!

There are a great many home remedies suggested for sufferers of toenail fungus and even more people will agree that they are effective. Everything from soaking your feet in Listerine or vinegar to applying Vicks VapoRub, bleach, peroxide or various essential oils to the affected area are circulating out there. Whereas the intelligence behind putting bleach directly on your skin is questionable, there are online-forums-worth of people who will swear by this and other methods.

Some useful remedies

The theory behind many of these treatments is that the fungus requires a certain environment to grow in, which includes a favorable pH level. Soaking your feet in something like a solution of vinegar and water would alter that pH level rather drastically and make the growing environment more hostile. One problem with this particular method is that soaking your whole foot in vinegar changes the pH in every area your skin comes into contact with the solution, which frequently dries out the skin, leaving it more prone to infection. A viable alternative is to soak a cotton ball in vinegar and place that on the affected area for 15-20 minutes. This isolates the vinegar to the places it is most needed and doesn’t damage the healthy skin surrounding the infection. This technique also works with the suggestion of Listerine.

“Why Vicks VapoRub?” many people ask. The common theory is that it has to do with the eucalyptus in the product. The results are fairly unanimous from those who have tried it, it really works to clear up toenail fungus, and works fast. If you choose this method, you must cover the entire affected area and rub the compound in well. Reports state that the infection starts to clear up within days.

Using rubbing alcohol or peroxide, applied to the nail, the surrounding area and under the nail bed if possible, are two other very common remedies. The likelihood of irritation is fairly high with these two but they have also been proven effective at killing toenail fungus.

All of the remedies listed here have shown to be effective at slowing, killing and/or removing toenail fungus. But, as when using any home remedy, you must use a bit of common sense. If the infection gets worse or if the skin around the infected nail becomes irritated and infected as well, stop treatment immediately and see your doctor. Most of these remedies are for the early stages of toenail fungal infections and should not be started if your toe is already oozing pus or if the nail has separated from the nail bed. Again, if this is your situation, contact your health care professional right away.

The Beer Soak Method – A Homeopathic remedy for nail fungus. How to do it and why it works.

The Beer Soak Method – A Homeopathic remedy

for nail fungus. How to do it and why it works.

The strange yellow color that you see on your finger and toenails is not only unattractive but possibly harmful. This is caused by a fungus that lives just along the nail bed and beneath the nail itself. It is not uncommon for affected nails to become rough and thick, along with the yellowing that has already been spoken of. So if you don’t wish to take a prescription medication as recommended by a doctor, what do you do? Fortunately there is another option for folks who prefer the homeopathic approach to medicine.

By combining dark beer, more commonly known as Stout, white vinegar, and acidophilus, a medicinal soak can be created to immerse the affected nails in. Acidophilus, a helpful bacteria, combined with the alcohol in the beer, work together to create an environment that is not conducive to the continued growth of the nail fungus.

So what is it about this mixture that makes it work to cure nail fungus problems?

By combining the vinegar and acidophilus, you are creating a negative climate for the nail fungus. High acidity environments kill off unproductive bacteria like fungus, while still allowing productive bacteria, like acidophilus to thrive and encourage their pro-biotic tendencies to help fight off infection. The alcohol in the beer works to soften the tissue around the nail as well as the nail itself, thus allowing the acidic environment to permeate (enter) the nail in order to do its job.

Nail Fungus Soak Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tub or bowl large enough to soak the affected area (your feet or hands)
  • 4 cups white vinegar
  • 2 pints of Stout – Many beer companies make a stout or dark beer. Guinness is the most well known.
  • 1 sachet of acidophilus – the standard sachet potency is 125 billion organisms.
  • Nail File* Use once a week

Directions

Please note: Once you have made this mixture, the same batch can be used repeatedly for up to 48 hours. Don’t throw it out right away.

Mix the vinegar, stout and acidophilus in the soaking tub.

Soak the affected area (infected nails on your hands or feet) for 30 minutes.

After you have soaked the affected area for 30 minutes, remove your hands or feet from the mixture and wash the affected area with warm water and soap. Pat dry.

Repeat these directions twice a day for between 3 to 6 months, until the affected area clears up.

*Once a week: Immediately after removing your hands or feet from the mixture, (before washing with warm water and soap) Use a nail file to file the affected nails down, to expose new nail.  Return the affected area to the mixture for an additional 30 minutes so that the newly exposed nail is able to receive the medicinal properties of the mixture, inhibiting the further growth of the fungus.

Some users may find that the area around their nails is sensitive to the soaking mixture. If this is the case, then reduce the frequency of treatment from twice a day to once a day.

This treatment should start to show efficacy within one week to one month, depending on the individual and the severity of the fungal infection. The treatment is most effective if strictly adhered to instead of missing regular treatments. Once the fungus starts to clear up, the nail in the affected areas will start to grow back strong and clear. As you trim your nails, cutting away the infected nail as you cure it, your nails will grow in healthy behind the damaged area. There should be no more yellowing or thickness in the healthy nail.

It takes about 12 weeks for the nail to grow in fully and replace itself from infected to unaffected area.