How to get rid of toenail fungus?

[bella99]

My almost 22-month old has a fungus-y toe nail. It's been that way for many months. Her doc looked at it and agreed that it was fungus but that was a couple of months ago and it has gotten worse. At the time, the doc just shrugged it off because there wasn't much he could do.

But now, even though the nail is very thick and yellow, it actually looks like it's shrinking in every other way. All of her other toenails are healthy and have no problems, just this one. I'm worried that her nail bed is really damaged and that the nail will fall off but a new one will not grow back. Is that possible?

We've tried vicks vapor rub as I kept reading that helps, but it didn't seem to make any change.

Any advice?

[Anandamama]

I've dealt with this since I was 4yo. It stayed on just one toe for most of my life and I just kind of wrote that toenail off and decided not to worry about it b/c there seemed no way to get rid of it. And then a few years ago it spread to all the other nails!

In my experience is the nail will fall off and a new nail will grow back, but it will quickly become the same as the old one and eventually that one will fall off too, and so on...

Recently a doctor prescribed a topical solution that I get mixed at a pharmacy: 30 Thymol/Alcohol. I soak the nails in warm, salty water once a week for about 30 min. Then I cut the nails and any dead skin back as far as I can with sharp nail scissors. Then paint the solution on. I apply the solution every night. It doesn't get rid of it but it does stem it's growth significantly and keep it from growing further. The only thing I've ever tried that has helped! With a little one I'm sure you don't need to soak for so long. Good luck!

Also, giving the foot plenty of air helps. It always gets worse in cold weather when feet are confined.

[pbjmama]

If your dr won't treat your ds I would go to a podiatrist.

[sapphire_chan]

In case someone is looking at this thread hoping they'll also get some info on treating nails affected by yeast:
For dd's thumbnail, the doctor recommended applying an OTC anti-fungal and soaking 10 minutes a day in a solution of epsom salts and vinegar. We managed to get the anti-fungal on most days and managed to soak every 2-3 days and it cleared right up.

I also gave her 333mg of biotin, and a few cell salts: calc phos, calc fluor, and kali mur daily.

I reduced my sugar intake and took probiotics. She got plain yogurt in small amounts, and a bottle of flavored kefir most days.

When I first took her to the doctor about it, her nail bed was already exposed at the base of the nail. By the time the old diseased nail fell off, there was already new healthy smooth nail in it's place. The tip of the new nail was gnarled at first but cleared up as the nail grew out.


As for my toenail fungus, I've noticed an improvement since cutting out sugars and grains. I really need to get better about soaking in vinegar and applying my antifungal though. I tend to only do those when I've got itching, which means that I'm not fighting it as effectively as I could.

[bender]

My mom's doctor told her to soak the foot/nail in comet. It sounds very wacky, but it's helped her.

[sapphire_chan]

Which is basically baking soda with bleach. My only concern with that would be that using it as a soaking solution exposes healthy skin to a pretty nasty chemical. If I were going to use it, I'd soak with something milder and then paint diluted comet directly on the affected areas.

[Plaid Leopard]

Soaking in hydrogen peroxide helps, or even just spraying hydrogen peroxide on the affected areas a couple of times a day.

[hildare]

i too suffer from the funk. there are topical remedies, but they're all short term ime. mine is completely based on my sugar intake. you might want to look at that- an overgrowth of fungus can be 'fed' by sugar.

[Jayray]

Tea tree oil on the nail morning and evenings. It takes a while to work, though--1-2 months for me.

[swd12422]

Originally Posted by Jayray

Tea tree oil on the nail morning and evenings. It takes a while to work, though--1-2 months for me.

This is what I was going to suggest. DS had a little bit of fungus when he was a baby, and the TTO cleared it up. (Ped said there was nothing to do but wait and let it either grow out or get worse...)

My mom has had major fungus issues on one thumb off and on over the years, compounded by fake nails. Her latest treatment (which actually seems to be working) is 2-3x/day soak in a white vinegar solution (I think it's 1:1, but not sure, and don't see how full strength could hurt).

Good luck, I hope yo find something that works.

[bella99]

Thanks.

You've given me a lot of ideas.

I've read some things about soaking the nail and then filing down before applying any topical solution (whether prescription or just vinegar, etc), but while I don't think it hurts her, she is clearly not very happy when we try to trim the nail or take a closer look at it. Will some of these things work without having to file the nail down a little bit?

She's been wearing sandals or crocs pretty much everyday since May, so I know it's gotten plenty of air.

[crunchy_mommy]

I would definitely trim the nail down as much as possible -- it shouldn't hurt, though I know some kids hate getting their nails trimmed anyway!

I got a toenail fungus once after my one & only time getting a pedicure (guess it wasn't such a great gift to receive after all ) I soaked it in apple cider vinegar morning & night and kept the nail trimmed super super short (also disinfected the nail clippers after each trim just to be safe). Made sure to not wear nail polish either. It went away, but it did take a couple months.

[emeka]

Have you tried applying Fungusil on your child's foot? It's basically composed of birch oil, salicylic acid, anti fungal ingredients and hydrogen peroxide.its gentle on the skin so i think it would be perfectly safe for your baby.

[cyclamen]

what about gentian violet?  It's not natural but its an all purpose fungicide recommended to nursing moms and babies with thrush.