What is toenail fungus?
The medical term of toenail fungus is onychomycosis - a fungal condition of the nails, caused (most often) by dermatophytes - a fungus which grows on keratin and causes ringworm (tinea), or a candida-type infection. It can have an effect on either the nails of the fingers or the toes, but infection of the toenail is more common.
Symptoms of onychomycosis
An early indication is a small yellow or white spot which grows, while the remainder of the nail becomes cloudy.Nails eventually become thickened, yellow & opaque, and can also become rough and crumbly. In worse cases, nails can turn black and the nail can separate from its base. They tend not to be particularly painful, but are unpleasant and can be embarrassing.
There are other conditions which have similar symptoms, so see your doctor as early as possible for a true diagnosis, as fungal complaints can be hard to treat so the sooner you begin the better.
What causes nail fungus?
Usually, the nails provide a protection against infection, but a break in the nail, can allow a fungus to take hold particularly in warm and humid conditions such as public swimming pools or gymnasium changing rooms. You can also catch it from close contact with someone else who has got the fungus.
Consequently, to avoid the likelihood of catching a nail fungus there are some precautions you can take:
- Good foot hygeine
- Use sandal -type footwear rather than bare feet in communal wet areas
- If you wear socks, wear those which allow air to the feet. E.g. Cotton or wool
Other factors:
There is likely to be a higher risk for people in the following groups:
- Those over 55 years old
- Smokers
- People in a warm/humid climate
- Those with a reduced immune system
- Those with poor health in general
- Those with particular diseases, e.g. psoriasis or diabetes;
How to deal with nail fungus
Because of the possible dangers and cost of other treatments without a guarantee of success, many people would prefer to turn to some safe and relatively cheap home-made treatments. So what are the options?
Systemic treatments
Herbs that are known as good immune boosters or anti-fungal treatments including:
- Garlic
- Extract of Olive
- Oil of Oregano (don't take when you are pregnant)
- Coconut oil
- Echinacea
- Grapefruit seed extract
There are a fairly large number of home treatments but due to the nature of such things, almost all of the evidence of success tends to be anecdotal.
It is usually thought helpful to cut back the nail as far as you can and file down the outside of the nail before applying the treatment, either be soaking the feet in solution or by applying directly with a cotton swab.
Essential Oils
- Tea Tree oil - The primary active ingredient of a few of the commercial treatments. Apply a 100% solution. [Beware that tea tree oil can be poisonous to dogs and cats]
- Lemon
- Thyme
- Lavender
- Eucalyptus
Listerine - Soak fingernails or toenails. The well-known mouthwash is thought to have anti-fungal properties; however it could be more successful with the candida-type infection than dermatophyte-type infection.
Vinegar/Apple Cider Vinegar - excellent results are reported by many by soaking in a 1:3 solution of vinegar to water for about 20 minutes a day or application of neat vinegar directly to the affected area. There appears to be some doubt as to whether there is any particular merit of apple cider vinegar over ordinary vinegar.
Vicks Vapo Rub - contains camphor, menthol, spirits of turpentine, eucalyptus oil and cedar leaf oil. Users report slow but obvious progress.
Bleach - soaking in a diluted solution for 10 - 20 minutes or direct application of neat bleach to the nail have both produced positive reports, although there's a possibility it is improving the appearance without actually killing the fungus, so another product may be used in conjunction.
Hydrogen Peroxide - usually used in combination with one or two of the other products.
There are reports of every possible combination of the treatments mentioned above, including topical home treatments in conjunction with Lamisil.
Treating fungal illnesses is notoriously tricky and long-term, frequently taking at least 2 or 3 months and treatments from 6 months to over a year are not uncommon, so patience and persistence is certainly required.
David Gough is interested in natural health cures and the answers nature provides to our health questions. His website looks into nature's answers to those questions, such as What are the best home remedies for toenail fungus?
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