Toenail Fungus
Natural Remedies

Natural Nail Fungus Treatments: Effective Home Remedies

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

Henna

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Shelby (Evansville, In) on 08/31/2011
★★★★★

Henna is anti-fungal, thought I'd throw that out there.

I usually use it to dye my hair, but I've been reading up on it, and I'm going to try it on a persistent fungus near my eye. I usually just mix it with hot water and let it sit for an hour, then apply it wherever. Henna can smell pretty strong, but feels absolutely wonderful on your skin.

It has to sit and absorb for a few hours, so don't do it if you're in a hurry, and it can be a bit messy. Now I just need to figure out where to get those tiny little paint brushes to paint it on exactly.


Honey

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Pineshi (Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada) on 01/07/2009
★★★★★

New Topic - For Toe Nail Fungus

I used honey to get rid of my toenail fungus that I had for two years. I tried Vicks, ACV and water washes and one day, I used unpasteurized honey just to be different. I had read that honey is antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial. My fungus was disappearing right away when I used honey. What I did was wash my feet every day with ACV water wash, hot and applied honey to toes and gauzed up with tape to keep covered for over time to keep from reinfecting self with shoes and socks. The skin and nail tissue was coming off in swathes and eventually the fungus has gone. I keep the wash and gauze for another few months until the nail is all grown in new again. I plan on microwaving the shoes to kill any fungus that might be alive there.

Unpasteurized honey has worked for me.


Honey and Garlic

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Nadine (NY) on 09/01/2006
★★★★★

i read this in a book at the health store so i tried it take honey and garlic use them alternately on your toenail. start out with either honey or garlic and put it on your toenail and bandage the next time you change the bandage put the opposite on so if you start with garlic, the next time put just the honey and keep alternating it till the fungus is gone. do not mix the honey and garlic together. yes the honey is a little gooey, but it has some very nice properties in it that work.


Hot Springs

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Anne (Glasgow) on 06/09/2017
★★★★★

I suffered from fungal nail on my big toe for over ten years.

Pain... thick nail... lifted off nail bed with thick undergrowth. Tryed many meds nothing worked

I am just back from Thailand and spend days going on trips. 2 that I went to were hot springs.

On the first trip I noticed that night that the undergrowth became soft and I was able to cut my nail

Few days later went back to hot spring and again that night undergrowth fell away

Been home a week and now looking at my toe I can't get over it ... it's looking normal again. Going to get my nails done at the salon now as I do t feel embarrassed by my big tow nail as it's no more and nail has went flat onto nail bed.

Am planning on having foot spas to keep my nails clean and soft to minimise any regrowth. Going to enjoy flashing my toes in my sandles first time in years.


How to Self-Test for Internal Fungus

Posted by Robert Henry (Ten Mile, Tn) on 11/06/2017

HI U OLE PATOOTS DOIN,,,,,,,, as all know ISJS. Anyways, on reflecting how the sight of my fungus shook me, I think you can test yourself at home.

Take two Q tips and swab one side of your mouth and the other side with the second Q tip. Store in a sterile glass jar and observe weekly for a month. If you have growth, the amount should tell you how severe your problem is. If you have no growth, I don't think you can say that you have no fungus. I am going to use the technique to ascertain my treatment progress.

My natural doctor told me the VF of my fungus and I was not impressed, but when he showed me the growth on my two swabs, it scared my mule. I think the visual result will tell you something too.

======ORH======

Replied by Holly
(Millersville)
11/06/2017

Mightn't a non sterile and wet from saliva q tip grow mold just from the air? Like a shower curtain? Or leftovers in the fridge?

Replied by Robert Henry
(Ten Mile , Tn)
11/06/2017

HOLLY,,,,,,, you seal the sterile jar, so only your saliva is involved. That's the way my doctor does it.

======ORH======

Replied by Holly
(Millersville)
11/07/2017

ORH,

Sorry to be clueless here...but even if the jar is sterile and closed, the air within the jar could have spores, bacteria, etc. Kind of like when you preserve food by canning. Using just sterile jars won't work. You have to process via heat to create a vacuum and kill all pathogens first.

Thanks for your help. Holly


Hydrogen Peroxide

13 User Reviews
5 star (12) 
  92%
1 star (1) 
  8%

Posted by John (Pahoa, HI 96778) on 05/20/2021 6 posts
★★★★★

I recently began treatment with hydrogen peroxide after having lived with chronic toenail fungus for over 20 years. I used 6% H202 to soak my feet for 20 minutes each night for a month. As the fungus was killed off the damaged part of the nail softened and peeled off painlessly. I switched to borax soaks, and the nails are thinner and clearing. I still soak on alternate days and apply Kerasal and now the nails are normal except for the length in only 2 months!


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Tim (Georgia) on 06/19/2018 21 posts
★★★★★

If Nothing helps toenail fungus, try:

Fold down 2 napkins just to cover your toenails and toes completely, then pour with 3% H2O2, wrapped with a polyethylene(cellophane, etc soft film), needs good plaster to fix on feet all the night and wash your feet in the mornings with laundry soap. Needs 10-14 days. Hope you get rid of fungus forever.

Don't forget to change all your socks, sandals&shoes/ or at least pour shoes with ACV every time.

Thank me later.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Jarred (Palo Alto, Ca) on 04/03/2013
★★★★★

To cure nail fungus, simply soak the affected nail in HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. It does not have to be food grade. I cured nail fungus by using a 3% solution from my local drug store.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Lesley (Nanaimo, Bc, Canada) on 02/28/2013

Fungus under Toenails... I was reading a number of messages about the use of food grade hydrogen peroxide. My question is, would this be a good external as well as internal treatment for the fungus? What solution for the external? Thanks.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Susan (Boulder, Co) on 06/05/2012
★★★★★

I've had a mild but progressing toenail fungus for years, but no longer. After showering I have been applying 20% hydrogen peroxide, bought in a beauty supply store because the drugstore version is more diluted. After about six weeks I began to see results, and several months later it is better than 50% gone. The material I read mentioned that one can use even stronger hydrogen peroxide, but this has been sufficient for me.

Replied by Mary
(Thedford, Ne, Usa)
07/10/2012

As a science teacher, I would STRONGLY urge you to avoid using any concentrations of Hydrgen Peroxide higher than 20%. At 30% concentrations, skin can be severely burned. Even something as common as hydrogen peroxide can be very dangerous if not used properly.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Bruno (Houston, Texas, USA) on 03/20/2009
★★★★★

I have tried several remedies that would work for short periods of time and then, they didn't seem to be as effective. I didn't just do it for a day or two, but for a week or more at a time. Someone told me about [food grade hydrogen peroxide]. I read all about it and thought that it would not be wise to use it but they insisted that it would work and fast. I didn't want to go through another couple of months of testing, so I gave it a try. You only put it on the nail with a Q-tip - don't let it touch the skin. It dries in a minute and reapply. I did this every day, twice a day, and within 3 days it was greatly improving. I dug the gunk out from under the dead part of the nail and the new nail is growing back beautifully. The old nail is still on but as it grows out I'm cutting the gross part off. I'll bet that within a 2 week period of time, the nail will be completely new and the fungus completely gone. It's cheap and fast.

Replied by Diana
(London, Uk)
10/14/2009

how to avoid touching the skin???!!!!

Replied by Vicky Lindsay
(Naples, Fl)
10/30/2024

Someone mentioned food grade peroxide for nail fungus. It comes in different strengths. Which one is recommended please?


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Tom Winegar (Hakalau, HI) on 02/02/2009
★★★★★

hydrogen peroxide for toenail fungus -YEA

i tried Lamisil but it was too expensive.

i tried Vinegar, and it made the skin on my feet feel great (baby smooth), so no more foot fungus - but it didnt help my toenails.

I tried Vapor Rub but it was stinky and sticky and didnt work well, but maybe helped a bit.

Then i tried Hyrogen Peroxide. It worked! I went on daily foot baths with Hyrogen Peroxide and I am winning the fungus battle. I was diluting too much. Now I use straight 3% and soak as long as I can.

There is no increasing infection, there is only spreading PINK nail health. My 'good' nails look great. My bad nails are improving slowly.

I highly recommend Hydrogen Peroxide for toenail fungus.

I was so happy to find something that worked, the doctors had no good solution.

I want to have pink toenails by the time I am 50!

Replied by Anthony
(Albuquerque, New Mexico, Usa)
12/10/2012
★★★★★

Tip: If you warm the hydrogen peroxide it will be more effective. Warming it allows the the skin to expand and absorb it better, especially if the fungus infection is in the root of the nail. Do not overheat hydrogen peroxide when warming, cause you might burn your skin.

3% hydrogen peroxide does work, but the big toe will take more soakings than the smaller ones. Do not use if you have cuts on skin as the peroxide will burn the skin. A mix of 2 parts 3% hydrogen peroxide to one part water also works.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Jesse (Granite City, IL) on 09/04/2007
★★★★★

After reading many of the suggestions available on this and other sites I added some of my own thoughts to the process and formulated my own treatment method.

The major problem with toenail fungus is that once you get it it is hard to get at it because the nail itself protects the fungus. So I took a dremel tool with a fine grit sandpaper bit and ground the toenail completely away. This is relatively painless as long as you do not hold the sandpaper in one spot for too long as it will generate heat and burn you (not severely but painfully).

After sanding away the entire toenail surface the nailbed is almost completely exposed. Since then I have been treating it with peroxide and after about 5 treatments (just once or twice a day) the peroxide no longer bubbles when applied indicating that the infection is gone. I have let it grow out a little and ground it down again a couple of times for good measure but when the nail grows out it looks healthy and normal. I will have to see what happens when the nail is completely replaced but so far it is working! Just be careful and use your head when you sand off the nail so you don't hurt yourself.

Replied by Richard
(Santa Ana, California)
11/21/2008

WARNING! I tried using the Dremel tool on my thick odd looking toe nail (didn't realize it was a fungus problem). In doing so I released the fungus in a cloud of dust while grinding away at the toe nail. Within a week I had the problem in every toe and in every finger nail! It's now been three years of trying all kinds of remedies without much success. I have learned that this is extremely contagious. It will jump from one finger/toe to another quickly. Do not use the same clippers, file, etc on more that one nail. Thanks for this site. I plan to try several new remedies that I have found here.

Replied by Carol
(Independence, Missouri)
01/06/2013
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

I agree with Richard. I was grinding my toenails down with a sanding drum on my Flexshaft several years ago, which caused the fungus to spread to more toenails and fingernails, but the really scary part was that I got the fungus in my lungs from breathing that dust. I was hospitalized for two weeks and could have died from the lung fungus. My doctor told me it was dangerous to even file the thickened nail down because that also causes the fungus to become airborn. The only thing you should use are nail clippers. He told me to dip the clippers in a 50/50 solution of bleach and water after clipping each nail to prevent the spread of the fungus. If the nails become painful because they are pinching in at the side, soak them in warm water with ACV or TTO twice a day to soften them. You can also cut out a notch at the curve to relieve the pressure. The nail surface will absorb any remedy you use, so there's really no need to file or grind them down.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Ron (San Jose, ca) on 08/25/2007
★★★★★

There may be two prevalent forms of nail fungus so I am qualifying my comment. Nail fungus that causes delamination starting along the edge with the nail weakening substantially may be cured with Hydrogen peroxide. I needed to pry up the nail at each treatment being careful to pry up only the discolored portion. The nail began to regrow from the root. It looks good. I noticed some foaming with the initial treatments and the color was bleached a little. The healthy growth is quite clear.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Towanda (Philadelphia, PA) on 02/27/2007
★★★★★

My toenails were turning brown and was very dry to the point that the nail was lifting and chipping all over. It was disgusting. The doctor put me on Lamisil which had to be taken for up to two years and even then, you weren't guaranteed results. I stopped taking the Lamisil after about 6 months because I saw no results, and it could have possibly damaged my liver. I decided to try Peroxide. For the past month, after showering, I pour HP on my toes and let it dry. I then put Tea Tree Oil on my toenails. My nails are absolutely beautiful now. The brown is practically gone, the nail itself is healthy and smooth.



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