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.
Distilled Vinegar
Posted by Harrier (Long Beach, CA) on 12/10/2007
★★★★★
The website where this was original quoted from is
http://askwaltstollmd.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html
Dr Stoll doesn't mind people using his methods and letting others know. I had bad toenails and used that approach and it all cleared up. Using the two drops at the base allows the white distilled vinegar to absorb through the nail and change the PH under the nail. By using only two drops you also prevent excess moisture from remaining under the nail. You need to apply twice a day 12 hours a part. In about six weeks, you should begin to see a thin clear nail at the base. After 6 months, your nail should grow out. Once the nail grows out, you should continue applying for about three more months. The major mistake people make is forgetting to remain consistant and missing a treatment or applying to much. For that reason cotton schwabs are also recommended. One dunk for each foot. This treatment does take a while and is 100% effective if you do it corretly and have virtually no expense. For some it has taken two and a half years, most cases are cured between 9 months and a year. Once your nail is infected, Dr Stoll feels you must grow healthy nail to push out the bad nail. Another recommendation is to drink two Tablespoons of ACV with apple juice or water twice a day. This helps treat fungus. Remember white distilled vinegar on the outside and Apple Cider Vinegar orally. Not the other way around.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Coconut Oil
Posted by Sue (New York) on 02/06/2011
To: 09/17/2007: Suzie from Huntington Beach, CA - You don't say if you did the ACV daily soak - or whether you took it orally. Which was it? And what was your formula either way? You were clear with the coconut oil, which I am grateful for! Great story!
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.
Cut the Nail Down
Posted by J. Riley (Honolulu, Hawaii) on 04/30/2007
★★★★★
I had nail fungus on most of my nails-over half of them. I had a problem years ago with only the thumb nail. This time it was really bad-I'd had artificial nails and I neglected them. When they were removed, my nails were absolutely gone-paper thin with fungus. After removal this continued to spread lower and lower. Over half of my nails had extensive fungus--apparent by the unattached white colored nails. Some were almost unattached all the way down to the "moon". From my other incident years ago I learned there is NO cure other than to cut away COMPLETELY ANY and ALL nail that isn't attached (debriding). I messed around with a thumbnail for over 2 years. Attended a doctor who game me Rx and told me to keep my nail dry-nearly impossible. Finally I got fed up and cut down the thumbnail all the way as far as I could. Knowing this, this time I cut back my nails completly all the way down as far as possible. This involved over half of most of them. Kind of hard on the eyes, but why screw around with all these liver damaging drugs, and soaking, and failures. Amazing! I marked the calendar: by the time 4 weeks had passed all of my nails had reached the point of where the natural quick is--except the 2 thumbnails-they're alot slower! It's been 6 weeks since I trimmed them all the way back. I did have to invest in some special clippers-"cuticle trimmers". Otherwise it would have been impossible to get rid of all the "white"with regular nail clippers. The clippers are about $14.00. Much better than Dr. bills, Rx's soaks, salves; Also much better than fooling around for weeks, months, and years. Generally for me, the smaller the nail, the faster the recovery. I would like to thank the manicurist on this site for her imput. She has been a manicurist for 19 years and her advice includes using clear iodine on your nails. This, she says makes the nails grow fast. I have a slow thyroid so the iodine thing is very intesting to me. The best part aobut ths whole thing is: Not only did my nails fill back in quickly, but now they are the strongest I've ever seen them! Almost every night I put the clear ("blanco") iodine on them. I'm not a doctor, but I would NEVER take any prescription drug that would damage the liver. That to me is unconsiousable. I am not a doctor and cannot advise others. All I wish to do is share how quickly this worked for me and how strong my nails are now! I'm very grateful!
Lemongrass Essential Oil
Posted by Melissa (Staten Island, New York) on 04/25/2007
★★★★★
Lemongrass Oil. Wow...Turned Black overnight. However, I am curious, do you keep applying 2x daily and just wait for it to grow out? I'm so happy that it looks like it's dying. It does mean it's dying when it turns black right? I've also adjusted my diet and included flaxseed-Oil and Evening Primose caplets and have been drinking 2 oz Unsweetned (not Sugar free but Knudsens sugar free) Cranberry juice diluted with water. 64 oz a day. I will take your advice Ted and begin to cleanse my bloodstream with the baking soda, Citric Acid and water mix. Just need this to be at least half way gone for Sandal season.
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.
Alkalize
Posted by Carol (Cambridge, Mn) on 07/14/2011
I have struggled with toenail fungus, but have suspected an underlying candida problem. I also would like to know how to check PH balance. Any other diet tips would be welcome, as well.
Application Hints
Posted by DeeDee (Sydney, Australia) on 02/03/2007
★★★★★
Just a hint for all the medications you try. I found it best to appy after showers, soaking etc. But also needed to use on perfectly dry nails like at bedtime. You can see the liquid being pulled in by the dry tissue. Cures work much quicker.
Mouthwash
Posted by Alice (Sierra Vista, AZ) on 12/07/2006
★★★★★
I have used vinegar and monostat plus a wide range of expensive over the counter "cures" for toenail fungus. I'm thinking of using the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Most of these things "sort of worked" but only mildly and slowly. I'd get a patch of clear nail at the base, and a lessening of the under-nail build up, only to have the fungus rush in and take over the whole nail again if I missed any treatments. I used Listerine-type mouthwash only by accident, because both big toes and one smaller toe became infected and I was too poor to visit the doctor. I was only hoping to control the infection long enough to be able to get medical help. Imagine my amazement when I found not only the infection cured in just a day or so, but also the fungus problem both in the nail and beneath the nail make dramatic improvements. I am angry because the medical establishment should be aware of this and other cures which are readily available to the public at a cost which almost every person in this nation CAN afford. I am angry because I would not have had the nail fungus get to the point it has, except due to the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry, I have been deliberately led to believe nail fungus was almost impossible to cure, and therefore any "home remedies" would have next to no effect in curing fungus, so I did not even try try until I accidentally got monostat on a "mole" and saw it instantly begin to "cure" the mole. I reasoned it might also help fungus. It did help, but nothing like the dramatic effect I've had with the mouthwash. Because of the misleading by our medical and pharmaceutical industry, I thought the progress I saw was the best I could hope for. The medical and pharmaceutical industry expect and demand to be paid immense amounts of money, so they can live like kings. To do this they apparently are either willing to lie or at best incredibly negligent, at a huge cost to the rest of us, in life and in health, as well as in money. My mother died with feet so badly infected with fungus and the subsequent infection, it was horrible. Had she known she could have cured the fungus problem with something as cheap and simple as mouthwash, she might be alive today. I know she believed toenail fungus to be extremely difficult or impossible to cure. It would have been nice to cure mine before my big toenail was totally destroyed. I'm hoping it will come back, but at least I have a real CURE. Plus I bet the other cures given here will also work. Meanwhile doctors collect vast sums of money to give people pills which destroy livers and cost a fortune. When they could simply advise them to use mouthwash! Isn't that what quacks are supposed to be guilty of?
Apple Cider Vinegar, Anti-Yeast Cream
Posted by Lady22599 (Columbus, Ga) on 08/31/2011
Just wanted to chime in with a regimen I started last week. I've had fungus on both big toes for sometime but it got worse recently because I've been painting my nails every week and we had a bad heatwave this summer. I had some medicated shampoo left over from a bout of Seborrheic Dermatitis. It contains an anti-fungal called Ketoconazole. The prescription strength is 2% but you can buy a 1% over the counter at most drug stores. I wash my feet with that every morning and night. After washing and drying thoroughly I use a q-tip to apply a generic brand of Monistat 7 cream to both toe nails concentrating on the base and sides (think U shape). I can already see a difference in the skin surrounding my nail. It had taken on a dark color like I was bruised but now it's pink again. After reading the great success some have had with ACV soaks I plan to add those to my regimen this weekend (just in the evenings). I took pictures of my toes when I started so I can chart the change and will keep you guys updated.
Iodine
Posted by Brenda (Bear, DE) on 01/18/2006
★★★★★
Iodine is excellent for toenail fungus, ringworm, fever blisters, moles and skin tags, hangnails, etc. Just a few drops on a q-tip is all it takes. Use daily until the "boo-boo" is gone.
Application Hints
Posted by Alex (Thessaloniki) on 12/19/2023
★★★★★
For better results and penetration of every active ingredient you use, a Scholl product suggests filing the infected nail first. Their plan is to file the nail once per week (with a new or disinfected file) but apply the active ingredient every day. Repeat this for four weeks. Then in the second stage of protection just aply once per week until the new nail is developed and no discoloration exists.
Cayenne
Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 11/21/2022
★★★★★
Applying a capsaicin-containing liniment to toenails will eliminated nail fungus. I've been using Watkins “Red” liniment on my feet and legs for temporary relief of my RA and minor aches and pains. Red liniment uses the counter-irritant camphor in a 3.5% solution and Capsaicin “red peppers”.
A few months ago, I started using this liniment with capsaicin for sore muscles and joints, but I thought I'd try it on my toenails and nail folds. I applied it twice a day, after my morning shower and before bed. After four weeks and less than $25, the fungus was undetectable on my toe nails.
Baking Soda
Posted by Leanne (Australia ) on 03/12/2022
Try spraying with tea tree oil.
Heat
Posted by Linda (Minnesota) on 11/30/2023
★★★★★
Thank you, Frank. I saw a Youtube video in which a guy had a fingernail fungus and he used a cigarette lighter on the nail for several days. He did not recommend it because he didn't want his video to be taken down (and he expressed that on the video). After about a week of holding the flame of the lighter a few inches away from, but directly toward the nail, his fungus disappeared and the new nail grew out perfectly. I was amazed to see that. Here's that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2s-lXWmLkI
Lemongrass Essential Oil
Posted by John B (Pahoa, HI 96778) on 10/21/2021
★★★★★
I used lemongrass oil after beginning a probiotic a month earlier. The lemongrass oil killed the fungus and infected nails. I used it until it irritated the surrounding skin. Two months after taking the probiotics I can see new healthy nail growth at the cuticle, the old dead nails are like scabs. I expect the combination is the answer as I had an appendectomy in 1970 and the fungal symptoms started in the mid 1990's.
10-Undecylenic Acid
Posted by E. (Bklyn, NY) on 01/24/2019
★★★★☆
Hi, How can I find out more about using the undecyclinic acid on empty stomach for toe nail fungus?? Thank you.
10-Undecylenic Acid
Posted by Alicia (USA) on 02/15/2019
Hi Laura. How much please? Thx!
Borax
Posted by Valdoria (Jacksonville, Fl) on 04/12/2017
★★★★★
I have been using borax in water 5 days on/2 days off - for about 3 weeks... I feel rather tired which I attribute to possible detox.
However, my skin looks better and I can tell my feet appear to be shedding a bit of old fungal skin which is nice. I take 1/8 tsp in water a day and usually make a match tea with it in the morning. I sometimes will take a hot bath with 1 cup of epsom salt and 1 tblsp of borax and it does make my skin feel good, yet a bit dry... it does seem to be helping with healing.
Ozonated Hemp Oil, Tamanu Drops
Posted by Smith (Los Angeles) on 03/18/2017
★★★★★
I have finally found a cure for toenail fungus. I have tried many, many things including oral pills, lasers, ACV soaks, garlic, etc.
I decided to try ozonated oils after reading about them on this site. I bought some ozonated hemp oil and watched my toes turn black. This was a good thing, as it killed the bacteria. I used a different toothbrush for each of the 4 toes affected, and used day and night. It took some time, and although I thought it was effective, I decided to add tamanu oil to the small container of ozonated oil. I mixed them together (half to half approx), and this has made all the difference. It's taken awhile, but they are finally clear. Well, the big toe that started it all, is almost done. There is still a tiny bit of black that needs to come to the top of the toe.
I am super excited that this worked, and wanted to share it. By the way, I'm using ozonated olive oil, but I don't think it really matters. I experimented with several and results were the same. And perhaps tamanu by itself might work. I didn't want to take the chance, since what I was using was working.
Good luck everyone, and I hope this helps someone.
Garlic
Posted by Carmel (Uk) on 01/17/2016
★★★★★
Had a very badly fungus nail, very horrible and thick, difficult to cut.
Smear garlic juice on it every day or so and it will grow up perfectly fine. Worked for me anyway.
Iodine
Posted by Cindy Mick (Ohio) on 05/15/2016
★★★★★
I also used iodine and it was very successful in curing the toe nail fungus. Every morning and night for about 4 months.
Bleach
Posted by Timh (KY) on 08/03/2014 2043 posts
@Js: The b- vitamin biotin is very good for hair & nails. Coconut Oil taken orally will help prevent reinfection.
Bee Pollen
Posted by Tiffany (Philadelphia, Pa) on 05/02/2013
★★★★★
I started taking bee pollen for allergies and noticed that my toenail fungus cleared up! I take one teaspoon of local granules a day after a meal. It does help with seasonal allergies as well. It works best for allergies when combined with quercetin. I noticed nail fungus clearance after a month of use. Thank you Earth Clinic for allowing us to share this type of information.
Listerine
Posted by Ava (Toronto, On) on 02/05/2015
Listerine products are Triclosan free. http://www.listerine.ca/tips-and-practices/our-heritage
