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| Modified on Sep 29, 2023
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http://www.essortment.com/all/fingernailsnutr_rjbo.htm

"Discolored nails: Diabetes, stress, allergies and simple illness can cause your nails to appear discolored. A greenish nail color, however, can be a sign of infection, either in the nail bed or in your system.

Bluish nail beds can be a sign of lung trouble, such as emphysema or even asthma. A simple dark blue line in the nail can be a sign of skin cancer. Tiny black streaks can indicate a heart problem, while reddish-brown spots can indicate a deficiency of folic acid, protein or vitamin C.

Yellowing nails are early signals of various internal disorders, such as diabetes, respiratory or liver problems. White lines in or across the nail can signal fever, liver or heart disease, kidney disorders or, more likely, a lack of iron or zinc in your diet."

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.
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Apple Cider Vinegar

2 User Reviews
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Posted by Sofia (Bronx, New York) on 07/13/2014
 ★★★★★

My big toe had a fungus for more than ten years. I have tried many different remedies but never did them consistently until 6 months ago. I had had enough. I started ACV again. I put it in a little bottle that I keep in the bathroom and every time I went to the bathroom whether to wash my hands or to use it...I poured the Apple Cider Vinegar right on my toe, before work, after work, during the night. I use open toed slippers at home so it was really easy to do. Once a week, I would cut as much of the ugly nail off and use the buffer. It took six months and I am very happy to say my toe is 100% cleared of any infection. It worked for me.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Tammy (Wichita, Ks) on 11/03/2013
 ★★★★★

Over the past few years, I've had more than a few cuticle infections or small cuts on my hands or toes that became infected. Some were bad enough that I had to get antibiotics to treat. After twice going to the doctor for them, the next time I had an infection, 1. I didn't want to spend the money on an office call, and 2. even worse I didn't want to take antibiotics. Did a bit of research on the net and saw a post to use vinegar & water, 50/50 and soak your hand in that for 20 minutes 2 times a day. My finger around the cut was swollen and had turned black and yellow, so I decided to jump in and use 100% ACV. Soaked my finger 3x per day and on the end of the 2nd day I could see a big improvement. I continued a few more days till the infection was gone. I've done this several times for finger or toes. Now when I get a cut that turns red and starts to swell, I don't wait for it to become infected, I just soak a few times in some acv. Works great and has saved me money from paying the doc and even better, saved my body from antibiotics.

Replied by Carmen
(Laguna Woods, Ca)
06/12/2017

Dear Sir or Madam, Began ACV soak not quite two weeks ago. I am hopeful. Does the ACV have to be unfiltered? Very expensive. $20 for a gallon which only lasts three days. Is it safe to reuse a batch? If so for how long? I was not able to get any response from the on-line chat. Would appreciate knowing. Thank you, Carmen

Replied by Mama To Many
(Tennessee)
06/12/2017

For foot soaking for fungal issues we have always used distilled white vinegar ($3-4 a gallon.) We use 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 water and reuse the soak one time. This has worked well for my family and has been inexpensive. I hope it works for you!

~Mama to Many~

Replied by Lex
(Idaho Usa)
07/26/2017

To save money when doing foot baths, I use rubber boots (with out internal insulation so they dont take forever to dry and get nasty) and a small amount of liquid is enough to cover the entire foot and I can still do other things in the house.j

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Cadillacrob (San Antonio, Texas, Usa) on 04/08/2011

HELLO IM 28 YEARS OLD AND HAVE A TOE NAIL ISSUE FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS, FROM HAVING INGROWN TOENAILS, TO A NAIL FUNGUS AFTER THE REMOVAL OF NAILS, PRIMARILY ON MY BIG TOES, IVE TRIED LAMISIL, AND THAT JUST DOESNT WORK, I HAVE EVEN TRAVELED AS FAR AS MEXICO TO TRY AND FIND A SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM, BUT WITH NO LUCK. I HAVE JUST DISCOVERED THIS WEBSITE AND I DECIDED TO GIVE THE ACV A SHOT, SO LAST NIGHT I WENT TO MY LOCAL STORE AND PURCHASED THE UNFILTERED TYPE OF ACV, IT WAS ABOUT 10.00, AND A TUPPERWARE CONTAINTER TO SOAK MY FEET IN. I SOAKED LAST NIGHT FOR 45 MIN. AND AGAIN THIS MORNING FOR ABOUT 35 MIN. ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS SHOULD I REUSE THE ACV OR SHOULD I USE FRESH ACV, PLEASE HELP, I WILL CONTINUE TO POST THE PROGRESS. IM HOPING THIS WORKS!

Replied by Debbie
(Melbourne, Australia)
04/08/2011

Cadillacrob, I fixed a nail fungus problem that I had had for over 6 years. I drank the apple cider vinegar - 2 tblspns twice a day. It completely healed the problem but it took three months. You could see the new nail coming in without the fungus. It is better to drink the apple cider because the problem will still be inside you.

Replied by Lindy
(Mineola, Texas, Usa)
05/15/2011

Please try this: Soak your feet at least 5 times per week. Dry them well. Buy some Vick's Vapo Rub. (NO GENERICS PLEASE. ) Dip Q~Tips in the Vick's and lubricate EVERY affected toenail. (NO DOUBLE ~ DIPPING. ) Use a cuticle pusher or pointed nail file and GENTLY push some of the VIck's under the affected nails. When all affected toes on both feet have been lubricated, cover each foot with a sock or bootie and wear them overnight. Wash Vick's off the next morning. Repeat this 5 nights per week until nails are looking good and then decrease or discontinue using your own trial and error judgement. This really works!

Apple Cider Vinegar, Tea Tree Oil

1 User Review
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Posted by Gg (Denver) on 12/10/2015
 ★★★★★

I picked up a fungus from a yoga studio (shower). I first soaked my toe in Clorox with water, then thereafter swabbed full strength tea tree oil on in the morning & before bed and sealing it with a bandaid (also applied tea tree to the bandaid absorbant pad). As it cleared up, I trimmed the nail until gone and continued to soak in a tree tea bath and Apple Cider Vinegar. Healed beautifully.

Articles

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Posted by Deirdre (Atlanta, GA) on 07/11/2009

I've been researching nail conditions and have found a very good article for anyone who is interested in learning more about this. The 30 page article is called "Examining the Fingernails When Evaluating Presenting Symptoms in Elderly Patients" and has excellent photos. The article is from medscape.com: http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/571916 but you cannot access more than page 1 on medscape unless you are a subscriber. However, I found it on a couple of other websites - this one is a .pdf: http://www.national-toxic-encephalopathy-foundation.org/NailDiagnosisMedscape.pdf

Replied by Man
(Sojouring America)
03/24/2014
★★★★★

My objective here is to gather some sites that I have found on the issue of finger nail problems.

http://www.handresearch.com/finger-nails/nail-tutor-start.htm

www.aafp.org/afp/20010315/1113.html

I found that in the last paragraph it states that Acetic acid soaks (white vinegar?) were helpful.

Baking Soda For Split Nails

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Posted by Ej (Nanaimo, British Columbia) on 05/17/2013
 ★★★★★

For about two years I had a thumbnail splitting along a ridge. Took baking soda in water, and the thing healed. Wahoo! I also add apple cider vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to the mix, but the baking soda seemed to be the key ingredient. I drink 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon baking soda in big glass, (12-14 oz or so) water first thing in the morning or at least one hour before a meal. I only drink it 1x per day.

Biotin

1 User Review
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Posted by Keara (NYC, NY) on 06/11/2014
 ★★★★★

My nails became weak, and broke a lot. I took biotin for a few months, and they are long, medium strength and are not breaking at all. It definitely worked for me - I'm delighted.

Biotin
Posted by Tania (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) on 10/26/2012

Hi, I have had very soft nails since I can remember. Thet would bend both ways without a problem - people thought it was so weird. Any way, I started taking biotin tablets and it really help - they are normal and quite hard actually. My mum had problems with her nails also, because they kept splitting thiknesswise and biotin tablets helpt, although she still has the same problem, but wouldn't take them as regularly as I did (one every day).

I tried stopping them after a few months too, but the problem returned, so I stated taking them again.

Another friend started taking them for hair loss and really helped her too.

Replied by Citygirl27
(Richardson, Tx, Usa)
10/26/2012

The two things that gave me a huge improvement in my nails are 1) protein and 2) cutting out colas. Even just cutting out colas, I noticed a phenomonal improvement in the space of inside a week. Now about 6 weeks on, I cannot *get* my nails to break, no matter how hard I bend them, and they don't chip or split anymore, and I haven't had one hangnail since. I also have to cut them every week now, where I was only having to do it every 4-6 weeks before. I found biotin more helpful for hair strength rather than nails. I can speak for this as last year, while regularly using biotin, when I began upping my protein intake to 50g per day, my nails grew amazingly. But not with the same strength and hardnesss I get from abstaining from cola drinks. It's the phosphoric acid that draws the minerals out of your nails. You really will notice a difference quick.

Replied by Timh
(Louisville, Ky, Usa)
10/27/2012
2048 posts

Citygirl27: It's good to here of your improvements. As for sufficient Protein, Jim Humble recently devoted an article to it's merit. Many folks nowadays are vegetarian (for whatever reason) and do suffer from certain Amino Acid deficiencies (although many are in denial of this condition). Over the yrs, and especially in the event of very bad health, it simply breaks my heart to see anything (plant or animal) suffer; but I try not get over-sentimental about the animal ethics or cruelty issues and at the same time support organizations that help prevent unnecessary suffering of either wildlife or livestock. I think a good model for animal protein consumption would be the Native American, where gratitude is given to the animal as well as the Great Spirit. Ultimately it's how we live our life after eating animal derived protein.

Borax

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Posted by Rosemary (White Rock, Bc, Canada) on 03/02/2012
 ★★★★★

I had soft, splitting, cracking, peeling and later ridged nails for years. Two months ago I started with Boron in the form of BORAX, 1/8th of a tsp in a liter of water a day for the problem with my bones in my feet. Well my foot problems are gone and my nails are beautiful and strong. I also take a number of food supplements like ACV, BS, ground flax seed, molasses, Brewers yeast, Lecithin and extra calcium/magnesium plus other vitamins but nothing has worked like Borax... I should say I am now taking it only 4 days a week as recommended on this site. I hope this helps you the way it did me.

Replied by Jo
(in Perth Australia)
09/29/2023
★★★★★

I took borax for my broken bones and noticed a similar thing. The urge to nibble my nails was dramatically reduced. It felt like my nails were stronger, but that couldn't possibly have happened so fast (in hours).

In any case, breaking my wrist was the start of six months of great nails. I relapsed eventually. But in the years since I have tried a borax supplement again and the effect is repeatable. I suspect strontium helps too.

Once or twice a year I mix 10g of Borax in a 1 litre bottle and store it in the fridge. I drink about 20-30ml a day with a touch of vinegar to neutralize the alkalinity. It was an effective dose of ~300mg borax (so ~30mg boron). After a month or so I lose the drive to keep doing it, so take a break. I tried for years taking 3mg boron supplements of sort and never noticed anything.

Bruised, Purple Toenails

Posted by Beverly (Pikeville, KY) on 02/02/2009

I use Earth Clinic for so many of the wonderful remedies. Yesterday I hit my middle toe on my right foot and immediately the nail turned purple. It's very sore to the touch and I wondered if anyone knows of anything that might help me keep my toenail from falling off. I have an appointment for my very first manicure and pedicure 2 wks from now and i hate to go with a black nail ready to fall off. Any suggestions?

Replied by Alana
(Maui, Hi)
03/14/2012

Like a blood blister under your nail? If it's what Im thinking of, its filled with blood under there making it sore. This is what my husband does when he crushes his finger in something and gets one of those; he heats up a needle red hot, and pushes slightly on the nail, very slightly. The needle should slip right through, into the blood pocket so it wont hurt anything. The pressure is relieved, and no further damage is done. He once did this to his aunt's foot after she hurt it, and the blood squirt like 5 feet into the air! Talk about pressure!

Replied by Conni
(Hegewisch, Il)
03/20/2012

That's exactly what the Doctor in ER did to me but he used a large Paper Clip and shoved it right through my fingernail! While it was painful at that moment I was relieved of the pain and pressure.

Chinese Tonic Fo-Ti

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Posted by Joseph R (Michigan Usa) on 07/04/2018
 ★★★★★

Was a nail bitter for 54 years. I started taking (Fo-Ti) He Shou Wu organic tincture for an unrelated purpose. 970mg / 3x

Bite free for one month now!

Coconut Oil

2 User Reviews
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Posted by Caitlin (Austin, Tx) on 07/22/2015

For foot and toenail fungus: Every night before bed, smear your feet with organic coconut oil & put on a pair of cotton socks. This helped my husband eliminate toe fungus completely in one night! For some, it takes up to a week.

Coconut Oil
Posted by Melanie (Ankeny, Iowa) on 07/21/2011
 ★★★★★

I've been taking 1 T. EVCO each morning in my cofffee for about two months. One thing I've noticed, and I haven't heard anyone else talk about it, is that my nails are growing in strong! I used to have long, beautiful fingernails in high school and college. Nothing would cause them to break. After having two kids, my nails have been thin and brittle, and would snap off like potato chips. I couldn't grow my nails out to save my life for the last 12 years. Now suddenly, they are growing again. The only change in my life is my EVCO. Amazing!

Coconut Oil
Posted by Bleug8 (Fairfield, California) on 01/05/2011
 ★★★★★

I heard ridges come with age. I am 54 and also had them. I use coconut oil and just from getting the oil out of the jar the ridges have dissapeared! Love coconut oil!

Replied by Tricia
(Ireland)
01/06/2011
84 posts

These ridges are called Beau's lines. Googling this generally brings images of extreme cases but it can give you an insight into possible causes.

Replied by Aubergine
(Washington, Dc)
12/26/2011

I've had ridges on my nails for as long as I can remember, and as they grow out they split along the ridges. My former dermatologist had no idea why. My current dermatologist said they were just brittle and I should take fish oil. They aren't actually brittle - they're soft and flexible - but I got the fish oil anyway since it has other benefits. It has been about 18 months since I started taking fish oil and my nails aren't any better. More recently (about 3 months ago) I started drinking organic unfiltered ACV, usually 3-4 Tablespoons over the couse of a day. Still no nail improvement. In fact they're worse because a couple of them seem to have developed fungus - the nails are pulling away from the nail bed. I started applying ACV directly to the afflicted nails at bedtime. This seemed to help at first - I had cut off the separated part of the nails and they grew back in a bit - but after a few weeks the nails started separating again (even though I was still doing the nighttime ACV regimen). I'm now soaking my nails in ACV instead of just applying with a cotton swab (typing this with the other hand) - will keep soaking nightly and see if the condition improves.

Replied by Timh
(Louisville, Usa)
12/27/2011
2048 posts

I have read that marked ridges and cracks on fingernails is a sign of Iron deficiency.

Replied by Aubergine
(Washington, Dc)
01/18/2012

Trinh, in my case I don't think the ridges are caused by iron deficiency - I have always taken multivitamins with iron, and my iron levels have always been fine whenever I've had bloodwork done. Anyway, to follow up on my 12/27/11 post, for the last 3 weeks I have been soaking my fingernails in straight ACV for 20-30 minutes a night (had to skip a few nights here and there) and I'm definitely noticing an impact on the fungus. The nails are starting to grow a little higher up the nail bed (they had only been attached about halfway up; I had been clipping off the detached parts). I can also see a color difference between the new growth near the cuticle (light pink-ish) and the older growth (slightly darker). The new growth still has ridges, but I'll keep soaking to keep the fungus away.

Replied by Ann
(Sydney)
10/06/2017

Bleug's lines are HORIZONTAL lines. Not vertical lines.

Dark Patches: Hydrogen Peroxide

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Posted by L. (Red Deer, Alberta Canada) on 07/19/2010
 ★★★★★

After removing my 'toxic trio free' polish from my toes I discovered a dark patch, three years ago, and again last year. This year I removed the colored polish to find dark patches on three nails. After the first occurrence, I left it unpolished but the nail did not clear until the peroxide was used. Each time I soaked cotton in a strong peroxide solution, and held it on by making toe covers from a surgical glove. One application does it. This treatment does cause some pain for a couple hours, but it's worth it to have clear nails after only one application. So, for me, the remedy is so simple, but what I'm wondering about is why after 'colored' polish the nails darken to a brown/red color. The pale colors didn't seem to cause a problem.

Replied by Blanche
(New Iberia, Louisiana, Usa)
07/21/2010

Is it possible that the darker colors of nail polish are staining your nails and the hydrogen peroxide is bleaching the stains away?

Replied by L.
(Red Deer, Alberta Canada)
07/21/2010

No, it's definitely dark red/brown patches, with every passing year another nail is affected. I actually do not wear dark polish that often anymore because of this and at that, just in the summer months/special occasions. When I used to wear the pinks and reds more often, the polish would stain all the nails yellow and it would have to just grow out. These 3 patches do not grow out which is why I've resorted to a 'strong' peroxide. The question I'm left with is, is this a nail fungus? I was hoping someone else had a similar experience.

Replied by Lucy
(Brimfield, Ma Usa)
11/18/2011

Do you use a base coat before the polish? I've found that these make a HUGE difference in not only keeping the nails from being stained after wearing the polish, but it also helps to keep the polish on and looking good without chipping or flaking off as much.

Replied by Ricardo Macalino
(Philippines)
03/10/2021
2 posts

All nail polish colored or not is not good, the poisonous chemicals in it is absorbed by the nail to the system beside it prevent the nail from breathing or absobinng air and water making it brittle.


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