I'm sure you've already spent months trying to figure this out. That is alright. I've spent years. And you know what? I'm going to provide the information to you for free. Why? Because Lamisil is deadly and I'm tired of hearing/seeing/reading about all the bunk remedies out there that do not work.
Toenail Fungus Home Remedies That DON'T work
- Vick's vapor rub - this may be effective if on infant toenails and in only the mildest of cases. I'm not impressed with it though.
- Tea Tree Oil - alone it is garbage. If it is mixed with another ingredient, it will be more effective in the beginning stages. Look below.
- Topical creams, oils, lotions in pharmacies and drugstores - crap. They may claim to work but they do not. Save your money. Read the fine print. Even if it is called Toenail Fungus Blaster, the back of the package will read, 'not for toenail fungus.' Go to there and read yourself - I'm serious!
- Copper ionotophoresis - forget it. All you are doing is driving toxic copper into your bloodstream. Plus, it is costly.
Toenail Fungus Home Remedies That Work
Now do not get all excited. It takes commitment on your part to get an effective treatment. More often than not, a month or more of daily effort is needed to rid yourself of the toenail fungus. It is also a matter of severity. If your toenail fungus is so bad that your nails are 1/4" thick and curling, you will need to have them surgically removed.
I will provide the effective toenail fungus treatments in order of most severe to least severe:
Surgical removal of nail --> Lamisil --> Acidophilus Beer Soak --> DMSO/Tea Tree --> Vicks
Surgical Removal of Toenail Fungus: This is the worst case scenario obviously. If you toenails are so thickened and curling, it is nearly impossible to effectively treat these nails with anything. You can try the other treatments I suggest but the likelihood of success may not be what you want.
Lamisil: Not all people are affected badly by Lamisil. However, the FDA did put out an advisory for physicians. This excerpt is from the FDA website: "Both Sporanox® and Lamisil® have been associated with serious hepatic toxicity, including liver failure and death, including some cases involving patients who had neither pre-existing liver disease nor a serious underlying medical condition. As of April 2001, the FDA is aware of 16 cases of liver failure in association with Lamisil® Tablet use (including 11 deaths and two liver transplantations). These patients received Lamisil® Tablets for the treatment of various dermatologic conditions, including onychomycosis."
This stuff is not just extremely expensive. It is extremely hepatotoxic - liver damaging. I took it as I didn't know about the other treatments. I didn't need surgery as the toenail fungus wasn't so gnarly but Vick's didn't work and Tea Tree oil didn't work. So while in Russia, I bought up enough Lamisil to fix me up and swallowed it for 2 months daily. Ouch. Luckily I only paid about $125 for the Lamisil. Here in the USA you are talking about $1500 dollars plus for enough Lamisil to effectively treat the fungus. That hurts - especially when insurance doesn't cover it. What else hurts is one's liver. The metabolites of Lamisil are truely damaging to the liver so I recommend talking with a trained Naturopathic physician about how to repair your liver during and after the Lamisil treatment. Luckily, the liver is one tough organ. Did you know that you can lop off 1/3rd of your liver and it will grow back!?! Truely.
Acidophilus Beer Soak: Sounds hilarious and like a gimmick but believe me, the little fungal critters under your nail start running when they taste toenail-softening Guiness Stout. I would never believe in this remedy had it not come from a respected professor/doctor of mine. He has used it effectively all but once. That one time was due to him using capsule acidophilus, lite beer and apple cider vinegar. That won't work.
This natural toenail fungus treatment information came to me via a professor of mine during our medical procedures course. I am passing it on to you in hopes that people try this first before resorting to the toxic effects of Lamisil.
The basic premise behind this odd sounding natural toenail fungus treatment is to soften the nail with the dark beer, create an acidic environment with vinegar which is beneficial to good bacteria and deadly to fungus and then penetrate the nails with massive amount of live beneficial bacteria to help kill and prevent further recurrences.
Essential Ingredients:
Natural Toenail Fungus Treatment Procedure with the Acidophilus Beer Soak:
What to look for: As the fungus gets killed by this natural toenail fungus treatment, you will notice that the new nail growth from the nail base is coming in clear. This is a good sign. Some people see clearing at the base within one week and some people see clearing at the base in one month. It all depends on how fast your nails grow and how often you soak them.
It will take about 3 months for the infected nails to completely grow out. As long as you keep seeing the nail base come in clean and grow out cleanly, you are on the right track.
Make sure you do this toenail fungus treatment daily. Make it a routine. Watch some TV, read a book or wash the dishes for 30 minutes. Do not skip a day. If you do, it may take a bit longer than a month but keep at it.
If you find your skin becoming sensitive while soaking, reduce the soaking to once per day instead of twice per day. You may also add liquid vitamin E or aloe gel to the sensitive area.
If you know your nails grow slowly, then consider purchasing some MSM or Silicea 6x cell salts as they have shown to increase nail growth.
This anti-fungus protocol is an excellent way to help prevent liver damage via Lamisil.
If the formula is not strong enough, play with it. Perhaps add some more acidophilis to the mix or more vinegar - or more beer. Play with the concentrations.
I have had people say they are sharing the soak with another person. I think this may be ok if you're fine with soaking in someone else's Beer Soak. The couple that is doing it are husband and wife. They are seeiing success and they are soaking together. Pretty smart :)
If you've any questions, I'm happy to answer them for you.
You may find the Acidophilus Sachets here along with other related useful products for the Beer Soak protocol.
I estimated the total cost of this procedure to be about $200.00 That is very inexpensive compared to Lamisil - and much healthier to your liver.
Even if you drink a couple Guiness Stouts while you do the soak - it may still be safer than Lamisil on your liver. :)
This will work. If you follow the directions as I've written them, your toenail fungus, tinea unguuim, onchomycosis - whatever you want to call it - will be dead and you again will have pretty nails. I promise.
DMSO and Tea tree oil treatment for toenail fungus: This may work but only in situations when the fungus is not severe. If the nail just shows sign of being infected, then give this a shot. I also am not a big fan of repeatedly putting essential oils onto the skin. They burn, are super concentrated and are toxic. Always keep essential oils up very high or locked in a cupboard to keep little ones away from them. If they get ahold of them and put on skin or swallow, serious injury could occur.
What to do:
- Go to your local store and buy some DMSO and tea tree oil.
- Clean and scrape your nails really well with water and soap.
- Apply in equal parts [with a cotton ball or swab] a light layer of DMSO (99%) and tea tree or thuja essential oil to the toenail fungus.
- Put a bandaid over the nails.
- Repeat three times a day. Yep. 3x a day. Want the fungus gone? Good. 3 times a day
- Remember - this only is effective if the tonail fungus is not severe. If you want it to really work, do the beer soaks.
Vicks Vapor Rub treatment for toenail fungus: I haven't seen it work but pediatricians claim that it does. Little kids' toenails are not so thick and supposedly the menthol penetrates and kills the fungus. My 2 year old had toenail fungus and this didn't kill it. It helped slow it down that's all.
So that is it. Those are the effective treatments. You can send a hug in the mail when you see your fungus gone. And you can also tell people about this awesome blog entry - I truely want to help the public gain health without drugs and this entry should definitely help.
All the ingredients written about are easy to obtain except the urea paste. Urea paste is prescription-only from a physician. Key Pharmacy in Renton, Washington sells it and ships it all over the world. They also add tea tree and DMSO in it. Advise your physician about this awesome pharmacy.
If you have a fungal infection of any other type on your body such as: tinea versicolor, tinea crura, tinea pedis, jock itch, atheletes foot, cradle crap, then I recommend Saprox Natural Antifungal Treatment. Saprox is a natural antifungal mud from the Czech Republic. It works quickly and effectively. Simply apply it, let it dry and wash off once or twice a day until the fungus is gone. It also helps speed the process of killing toenail fungus. Apply after the beer soak. Instructions are on our website.
If you have any questions about what I have written about, do email me. I'll help you.
In health,
Dr Ben, ND
Disclaimer: This is only information. I am not a substitute for a physician nor am I suggesting you follow this information above. Always seek the advice of a physician.
(c) 2007 Benjamin Lynch of HealthE Goods Natural Health Store
Dr Benjamin Lynch, ND has a BS degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington. He completed his doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University. His online health site, HealthE Goods offers a free health information service where one may ask specific health questions. We provide physician-grade non-prescription natural health products. We are here to help serve the public with proper health information and effective products.
You may email me to ask questions about the sachets: ben@healthegoods.com
