Products used: Coconut oil AM, Terbinafine cream and urea cream PM
As you can see I had to cut down the right big toenail that I mentioned in the last post. Still experimenting, I tried putting only coconut oil on my toes in the daytime, and a mixture of urea and terbinafine cream before I went to bed.
Although I had been fussing around with sub-optimal formulas, the results were still good enough to keep me going. Especially my left foot, which for some reason has been healing quite a bit faster:
Comments 9
Thanks for this John, I have been suffering with Toenail fungus for over 30 years. It affects 8 of my completely, and 2 minimally. The badly affected nails look a lot like what you started with. I started you regime a couple of weeks ago, and already I can see improvements in the exposed nail beds. I think the 2x daily scrubs are the key. The diary with photos helps immensely, I can compare what I see with what you lived. Hears to clear nails by this time next year!
Hi John, just wanted to say thanks so much for providing this information.I had one fungal nail which I had been struggling with for years. I have been following your advice since April and my nail is now completely back to normal! It’s been so nice to be able to wear sandals and not be conscious of my toe. Thank you!
John, I have been using your methods on four toenails since April. They look better but After a few months it seemed like I wasn’t making any more progress. I agree with you that trimming the nails shorter is best but I reached a point where I was not comfortable trimming any shorter and decided to speed up the nail thinning process by filing my nails thin. Also, I think you are right that this is important for getting the medicine to the source. I also like the three oils you recommended but they just didn’t seem strong enough and I wasn’t sure the lamisil cream was working any better. So, I wanted to share with you and your readers what else I have been doing that seems to be making the difference. In addition to your routine I also soak my feet in diluted white distilled vinegar for about an hour each day. I read many positive results from the earthclinic website. If you are feeling like your method is stalling a bit, vinegar might be just the thing your toenails need. I put equal parts vinegar and water in a bowl to soak my feet. I think most said at least 30 minutes. When I am done I just dry them well, and clean out if necessary. The soaking makes me feel like the vinegar is really getting down below the nail and it is my understanding that the vinegar changes the ph of the skin and nail so the fungus cannot live. The soaking also makes it easy to clean out under the nails because everything gets soft. Even with this method, it should be kept up till all new nail has grown in. I can’t thank you enough for the way you have documented your progress! It really motivated me!
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I have also heard very good things about soaking in vinegar, plus it is a very inexpensive treatment method. Rather time-consuming, but if the other treatments are not getting results this is definitely worth a try!
Thank you for sending the time to do this website. I have problems with my thumb nails. Do you think I should wear gloves everyday? What do you think my routine should be?
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Fingernail fungus is something of a mystery to me. The main culprit that everyone talks about is closed off shoes that trap moisture and encourage fungal growth. How can this be with fingernails which are exposed out in the open? It makes me think that maybe nail fungus does have something to do with diet and is perhaps an internal condition also.
I would not bother with gloves, that would just be too dreadful to bear. Experiment with a combination of the coconut oil, antifungal cream, urea and maybe tea tree oil also. Except my advice would be only apply at night before bed. You don’t want to have to deal with oily fingers during the day. Also take a look at probiotic supplements and yogurt. They are possibly antifungal according to many accounts.
Hi John. Thanks for the photos and details of treatments. I see that you have been using Terbinafine as the anti fungal cream. This is probably the best cream to use as it is the anti fungal that is prescribed in tablet form. Using other anti fungal creams may well have not given you your success.
I am waiting for the results from nail clippings that my doctor took. Takes 6 weeks to culture. In the meantime I will try the Terbinafine with coconut oil. No urea cream as don’t want to end up spending money when I will take whatever the doctor prescribes.
I went to a doctor about 18 months ago and showed him the nail but he thought it was just bruised. I really should have returned earlier as my partner had bad toenail fungus and I had nagged and nagged him until he got to sorted with Loceryl Curanail varnish which contains the generic Amorolfine. I imagine that my fungus will turn out to be the same one as my bedfellow and hopefully the same treatment will work.
My partner in the meantime, having cleared all his nails last year, persisted in wearing his old shoes, not changing his socks every day, has now got at least 2 infected toenails again so has started with the Loceryl Curanail after much new nagging from me.
Have you heard of this little device?
Just curious if you or anyone here has used it. It’s a little expensive but if it works I’d be willing to try it. Thanks in advance!
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Hi! I have heard of it, and I was intrigued. Kind of pricey, but if it works it’s certainly cheaper than laser treatments. Maybe someone will chime in.