Wierd Toe Question

[Wildcard]

Toe nail fungus is an internal problem. Penlac will cure the problem, while you use it. As soon as it is discontinued, rotten toenails again. Spornox and Lamisil work wonders but require hepatic testing while using. I finished a Sporanox Tx two months ago and have near normal nails for the first time in many years. Creams and other extrenal Txs will not work. Gotta do the pills. Well worth the price!

 

[Wreck]

I have had this problem for some time, likely gotten from my folks that have both had it for some time. The bottom surface of the toenail becomes soft and expands to many times its normal size, pushing the remaining hard (but very brittle) top of the nail away. Essentially, the nail is separated from the skin beneath it. It can be painful if you catch it on something that pulls up on your nail since the only thing holding it on is aroudn the cuticle. My solution was to cut it as far back as possible. Over many years, it is spreading to my other toenails as well. It's an usightly thing. The dermatologists/doctors that I and my folks have visited over the years pretty much all say you have to take an internal medication (essentially a fungicide) that grows into the nail as it grows out, killing the fungus. The bad thing about this type of medication is that it is very hard on your liver, since the liver tries to break down and convert such foreign chemicals in your body. That is the main reason the treatment has to be capped at about 12 weeks. Both my parents tried this but it didn't completely get rid of it within that window of time and the fungus resumed its previous state after several months. I'm not too keen on a treatment for a largely (to me) cosmetic problem that could cause semi-permanent damage to my liver.

If these topical treatments are as good as you guys claim, I'll all for giving it a try. My unsightly toenails' current state doesn't bother me physically, but after all this time I'm quite tired of having to look at them. I also don't like being a potential infector to anyone else.

 

[pipedope]

In fact I can advise anybody to do this but it is something that is working for me.

From my days as a boatbuilder we used poly ethylene glycol (PEG, also known as antifreeze) to control fungus and shrinkage in timber being aged.

I put just enough PEG on the infected toe each morning and night to saturate the nail. I have been doing this for a few months and the toenail is growing in nicely I estimate another 6 months to complete the job.

The other plus was this made the top part of the nail soft and easy to trim off so it does not catch on things anymore.

This is folk medicine and there is no certainty that it will work for anyone. Please review the hazards of PEG before using, especially the need to keep it away from children and pets.

 

[Wildcard]

Thats a real good way to destroy your kidneys. Stick with real medicine.

 

[Wreck]

Thats a real good way to destroy your kidneys. Stick with real medicine.

Your post seems to imply that you took his suggestion to mean taking antifreeze internally. His application was topical, not internal. I could be dead wrong but I do not think your body would absorb enough of that stuff into your blood to harm kidneys.

 

[Wildcard]

It will absorb it. Long term makes it worse. It's just not a good idea.

 

[pipedope]

I did say that I don't suggest that anyone do it.

Take a look at what the drugs for nail fungus will do and you will find that they are not any safer.

Of course you could just live with it. Nail fungus won't kill you.