Author Topic: Toenail fungus  (Read 32122 times)

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Toenail fungus
« on: 01 October, 2008, 01:47:02 pm »
This could be me if I don't do something about my crabby feet...

I've had manky feet for a while now.  Probably much to do with cycling too much in wet shoes and not looking after them well enough.  I've got calloused heels which have got so tough that they sometimes split apart like a dried up river bed and hurt something rotten.

I've also got toenails which are thickened and brittle and in the case of my right big toe, detaching from the nail bed.  My ploy thus far was to varnish them and pretend that they were okay.

Well they aren't and I need to do something about them before they get any worse.  I'll see my doctor about it of course, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice on products or medications that they've used to successfully treat foot-rot themselves?  Topical stuff looks like a better idea than oral medications.

The tinterweb is full of useful suggestions, such as soaking them in tea tree oil or Listerine - even taping a pealed clove of garlic to your nail every night before bed.  I think I'd rather just use a proven medicine of some kind...
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #1 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:51:36 pm »
Tea tree oil is good for fungal infections, so that might be worth trying. For your manky cracked heels (mine get pretty bad too), I recommend Lush's cuticle cream, which I forget the name of but it's very lemony. Slather your feet in it last thing at night, put your socks on and go to bed. In the morning you'll have soft fragrant heels. Lemony Flutter, that's it.

Might be worth forking out some dosh to see a podiatrist to get them properly cleaned up and then you can start again. GPs can prescribe some medication taken orally for fungal toenails but it can have nasty side-effects and you need to go back for follow-up visits to make sure you're still ok.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Jacomus

  • My favourite gender neutral pronoun is comrade
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #2 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:51:52 pm »
First of all, I'd just like to say

That pic + me eating lunch =  :sick:

Now thats out of the way... Tea Tree works wonders - seriously, try it.

Oh, and no more pics like that without a NLS* tag k? :)





*Not Lunch Safe

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity." Amelia Earhart

Clare

  • Is in NZ
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #3 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:52:42 pm »
Go and ask your doctor to refer you to a chiropodist, you're better off seeing somebody who has spent 3 years studying feet than somebody who has spent five years studying the entire body.

I believe that nowadays to set up as a chiropodist one must be qualified, it used to be that anybody could set up as one, but your doctor should have some recommendations just in case this is still the case.


hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #4 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:53:55 pm »
I had ten manky toenails. I was on oral anti-fungals for several months and I'm now cured.
All of the skin on the soles of my feet was also infected.
No amount of nail paint would have cured that.
It's lovely to have feet that don't itch and nails that don't make me look like a tramp.
Go for months of oral, you know it makes sense...

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #5 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:56:26 pm »
What's the difference between a chiropodist and podiatrist (if any) ??? ???

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #6 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:58:05 pm »
You don't need a doctor's referral to a chiropodist or podiatrist these days  - they all have to be registered with the Health Professions Council -  but I would agree with Clare that they should be your first stop.

Your feet are extremely important and I agree entirely with Clare that you're best talking to a chiropodist/podiatrist than your GP.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #7 on: 01 October, 2008, 01:59:32 pm »
What's the difference between a chiropodist and podiatrist (if any) ??? ???

Same profession - different names.  'Podiatrist' is the American term for chiropodist.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #8 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:00:25 pm »
I'm told I have very nice feet.



Sorry, not much help.

Clare

  • Is in NZ
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #9 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:08:54 pm »
You don't need a doctor's referral to a chiropodist or podiatrist these days  - they all have to be registered with the Health Professions Council -  but I would agree with Clare that they should be your first stop.


Do you still need a referal to get any work done on the NHS or has that all changed now?


Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #10 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:11:21 pm »
You don't need a doctor's referral to a chiropodist or podiatrist these days  - they all have to be registered with the Health Professions Council -  but I would agree with Clare that they should be your first stop.


Do you still need a referal to get any work done on the NHS or has that all changed now?



You don't necessarily need a referral.  Some chiropodists hold a direct service contract with the NHS.

However, NHS funded provision is strictly limited and available only to those with long term medical conditions (such as diabetics) or those on low incomes/benefits... and the NHS cover for these groups is sketchy to say the least - despite the clear clinical indications.

Chiropodists' charges for private treatment don't tend to be extortionate though.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #11 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:13:33 pm »
What's the difference between a chiropodist and podiatrist (if any) ??? ???

Same profession - different names.  'Podiatrist' is the American term for chiropodist.

Not any more. Those of that profession were known as chiropodists here but a few years ago they decided to change their name to podiatrist and everyone who qualified since whatever date is now known as a podiatrist. People who qualified before that date are still known as chiropodists. I don't know why they didn't all change their name, seeing as the job didn't change when the name changed, but for some reason that wasn't allowed.

You can find a podiatrist by using this site Find a local Chiropodist or Podiatrist

Oooh look Fungal Infections - 14 July 2006

Most NHS podiatry clinics will accept self-referral as far as I know - they do round here anyway, but you'd need a GP referral if you were wanting them to come and see you at home. Google podiatry within your health board and you might get lucky.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


FatBloke

  • I come from a land up over!
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #12 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:13:38 pm »
To prevent the heel cracking there is only one solution.

Limit your wearing of sandals!   :-[

I had cracking heels. I was told to stop wearing sandals. I did! (ish). Heels healed.  
This isn't just a thousand to one shot. This is a professional blood sport. It can happen to you. And it can happen again.

Che

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #13 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:15:23 pm »
I've periodically had a very mild form of dishydrosis on my feet in the past. Something my dad's had all his life, but unquestioningly assumed was athlete's foot. Feet have been a-okay for a good while now, though.

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #14 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:19:26 pm »
ime, tea tree oil is good for stopping the spread of fungus, but not eliminating it. It has a side-benefit of disinfecting your footwear.

Over-the-counter creams work ok. You have to keep reapplying them throughout the day.

Allegedly fungus doesn't like salt, so I once tried putting sea salt between my toes. fungus went, but I got very sore toes!
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #15 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:28:43 pm »
I have been diagnosed with nail fungus. I took a sample of toenail to the doc and some weeks later the result came back.

My own doctor didn't recommend tablets. His view was that, because they are so toxic (you are swallowing a fungicide) that they are best avoided (liver damage) and topical treatment used instead. When I returned to the doc after the results, a locum was there and he immediately said he would prescribe tablets without once mentioning possible side effects. On the basis of what my own doc had said I told him I would prefer an ointment. He ended up prescribing Lamisil athlete's foot ointment, which he told me wouldn't work and I found out at the chemist's was cheaper to buy over the counter anyway.

I have seen some much more expensive over the counter stuff in lloyds' pharmacy at about £17 a tube and that was what I was hoping he would prescribe for me. Next time I'm there, I'll find out what it's called.

I have used tea tree oil which is good for keeping your tootsies sweet and keeping athlete's foot at bay, but I don't think will touch nail fungus.

Regarding Mr Charly's comment about salt, I had hoped to spend a good deal of this summer in the sea, but sadly the summer didn't arrive and I only swam about 4 times.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #16 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:30:54 pm »
Before I went on the anti-fungals, I'd had nearly three decades of athlete's foot, manky nails,  treatment with Whitfield's Ointment, Mycota, Mycil, Daktarin, Canesten, griseofulvin etc. As far as I am concerned oral anti-fungals rock and the rest are a waste of time. They cured my sister too and my father (probably the original source of infection) has just started taking them. He has manky fingernails too...

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #17 on: 01 October, 2008, 02:40:08 pm »
I suppose it's horses for courses. Applications of Daktarin for a prolonged period cleared up toenail-rot for both me and my dad.

Ghastly to have awful feet, isn't it. I'm so pleased mine are back to normal.

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #18 on: 01 October, 2008, 03:08:32 pm »
I can recommend a really good chiropodist (near Bikefix on Lambs Conduit Street.)

My GP was fairly useless when I had an involuted toenail (a relation of the ingrown toenail), but this guy was just fab and sorted it out really well. And threw in a foot massage at the end.

The FOOTPAD: home page

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #19 on: 01 October, 2008, 04:13:15 pm »
Try canesten cream.  No - seriously.  I think Daktarin is broadly the same thing anyway.

Because of massive amounts of inhaled steroid, I've had a problem with systemic thrush for many years, which can break out in the usual ways, but also as throat infections and foot Bad Stuff, but it's now pretty much under control.  A bit of canesten round the toes certainly helped me.

YMMV
Getting there...

Tiger

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #20 on: 01 October, 2008, 06:29:16 pm »
This is a useful thread. My nails are so horrid I can't wear sandals - sound just like a couple of the others mentioned. 45 year history of athletes foot and way beyond any over the counter creams to deal with.
Do I have to see a doctor to get these oral antifungals for a prolonged course? (one off canestan pills and creams don't beat this beast).

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #21 on: 01 October, 2008, 06:48:28 pm »
This is a useful thread. My nails are so horrid I can't wear sandals - sound just like a couple of the others mentioned. 45 year history of athletes foot and way beyond any over the counter creams to deal with.
Do I have to see a doctor to get these oral antifungals for a prolonged course? (one off canestan pills and creams don't beat this beast).

Yes.
You may well have toenail clippings sent for fungal culture to confirm and possible baseline blood tests to check your liver etc.
One GP referred me to a Community Dermatologist. Systemic antifungal treatment is not simple, cheap, quick or without risks. But it ROCKS.

Consider giving up alcohohohohol for a while before seeking anti-fungals and during treatment.

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #22 on: 01 October, 2008, 06:59:33 pm »
I had a slight problem with fungus on a toe, and topical stuff had no significant impact, oral fungicides took a while to work, but did cure it ultimately.

I'd also second tea-tree oil for reducing the pong, one of my previous flatmates had feet that were best avoided, but he started using tea-tree oil on them, and boy did it cure the stink. :thumbsup:
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

velocipede

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #23 on: 01 October, 2008, 07:24:05 pm »
Coconut oil is what I am currently using- I find I prefer it to tea tree, but take great care with bathroom tiles and wooden floors or....... whoops!

Apparently it does have some antifungal properties, I think it smells better, and is more softening than tea tree oil. Works for me if I use it regularly.

Of course, wont deal with the nails..... thats a tablet job I'm afraid.
Most ethnic and health food shops sell it cheaply in bottles for culinary/ multi-purposes. I melt it on the radiator and decant into smaller pot for ease of use.

Re: Toenail fungus
« Reply #24 on: 01 October, 2008, 08:24:20 pm »
Wow, it all comes out, doesn't it. Just how many of us have had terrible toes and foul feet - we could do a whole episode of Embarrassing Illnesses solely on foot-rot  :sick: ;D

I wonder what the collective noun is - a crumble of rot?