Nail fungus which usually occurs in the toenails is a nuisance affliction which you can either ignore or find a cure for. It has no really serious health implication so it is quite safe to ignore it if you don't mind having rather ugly thickened and yellowed toenails. The infected nails can become very thick and tough and may drop off after a time to expose a new nail which is growing underneath. It is caused by a fungus infection which is seated deep under the nails and hence is hard to get at for treatment. There are prescription drugs which can be obtained through your doctor which will take care of it if you want to go this route but the manufacturers do list some side effects so ask about this before using the drugs. Otherwise there are some alternative home treatments which do work.
Vicks ointment chest rub, that old standby cold medication in the blue jar will kill the fungus. The disadvantage is that it takes a long time. You may have to apply the Vicks medication to your infected toenails once or twice daily for several months to get results. The Vicks smells like eucalyptus but you won,t smell it under your socks and shoes. The reason that this works is that the medication contains several ingredients which are known fungus fighters, although its primary use is as a cold medicine.
Another remedy which works is tea tree oil, which is obtainable at health food stores. You need to dilute the tea tree oil before applying it to the nails as it is liable to cause skin irritation if used straight. A good recipe is about 1/4 cup of cider vinegar with half a cup of boiled water and add about 20 drops of tea tree oil. If you want it to smell nice just add some scented essential oil such as clove or lavender. Keep the mixture in a dark glass bottle to avoid decomposition. Shake well before every use and swab the infected toenails two or three times daily. This may also take some time to do the job so be prepared to do this for a few months if need be.
Toe nail fungus will also respond to treatment with zinc compounds. The old standby zinc ointment, which is available from many pharmacies, can be applied to the infected toenails two or three times a day and will help to cure the fungus problem. It also will require application for several months to see results and does not work quite as well as the tea tree oil treatment, for some people, so we would go for the tea tree or Vicks treatments as a preference. So there it is. Suffer a little in silence with your ugly thickened toenails or do something about it if you like.
