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Nobody asks for toenail fungus, however it can be easy to contract and hard to get rid of. You will know if you have toenail fungus if your toes have yellow, brown or black discoloration. Toenail fungus can also cause nails to thicken or become brittle. In moderate to advanced cases, skin around the toes is often flaky and sheds. If you have toenail fungus infections you should do the following:
Cut and file your toenails
Limit the places for toenail fungus to grow and thrive by keeping your toenails as short as possible. Use a metal finger or toenail clippers to cut the nail up to the skin. If your nails grow thick due to the fungus, file them down with a metal nail file as much as you can on a weekly basis until the infection clears up. Make sure to disinfect all metal tools used on your infected toes by soaking them in rubbing alcohol for at least 10 minutes. This prevents spreading the fungus to other people in your household to other people and from reintroducing the fungus to your toes every week.
Keep your feet clean and dry
Toenail fungus flourishes in moist, dirty places. Wash your feet thoroughly with warm water and antibacterial soap at least twice a day and whenever your feet may get sweaty. Keep your feet dry by wearing cotton socks that absorb moisture and let your feet breathe. Make sure not to let your feet sit in sweaty shoes all day, instead use sandals or shoes with holes so that air can reach your feet.
Decide on a treatment
There are a number of toenail fungus treatments available. The most effective are those prescribed by a doctor; however, they are also the most expensive. Home remedies are often the best choice for people with mild to moderate cases of toenail fungus infections. Some of the top recommended home remedies include:
- Essential Tea Tree Oil
- Apply to infected toenails with a Q-tip 2-3 times a day.
- Essential Olive Oil
- Apply to infected toenails with a Q-tip 2-3 times a day.
- Essential Lavender Oil
- Apply to infected toenails with a Q-tip 2-3 times a day.
- Vick’s Vapo-Rub
- Rub into your toenails and feet 2-3 times a day.
- Vinegar
- Apply to infected toenails with a Q-tip 2-3 times a day.
Make sure to thoroughly clean your feet before applying any treatment. Treatment time depends on the severity or your fungal infection. I have seen that treatments can take as little as a few weeks to as long as 6 months before completely clearing the fungus.
If you have a severe toenail fungus infection and the above treatments to not work for you, you may need surgery in which the doctor removes the infected part of the toenails in order to allow healthy toenails to grow in their place.
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