Ugh. I guess I need to keep a better eye on my feet. Realized yesterday after skating that one of my toes was pretty sore, and upon closer examination, realized it has a fungal infection starting under one side of the nail (the nail is thicker on one side, and there's a small dark spot in it). Gross! I'm going to try the tea tree oil remedy...

Just posting cause it's something for skaters to watch out for as the boots tend to be tight-fitting and damp after a bit of skating which is a perfect setup for it.

An interesting quote from the wikipedia page says "Distilled white vinegar drops are applied to the cuticle twice a day until the fungus is gone. This method does not kill the fungus, but the vinegar allegedly changes the pH (acid content) of the new nail formed in that twelve-hour period. (The scientific perspective, however, is that vinegar is unlikely to penetrate the dense keratinous tissue thoroughly enough to have any significant effect. Instead, it may be absorbed by the skin above the nail and work its way to where the nail is actually forming.) As the old, infected nail grows and is cut away, it is said to be replaced by an acidic nail, uninhabitable by fungi. Several months of consistent application are involved."

Maybe a good preventative measure?

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I think so! Certainly better than amputation. Otherwise, maybe the doc could recommend an antifungal treatment.

Tea tree oil is great for toenails. Unfortunately, mine got to the point where I had to take the pill. Yuck. But it got rid of it perfectly.

tea tree oil is an antifungal

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Poor Casey and poor Rusty Blades,

Unfortunately I dont have any suggestions for Casey, but in view of the many problems we all seem to suffer for the love of our sport, maybe we should have a sticky for methods of treatment for various foot/toe problems, I dont know how to do a sticky but I'm sure someone knows how?

tea tree oil gave me hives
Toenail fungus is very hard to cure, good luck. The best preventive I do is that I wear slip ons and I take them off whenever I can!
Lyle

IMO we already have enough stickies in this forum. The SEARCH function works well enough...

How do I tell if I've split my toenail or if it's that gross problem? I thought my big toenail had just split, it was very tender for a few weeks, not that I had fungus. It's not yellow at all. Just a white spot.

Those creepy little fungus dudes in the drug commercials FREAK me out!

Eeeek! Off to find tea tree oil in cupboard.

All I'm going to say on the subject is that I don't wear sandals without opaque toenail polish on, and I am VERY glad my husband is the right sort for a skater: He'd rather I have a sexy butt than sexy feet, LOL!

Having said that. . . So what about those pills? Are there any side effects? Do you have to get them from a podiatrist, or just any doctor?

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I have had a fungus infection in my big toe nail for many, many years. It never hurt, but thickens the nail to the point of discomfort and also used to rip holes in my skating tights. I have found a solution that involves no medication at all. I bought a mini dremel tool kit from HarborFreight for $9, and I use it to file down the top of the nail to a normal height. I need to do it about every two weeks to keep the nail looking relatively normal. I used to have a prescription for Penlac, which is a nail polish type of medication that never did any good because it didn't penetrate. I'm going to get it again and try it now that I can keep the nail thin.

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How expensive is it to see a doctor in the US? I would have gone to see one with something like this in the UK.

It's not the expense. There is really no good cure for toenail fungus. There are two methods and neither are guaranteed. The first is to remove the toenail and treat the affected nail bed - not popular with skaters for obvious reasons. The second is a nine month course of oral medication, which can affect the liver and so requires monthly blood work. Personally, I don't care about the blood work; I would not do anything that could adversely affect my liver unless my life depended on it. I'm perfectly fine with my little electric dremel tool.

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Okay, now I know why I have been so hesitant to take pills for it!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

To set the record straight, Lamisil does NOT require monthly blood work. It requires blood work a few times over the nine-month course of treatment. Liver problems were RARE in patients. You're more likely to have problems with aspirin.

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Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

The doctor column in my local paper also recommends Vick's Vaporub as a topical remedy for toenail infections. The columnist says he's heard a lot of positive reports about this treatment, and says it's worth a try. If it works, you don't have to take Lamisil. I have no idea why it should do anything, but I'm trying it since I don't want to take the medication if I can help it.

Nova, have you used it? Do you recommend it?

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Fortunately, I have perfectly healthy feet.

But I was discussing this treatment with a friend not 2 days ago. I told him that I had thought Lamisil was not a great treament option. But he explained its medical info (he had a long conversation with several doctors) and whatnot to me.

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Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

I don't have time now to do my own research, so I'll take your word for it. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. It's possible I was thinking of a predecessor drug.

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I just got a dremel tool & the power of thing scares me even working w/ wood! How do you dare put it to your own nails & be sure you won't press a little too hard & have it go right on through??

I can confirm that the vinegar does work - I read it somewhere on the net and the person said twice a day and then soak toes once a week for 30 minutes. You do have to be diligent in doing this until the nail grows out - 9 months. As for the Rx stuff, many insurance companies will not cover it past 3 months, if at all...... and the tree tea oil is also supposed to be very effective.

The vinegar and google searching (especially for images) sure was a lot cheaper than doctor appointments, etc. Try it but be patient as it does take a long time to resolve.

That's what I'm afraid of. . . the patience part! Based on my past record with things like that, I am afraid I won't have the discipline to do it 2x/day and 30 minutes once a week for 9 months!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

The trick is to pick a drill bit that is long and rounded. I've used a cylindrical one and a conical one with good effect. As long as you keep the side of the bit to the nail, you can't possibly go through. The only danger is in nicking the cuticle or skin adjacent to it, so just go slowly near the edges of the nail. If your fungus doesn't touch the cuticle, you should have no problems. The heat generated by the process can get a bit much, and then I just give it a rest for a few moments.

Me too! I was supposed to apply carmol and then penlac regularly and couldn't manage.

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Okay, I'm raising my hand and joining the club. My name is Tessa and I have toenail fungus. Something like this has never happened to me before! I literally just discovered it this month. I'm totally traumatized! I have fungus under my two big toes. It's not touching the bottom cuticle but I am freaked. I love my pedis.

My MD gave me some two Rx's -- one is that Penlac stuff that db mentioned but it costs $160 (db does that sound right?) and not covered by my insurance; so I asked for Lamisil -- hello $300 for a month and also not covered.

I went out and got some tea tree oil. I also read online about soaking your toes in a weak solution of bleach for about 5 minutes a day. That's scary! But it supposedly makes your toenails white so maybe it will look like I have a pedi. I'm desperate!

Does anyone know of any good antifungal powders or treatments for skate boots? I'm sure that's what the cause is -- I skate barefoot.

Casey -- it is totally weird that you brought up this subject now!

Huh? I took Lamisil for 90 days, not nine months - where did you hear that number?! I had blood work done four times: before each 30-day period (the prescription was only for 30 days) and then once when the pills were done.

My toenails are perfect now, and I didn't have any liver damage or anything.

In the UK, the answer is always "Ask your pharmacist"; I assume the same applies in the USA?

We have an anti-athletes' foot powder called Mycil that I used a lot in the past (I hate the smell - it reminds me of my first term at boarding-school when I both had athletes foot and was very unhappy!), and something similar would probably do the trick.

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Mrs Redboots
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