Because this topic is....gross. But it has to be addressed, and I am just gonna come right out and say it: fungus toenails.
Everyone OK? Good. Now let's move on. It is quite common to be afflicted by fungus toenails (or even fingernails), which are unattractive at best, painful at worst. As the infection digs in, the afflicted toenail thickens, yellows, crumbles. Eventually, the nail plate thins, and pressure on the nail can become very uncomfortable. And did I mention that its a very unattractive condition?
Roughly a zillion things can cause a fungal infection under the nails, including the gym locker room floor, your pedicure place, moldy socks, a cracked nail. Easy to get, fiendishly difficult to get rid of. If you've seen those (disturbing) television commercials, it seems as easy as taking a few pills. Which is sort of true, but those pills have pretty profound side effects, including potentially fatal liver damage. (!) Paint-on treatments take forever to work, and cost a fortune. So what can you do?
Try this at-home remedy, which actually works, and costs virtually nothing, particularly when compared to prescription options. First, stop polishing the effected nail. Yes, it will look strange, but fungus thrives in the dark, so keeping polish off will both allow the treatments to actually reach the nail, and allow light to get in at the same time. Second, keep the nail as short as possible. Third, every day, soak the nail in a mixture of 1/2 apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 hydrogen peroxide, which will raise the PH of the nail and surrounding skin to an inhospitable level. Fourth, after the first soak, do a second soak in a 1:3 bleach:water mixture (you only need a few minutes for this step.) Fifth, once the nail is dry, swab on pure tea tree oil or monistat (yes, monistat) and wrap it in a band-aid. Within a few weeks, you will see remarkable improvement, and within a few months, totally cured.
Everyone OK? Good. Now let's move on. It is quite common to be afflicted by fungus toenails (or even fingernails), which are unattractive at best, painful at worst. As the infection digs in, the afflicted toenail thickens, yellows, crumbles. Eventually, the nail plate thins, and pressure on the nail can become very uncomfortable. And did I mention that its a very unattractive condition?
Roughly a zillion things can cause a fungal infection under the nails, including the gym locker room floor, your pedicure place, moldy socks, a cracked nail. Easy to get, fiendishly difficult to get rid of. If you've seen those (disturbing) television commercials, it seems as easy as taking a few pills. Which is sort of true, but those pills have pretty profound side effects, including potentially fatal liver damage. (!) Paint-on treatments take forever to work, and cost a fortune. So what can you do?
Try this at-home remedy, which actually works, and costs virtually nothing, particularly when compared to prescription options. First, stop polishing the effected nail. Yes, it will look strange, but fungus thrives in the dark, so keeping polish off will both allow the treatments to actually reach the nail, and allow light to get in at the same time. Second, keep the nail as short as possible. Third, every day, soak the nail in a mixture of 1/2 apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 hydrogen peroxide, which will raise the PH of the nail and surrounding skin to an inhospitable level. Fourth, after the first soak, do a second soak in a 1:3 bleach:water mixture (you only need a few minutes for this step.) Fifth, once the nail is dry, swab on pure tea tree oil or monistat (yes, monistat) and wrap it in a band-aid. Within a few weeks, you will see remarkable improvement, and within a few months, totally cured.
No comments:
Post a Comment