Types of Toenail Fungus Treatment

Toenail fungus, medically known as onychomycosis, can be an embarrassing condition. Toenail fungus typically starts as a white or yellow spot or streak under the nail. As the infection goes deeper, the fungus can cause your nail to thicken, discolor, and crumble at the edges. It can affect one or several nails at a time, spreading to surrounding nails when left untreated. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go away on its own, and 1 out of 4 people experience toenail fungus recurrence.

However, it’s also good to note that toenail fungus is incredibly common, making up 50% of nail abnormalities, and affecting up to 10% of Americans. So, there’s definitely no shame in seeking treatment. Once you see the initial symptoms, make sure to get treatment as soon as possible before the fungus spreads to the surrounding nails.

But where should you start? What kind of treatment suits you, and will ensure complete efficacy? Here, we’ve compiled a quick list of the various types of toenail fungus treatments to help you find the best toenail fungus treatment for you.

Topical Nail Solution

Topical nail solutions are easy, safe, and affordable, making it the best toenail fungus treatment by far. Topical nail solutions come in easy-to-carry bottles that include a brush applicator for easy application.

Start by cutting and filing the nail, as much as possible reaching the infected area. This helps the solution penetrate the nail bed. Wash the infected area thoroughly and dry completely. Finally, apply the treatment to the entire infected nail, focusing on the front, side, and base of the nail. Let the treatment dry completely. Topical nail solutions usually need to be applied twice daily.

Oral Antifungal Drugs

Oral antifungal drugs help grow healthier nails free of infection. However, because these drugs are ingested, it can cause a number of side effects that range from skin rashes to liver damage. These drugs are not recommended for people with liver disease or congestive heart failure.

When you’re on oral antifungal drugs, you may need occasional blood tests to check if thes types of drugs work effectively with no side effects. You typically need to take these drugs for 6 to 12 weeks, but it may take 4 months or longer to eliminate the infection, and you won’t see the end result until the nail grows back completely.

Surgery

While invasive and relatively expensive, surgery can be highly effective, especially in cases where the fungus doesn’t respond to medication. In this case, your doctor might suggest temporary removal of the nail so that they can apply the antifungal treatment directly to the infection. However, in some cases, if the infection becomes severe or debilitating, your doctor might suggest permanent nail removal. This is why you should seek treatment immediately.

Common Home Remedies

One of the most common home remedies is over-the-counter nail creams and ointments. These are easy to use, however, it takes awhile for them to take effect. To use them, trim and file the infected nail as close to the discoloration or fungus as possible. Soak your nail in water, then dry completely. Apply the medicated cream as instructed.

Other common home remedies include the use of baking soda, snakeroot extract, tea tree oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil. All of these have significant medicinal and antifungal effects.

To use baking soda, make a paste out of the product using water, and spreading it on the infected nail. You can also add baking soda to a bucket of water for an effective, daily soak. As for the snakeroot extract and essential oils, apply twice on the infected nail daily.

Take note that these home remedies might be the best toenail fungus treatments as they take much longer to take effect compared to the other items on the list.