The Plea of the Toe Nail

If you have nail fungus, you are not a happy camper.

With all the ads of damaged looking toe nails up front and center, in your face, announcing some miracle cure for nail fungus, we can assume it is a fairly common aliment. The media ads can be quite graphic, some serious, some humorous, all offerings prescriptions and/or over the counter cures.  Google research offers some natural do it yourself home remedies.

If you have the nail in the ad, it is more than concerning. Nothing is funny about nail fungus.  

Who gets nail fungus?  If you are diabetic or have a like illness, are immune compromised, are over 65, have injured the nail itself or surrounding area, wear tight shoes or boots, wear fake nails, or swim in a public pool, enjoy hot tubs, spas, or visit camping shower facilities, you may get it. Males are more prone, but females aren’t exempt.  The fungus prefers adults to children.

And it can hop from toe to toe. So. We may  all be possible targets at one time or another.  

What to do?

Ads promote prescription drugs and over the counter, internal, external. There may be side effects and risks and no guarantees.  I have not heard great reviews. 

The natural remedy suggestions

Rub coconut onto your feet, with added tea tree, orange or oregano oil.  As much as I love coconut, I might substitute the unrefined emu oil.  Or add an EO to our Sheamu butter. I would  even add a drop of tamanu oil to the butter or the pure emu oil.
Soak the toes in baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Salt water soak also helps to disinfect and cleanse.

Back in 2019, medical herbalist Nicola Parker wrote an article in England’s Lancashire POST called ‘Here is How Neem Helps Fungal Conditions’.  NIcola made a mix of neem oil and lemon myrtle and claims amazing results. Not surprising.  Neem is miraculous. She says she added the lemon myrtle, which in itself is disinfecting,  to help hide the smell of the neem.  But more and more people are telling me they like neem’s earthy scent.  

But patience is the key. The nail needs time to replace itself.  A big toenail can take up to 18 months, a fingernail over 4. The idea is to help it along. If you can find ways to nourish the nail, help it grow, reduce the stresses, then it has a chance. Improvement will be visible early on, thus encouraging. 

Your toe, or toes are pleading for help.  Do some of your own research and I would be most surprised if you didn’t find a good solution, like many of our customers have, the natural way.