Nail Fungus Remedies

Treating Nail Fungus With Vinegar

Probably one of the best known and widely tried nail fungus home remedy treatments. Completely without side effects and major expense, the vinegar cure is a favourite among suffers that have concerns surrounding some commercial products and possible health risks. the only drawback is tendancy to smell like a worker from a fish and chip shop.

There are many differing ways to administer this treatment, the most popular involving a mixture of vinegar and water usually on a 50/50 ratio.
The reason so many give up on this fungus remedy is the fact that in order to achieve success two baths per day are to soften the nails then additional time is needed to soak the nials in the vinegar/water solution - so this is a major lifestyle for some and others simply have not got the time (if this is the case the how do you expect to rid yourself of the nail fingus if you cannot spare the time to treat.)

How does the vinegar nail fungus treatment work

The acidity of vinegar creates a hostile environment, relieves the itching and repairs the PH balance, necessary to fight fungi, the microorganism responsible for toenail fungus. Vinegar is a sour tasting liquid, resulting from the oxidation of ethanol in fermented fruit juice, cider, beer, wine, and other liquids containing alcohol. Quite simply put - vinegar is on the opposite side of the spectrum when compared to fungus.

There are many types of vinegar including; malt vinegar, wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, fruit vinegar, balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, coconut vinegar, cane vinegar, raisin vinegar, beer vinegar, honey vinegar, Chinese black vinegar, and many other flavored vinegars. Possibly the most commonly used is apple cider vinegar - also known as ACV.

Pictured above: A bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar - to a fungus this is chemical warfare. I am not one to condone weapons of mass destruction, but where toenail fungus is concerned “Yippee Ki Ay Mother F*cker”

Toenails or fingernails - which is more likley to become infected with a fungus.

Fungus thrives in damp warm conditions - a hot sweaty sock is the ideal breeding ground for fungus so the toenails are more likely to become infected than the fingernails. This is not to say that fingernails are not prone just not as likely.

Once one toenail has become infected the chances are that all five toes will develop the fungus if left untreated - it is harder though for fungus to infect the toes on the other foot if simple precautionary measures are taken. The most obvious is to ensure that if you remove your socks ensure the left sock is put back on the left foot - and the right sock put back on the right foot.

If a fingernail is showing signs of fungal infection then the chances are all five fingernails will become infected if left untreated - the nails on the other hand will be under threat because as the nail grows and becomes distorted the sufferer may bite one fingernail and then bite another on the other hand tranfering the infection. Similarily women who use a nail file will almost certainly transfer the fungus from one nail to another and one hand to another.

The symptoms of nail fungus are unmistakeable. If whilst reading this you feel that you may be a sufferer act now because the longer you ignore the more the condition will start to take a hold - when this stage is reached it makes it very hard to completley oust from your system.

So, what are the symptoms of nail fungus.

• Initially the nail state may change becoming brittle and may split
• Pit marks can be seen on the nail surface
• The nail may start to thicken and start to deform - at this stage the nail may or may not be painful
• Foul smelling material or debris can be found under the nail
• Toenails moreso than fingernails can start to grow inward maybe causing pain
• Nail moons now appear to staright and not angular - as represented by healthy nails

The picture above depicts a thumbnail that has become distorted. There are definate sign of pitting and most probably  a foul smelling debris under the nail. Once a nail gets to this stage it is highly likely that neighboring or adjoining nails will become infected with the fungus.

Nail Fungus comprises of tiny micro organisms called Tinea Unguium or Dermatophytes that infect either the toenails or the fingernails. Although our nails are made of a strong substance which is ideal for keeping infection and foreign bodies out, once an infection or foreign does get through our defensive barrier, the toughness of the nail makes this difficult to treat and so now helps protect the enemy within.

A nail fungus is a rather unpleasant condition although not life threatening can affect greatly the lifestyle and confidence of a sufferer. It is estimated that over thirty million (30 million) people in the United States suffer from the condition - this is just an estimation as there may be many more who are just living with the condition rather than seeking a treatment.

The picture above details a fingernail showing early stages of a fungal infection. The nail has slight pitting or white spots down one side, a slight brown discoloration. the brown discoloration will almost be a substance under the nail that when scrapped will have a foul cheesy smell to it.

If this looks familiar to you - you now have three choices.

• Buy a pharmaceutically produced commercial products
• Try a natural homeopathic or home remedy
• Just ignore it and hope it will go away

The third choice supprisingly it what a large percentage of sufferers opt for initially. Either way the first point of call should be a trip to your doctor. It has to be stressed that as nail fungus is not life threatening a large proportion of doctors will get enthusiastic with your condition and may even not bother to suggest antything as this is viewed as a cosmetic problem.