Editor’s Note: This post has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy on May 2022 and reflects up-to-date information on what is the best treatment for toenail fungus?
Have you been struggling with toenail fungus? Has it been recurring, and you want to know what the best treatment is? No doubt fungal infections can be annoying and even hard to treat. However, treatment will vary on each particular case and will depend on the level of severity of the condition as well as the type of fungus causing it.
Toenail fungus can cause the nail to become thick or ragged and appear yellow, green, brown or even black. It is also possible that an infected nail separates from the nail bed.
Toenail fungus infections are caused by various fungi (fungal organisms). One of the most common causes is a type of fungus called dermatophyte.
In the great majority of cases, black toenails are an early sign of nail fungus, commonly known as Onychomycosis. Note that Fungus in the toenails can develop in women at any age, but it’s usually more common in older adults. It surely can take up to a few months to see results and it can also become a recurrent issue.
Another common nail infection is athlete’s foot. This is a contagious fungal infection that affects the skin on the feet. It can also spread to the toenails and the hands. As suggested this condition is called athlete’s foot since it’s commonly seen in athletes.
I understand firsthand how challenging a toenail fungus can be to treat and eliminate, and of course, you want to have the very best toenail fungus treatment to help eliminate your infection.
As I said, results will differ for each woman, it will also depend on their existing health factors, as well on their physical condition.
There are many options of products and different courses of treatments out there related to toenail fungus, however, some are better and more effective than others.
In this post I am going to show what is the best treatment for toenail fungus and will also give you other relevant and important information, so you are ready to make a better-informed decision.
How to Determine If you Have a Toenail Fungus — Notice the Signs!
If you have or have had toenail fungus you might recognize the signs listed below. Remember to always keep an eye on any of these signs and take early action.
✅ Brittle or thickened nail
✅ Scaling under the nail
✅ Appearance of yellow spots at the bottom of the nail
✅ White or yellow streaks on the nail
✅ A crumbling corner or tip of the nail
✅ Flaking white areas on the nail’s surface (pits in the nail)
✅ Loss of the toenail
✅ Distorted nail that may lift off from the nail bed
✅ Peculiar odor coming from the infected nail
The Best Treatment for Toenail Fungus — My Recommendations!
My recommendations are based on self-care strategies and over-the-counter medications as well as home treatments that will most likely help you relieve pain, promote healing, and further prevent infections.
- Over-the-counter antifungal nail creams. If you notice white markings on the surfaces of the nails, file them off, soak your nails in water, make sure you dry them well and apply the medicated cream or lotion. Take a look at my recommendation below:
- Trim and thin the nails. This helps reduce pain by reducing pressure on the nails, but you have to be careful. Plus, if you do this before applying an antifungal, the drug can reach deeper layers of the nail.
Bear in mind that toenail fungus will continue to worsen and will be harder to treat the longer it is left to grow and spread. Make sure that whichever treatment you choose contains an active anti-fungal ingredient along with nail penetrating essential oils. Most of the treatment formulas fail to reach the nail bed where the nail fungus lives and grows.
Also, take a look at some tips to take care of your toes regularly.
TIPS for taking care of your toes:
✅ Keeping your toes clean everyday
✅ Using antifungal sprays or powders now and then
✅ Drying your feet well after showering, especially between your toes
✅ Using your tools for pedicures
✅ Wearing socks that minimize moisture
✅ Wider shoes. Take a look at the selection of wide shoes that are recommended for women with toenail fungus:
Keep in mind that if you feel that there is no improvement and have increasing pain or sign of an infection, then please contact your primary care doctor or a podiatrist.
Please note that it’s especially important to see your doctor if you have diabetes and fungal nail infection. Women with diabetes are at greater risk of developing potentially serious complications caused by these fungal infections.
I would also like to talk briefly about ingrown nails which is another common foot condition.
Ingrown Toenails — Getting the Correct Shoes!
The best and proven method to prevent you from suffering from an ingrown toenail is to wear the right type of shoes. Wearing the proper shoes that are wide enough for your feet and that have a nice round toe-box will prevent your toes from overlapping with each other and putting pressure on the big toe.
✅ Rounder Toe-Boxes: This feature helps prevent your toes from squeezing your big toe against the side of the shoes or the other toes from rubbing against each other.
✅ Extra Depth: Your shoes must be deep to allow your feet to fit deeply inside the shoes and prevent the top of your toe with the ingrown toenail to rub against the top of the shoes.
If you want to read more about this or how to treat a missing toenail, then you can take a look at the articles below.
Women’s Shoes for Ingrown Toenails – Deep Shoe Styles with a Round Toe-Box!
How to Treat a Missing Toenail — The Best Shoes to Keep Your Toe Healthy!
Are You Having a Hard Time Finding Shoes for Your Foot Shape?
You can ask your questions in the comment section below or contact me via email:
comfortablewomenshoes@gmail.com
In addition, if you have a child and you are looking to provide them with a pair of good supportive shoes, you can go to a page I created on fitting children’s shoes, where you can find all information related to shoe fittings and more. You can just click on the link below.
Fitting Children’s Shoes – The Best Place to Find Shoes that Fit for Any Foot Problem
Please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail or in the comments section below if you have doubts or questions. I will continue posting informative articles penned by me that address important topics such as this one.
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