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Toenail Fungus Success with Tea tree oil

Submitted by Nora

I have had great success with tea tree oil. My nails had been affected with toenail fungus for decades and were so thickened and curled at the top that walking was painful.

I have been using tea tree oil for a few months now and my nails are already much thinner and softer, no longer curl and are pink. I use a pummice stick to gently thin the nail from time to time before applying. Be gentle, you don't want to go through the nail, just make it easy for the oil to penetrate the nail as much as possible. The dead fungus or debris turn dark so, when you file the nail too thin, the top usually, it will turn dark and brittle. Apply the oil three times a day and go barefoot as much as possible.

I agree with others here: clean socks, vinegar baths, keeping all dead skin exfoliated all help. When you add tea tree oil, it works.

My nails look and feel nearly totally normal and I know they will soon be beautiful! I'm so happy.

Visitors comments

I am pleased Comments By: TipKing I am so pleased that you have had this success. Thank you for letting everyone know.   After 2 weeks, fungus looks better Comments By: Sue I have been using tea tree oil on my toe nails for only two weeks. I can see a difference already! I'd tried Sporanox and Lamisil without success. One of my nails was curled, too, and looked like a claw! After two weeks, I can see the blackish debris on one. With the "claw," my nail bed was curled up underneath, too, and I couldn't cut it very easily. Now you can't see the flesh underneath at all. So, I feel it is working. Be sure to get 36% 4-0l and in the amber bottle as it is light sensitive. I really hope it works for me, too.   Not SAFE or EFFECTIVE Comments By: No Voodo Medicine Please I read about tea tree oil for treating toenail fungus. I decided to try it instead of Lamisil. I applied the 100% pure tea tree oil twice a day on my toenails for 120 days. This treatment did NOT work at all. My problem is just as bad as before. Furthermore I develloped a skin reaction to the oil. This treatment is NOT SAFE or EFFECTIVE. There is a reason that tea tree oil has not been widely recommended for the treatment of toenail fungus. It has NOT been proven safe or effective. I can attest that is is NOT safe or effective. I wish I had started a Lamisil treatment 120 days ago because I would be cured by now.   Who would keep applying something that... Comments By: Peter As regards to the comment about tea tree giving them a rash, why did you keep applying it for 120 days?? This sounds like a commercial for Lamisil! Get the facts - www.toenailfungus.org (non-commercial). I have also used a product with tea tree in it, and it is working to get rid of my toenail fungus. It's taken about 2 months, but the new nail growing in is normal and clear. I checked with my doctor, and he said to stay away from the ingested products. Natural cures, such as tea tree oil, do work for treating toenail fungus. Each person has to find what works for him or her. Don't keep trying something if it gives you a rash!!!   Tea tree oil has been used for years! Comments By: Sharon To the person promoting Lamisil, if it worked for you great, but to say bad things about tea tree oil is ridiculous since its been a natural remedy for eons. Its in my OTC creme I'm using now, Tine-something. Its also found in general foot scrubs and lotions. My pod also told me that ingested drugs have bad side effects, like liver issues. So thats why I'm trying the creme first. My nail is taking forever to grow so hard to say if its working but the small portion at the cuticle does seem thinner.   TTO worked for me! Comments By: Fungus Free I had a severe reaction to Lamisil, then used Penlac for a year -- no progress. I then found a 'cure' online and figured I had nothing to lose. First, put a 50-50 solution of hydrogen peroxide/white vinegar on your toe. Follow up by soaking the toe for 30 seconds in a solution of 1/4 bleach, 3/4 water. Rinse with clear water. Apply Tea Tree Oil, rub it in with a little Vaseline and cover with a band-aid. I did this for TWO days and the fungus is gone! The nail and toe are pink and healthy. Hopefully it will work for other people -- it sure worked for me!   After all these years it is going at last. Comments By: Jackie I have had toe nail fungus since 2002.I had an injury on my toe nail which left me with the infection. I went to see gp who gave me tablets and referred me to a foot specialist. I had to have most of my toe nail cut out. I went abroad for the summer so a friend of mine gave the idea of sticking a false thumb nail on my toe. It looked great and stayed on for four wks. After I removed it the nail was growing back.It still had infection and never bedded its self down,it always looked brown and had a bad smell to it. Over the years I went back to gp and got 2 lots of tablets.She said it would take years for it to look better. I waited and waited and waited!*? I went in to hospital 6 wks ago for an operation. After that I went to spend a week with my parents for a rest.One day I asked to my Dad to put my socks on. Bad mistake.He was digusted with my nail. I came home and did some research on the internet. Tea tree oil brushed on my toe nail twice a day with a toothbrush is working a treat. I am so happy.Sounds sad but I cannot wait for the day that I can wear my flip flops without having to wear dark nail polish. I will keep you up-dated   Try it you'll like it Comments By: Cheryl Both of my big toes had fungus under the nails for about 7 years due to inury and had recently began to really hurt when I wore closed-toe shoes. My nails were becoming thick and were turning upward of all things. I even began limping because of it. Penlac was first prescribed by my physician who was skeptical about giving me Lamisil or Sporanox because of the liver issues. After a couple of months of painting and trimming I thought I had made headway with both of my big toes, but it did not clear up the fungus. I researched various treatments and decided that anything was worth a try since my pharamacist said the Sporanox would cost about $600.00 and my insurance would not cover it. This is what I did: I filed my nails down to the quick on both toes and soaked them twice a day in Listerine Mouth Wash, then after I dried my feet I applied the Tea Tree Oil on top of the nail bed. Occasionally I would rub in some Vicks Vapo Rub and sometimes I would even paint on some Penlac. I left no stone unturned and as you can see I was very determined to defeat this fungus. I think I became obsessed with my toes. After a few months when my nails became visible I was very encouraged. The white spots had disappeared thank goodness. I am still working on some yellowing at the very tip end of the nail, which is probably due to the last part of that keratin junk working out. I have never read of anybody having a bad reaction to Tea Tree Oil but since the active ingredient in it is similar to Turpentine I guess it is possible. I always thought the Menthol was what was thought to be the cure. Oh well, it's taken me about 6 months to get this far but I'm happy and my toes are happy and that is what counts.   Starting to work! Comments By: Marianne I've had this bad nail for years, and im in physical therapy school now, so we have to work with each other's feet alot. I would always cover it up with nail polish..So finally when I take all this nail polish off, I find that it's spread to the other nails! I was smothering it so it grew even faster and looks worse now. I've been trying the 50/50 mix of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, then vicks at night. It's been 3 days and already I am seeing a difference. I am buying some tea tree oil tomorrow so I can use everything at once, and I am just praying that this works. From what I have read from this site and others, I think the TTO in conbination with everything else is going to work! Also, my brother is a doctor, and he says vicks works, though not with everyone. My sister also got a nail cleared up with vicks a few years ago. I'll update you!   watch out for allergic reaction Comments By: bill After using tea tree oil for a month, my feet started to develop a rash and blister, and broke out on other parts of my body. I developed water blisters which leaked through my shoes! I went to emergency fearing I had developed a foot infection. If you ever begin to develop a rash, stop using tea tree oil! I am still suffering the side effects several weeks after using it!   Did not work Comments By: Anon After trying Penlac (didnt work), and reading the positive comments about Tea Tree oil, I tried 100% Tea Tree oil. I religously applied it morning and night and filed the nails down. I had no skin reaction. But, after 3 months, there was no improvement. I am a MD, and I did this study very carefully out of scientific curiosity. Perhaps different strains of fungus have different sensitivity to the oil. Perhaps some of the postive postings are coming from individuals with ties to natural health care products.   tea tree oil Comments By: Ana I have nail fungus for about 1,5 year ... realized it about one year ago. Now I have tried tea tree oil for 3 months. 3 or more times per day, trying to wear flip flops as much as possible. Washing socks and towels on 90 degrees. Spraying shoes with antifungal spray. No change! My fungus even got worse. Now I removed most of the nail which was easy as it just droll off when I touch it with a nail file and started to use Mycoster I think its the same like Penlac ... just different name. Has anybody had a success with this product? I am desperate cause I hate my feet at this moment.   Allergy to Tea Tree Comments By: Lisa I love Tea Tree. It works for numerous different things BUT FOR SOME......Tea Tree oil may cause these symptoms which may mean you are allergic to it. Breathing problems or tightness in your throat or chest . Chest pain . Skin hives, rash, or itchy or swollen skin. Follow this link to learn more http://www.drug3k.com/drug/Tea_Tree_Oil-51587.htm   2 1/2 decades of dead nail Comments By: jenny I have this dead toenail for almost 2 1/2 deacades and im so imbarass to wear slippers during summer.Mine was very diffrnt from the rest,its very thin on the roots and thick at the tip and it doesnt look like nail at all. any suggestion pls email me loveremains2000@yahoo.com   Trying TTO and Lotramin Ultra Comments By: Anon There's a study online, where they took about 80 people and had half of them treat with TTO, and half with TTO and Lotramin Ultra. About 80% of the combo were cured, while none of the TTO alone worked and it's known that Lotramin Ultra alone has a dismal sucess rate. So if TTO alone doesn't work for you, and you don't have a reaction to it, try adding Lotramin Ultra to the mix. I've been trying less than a week, and my nails don't get pink and pretty quite that quickly, so I'll have to check back when I have more time to figure out what's going on. http://www.iloft.com/Tea-Tree-Oil-Plus-Fungicide-Beats-Nail-Fungus-a-5441.html Link to the study, for the curious.   Lamisil can damage your liver Comments By: Jean I read the comment about tea tree oil not being safe and how someone wished they had tried lamisil. I did take lamisil and my liver was affected. At least the tea oil is a natural thing to try first. Then if it doesn't work, try your meds but be careful.   toe nail fungas Comments By: Tina Ober I took lamisil for about 6 weeks to just recently discover that I have now lost my taste buds from this horrible drug! Literally everything tastes bitter a like im eating cardboard. It has been almost a week since I have been off of Lamisil and not to mention my toenail still looking the same, my quality of life (my taste buds) have not returned. I am now resorting to the all natural way out of tea tree oil. Not sure if its going to work, but im going to put it to the test and from now on stay away from the horrible side effects of Lamisil, which everyone swears by. They can have it.   WARNING: Bleach and Hydrogen Peroxide (H202) Comments By: Jules Somebody mentioned the following treatment, which I also tried: Soak in 50/50 vinegar/H2O2, follow with soak in 1/4 bleach/water, apply tea tree oil with vaseline and cover with bandaid. I'm glad they had success. But, H2O2 + bleach = decomposing reaction. In short, H2O2 is intrinsically unstable and bleach catalyzes its decomposition, so what you get is a very fast formation of oxygen and water, which is a kind of chemical 'boiling'. If only I'd known this sooner... I soaked by feet in vinegar/H2O2 for 30 minutes and followed with the diluted bleach. I did not rinse my feet between these two steps. So what happened was, the H2O2 impregnated my skin a couple layers, and then the bleach reacted with it, and this 'chemical boiling' occured a couple layers beneath the surface of my skin and gave me a chemical burn. I have scabs but hopefully not scars. So BEWARE. If I try using bleach again, it will be just drops on the nail itself. Further, I substituted the tea tree oil + vaseline with Vic's, and this procedure did not work for me. Before trying that I was using Vic's every day and night, with little success (it may have slowed the spread, but didn't solve anything). I'm now convinced that Vic's keeps the nailbed far too moist and promotes fungal growth but, clearly, there are too many positive testimonials to disregard it entirely. Good luck!   Unbelievable! Comments By: Anon I have had toenail fungus for years, and there are a few toes that are worse than others. For about a week now, I've been trying the vinegar & vicks, and I've noticed a slight difference. Then I used some tea tree oil mixed with other oils (vitamin e, etc) and I can not believe it. I put some on yesterday, and some this morning, and one toenail that had I swear had what looked like two racing stripes going down it has completely cleared. I'm the biggest skeptic in the world, so I am in complete disbelief. I keep looking at my toe! I will continue to use it, and I'm hoping that it will clear up the rest of my nails.   Tea tree oil is not "voodoo" Comments By: Hopeful Tea tree oil is a proven anti-fungal agent. Most "modern" drugs have been derived from natural sources. The Native Americans ingested a certain type of tree bark, which has evolved into what is now called aspirin. I'm sure if "No Voodoo Medicine" was told to eat tree bark, they would think it was kooky, but that's where many medicines came from, natural sources. We've just found ways to distill them and put them into pill form. I used Tea Tree Oil for a fungal skin infection and it was the ONLY thing that cured it. I then wondered if it would help my toenails, which have been bad for many years. I am excited to try this. Not everyone has a bad reaction to Tea Tree Oil so if you do, by all means stop using it, but don't say it's bad for everyone just because you had a bad experience.   Prescription drugs for 12 months....no change Comments By: Eva I have been taking anti fungal drugs for 12 months and cannot get rid of my nail infection....the nail has actually dropped off and regrown with the infection again! I have just started trying tea tree oil...it really feels like it is doing something - I get a buring sensation and I feel confident that it will work, so watch this space. Great to read so many success stories on line.   My approach Comments By: Chris Lately I have been using a few things. As I speak my toe is soaking in Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide 50/50 (15 minutes daily). I started applying Tea Tree Oil on the nail with a band aid over it. I did the same thing with Taheebo and a band aid. Before I applied anything I trimmed the nail back as far as I could. Orally, I am taking something called Acidophilus. It's good against fungus. I am seeing more color to my nail. When I shower I lightly take a brush over it to clean it and exfoliate whatever is dead or loose. So, Taheebo, White or Apple Cider Vinegar, Tea Tree Oil, Acidophilus. Seems to be working thus far.   Tea Tree Oil for toenail fungas Comments By: Anon During a routine appointment I asked my internist if she could recommend anything for toenail fungas and she suggested that I "could try" Tea Tree Oil -- I didn't get the impression she was convinced -- and didn't try it or anything else. Then about 2 weeks ago a chair that someone was helping me move accidentally landed on my toe (only momentary pain) and it caused the big toenail with the fungus to detach -- like a hinged lid. Because I could now get to most of the skin under the nail, I stated using tea tree oil and it does seem to help. Already,the nail is not as thick and that alone is a major improvement. I use a cotton swab to apply the tea tree oil to the area around the top of the nail and lift the nail and pour a small amount underneath. It's only been 2 weeks but I'm feeling very positive about the results so far.