Gross (sorry!): Toenail Fungus & Candida

[Lianda]

I’m writing because I have had a continuous problem with candida (female) AND toenail fungus. I had been prescribed Diflucan – and even multiple courses did nothing at all to improve the condition.
There is so much contradictory information about what feeds it, how to get rid of it, etc.. Laser treatment I’m sure will be temporary – but my nails look really nasty, thickened, and picking up from the nail bed. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I’m soaking in vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, using eucalyptus, Tea tree oil…. I was thinking that coconut oil should probably be helpful- thinking about what growing things resist fungus where they grow.

[tab=30](here’s background info on me…. I’m 62 yo female; have Hashimoto’s, and I’m being treated with Armour thyroid. My temps are still not consistently getting higher than 98.0. I stopped taking estrogen after reading Peat- now just take progest-e. Hot flashes at night improved, but still have them.
The Armour thyroid has made my hair thicker, and stop falling out. And my high combined cholesterol (but still high) has gone down but my HDL is still decent (57). Trigylcerides still very high.
I’m taking pregnenolone, Progest –E; B12, D3, ubiquinol, and Magnesium Citrate (the only thing I can feel an immediate effect from- in a fire, I’d run back in to get it!). I also have a fast resting HR (105) without 1 BetaBlocker which I’ve taken for 15 years (never increased the minimum dose).

Also have this chronic problem: Pain in right side near liver was so bad that I went to the ER. Ultrasound showed no obvious problems (no ulcer, no gallstones, but “slightly fatty liver”). But I’ve been having problems with heartburn for a long time now.
Drink baking soda in my strained oj- Drinking it w/o baking soda used to KILL me! I use coconut oil liberally. Get HB from eating fats- icecream sits in my stomach for HOURS, and HB is miserable. I don’t eat much chicken/pork.n (sorry, hate liver- but will start making chicken liver… although RP says it’s not good for thyroid.. and see if it hurts my stomach). Have HB even after my stomach is empty. When I lay down at night, it gets bad. Even baby aspirin hurts. I don’t know if I have too little or too much stomach acid.
I’ve been gluten free, but I don’t feel ANY difference if I eat wheat/gluten or not. I’m at the point of giving it up being GF, because I can’t see depriving myself unless it’s making me feel better. (any recommendations here?) I MUST eat starch or my temperatures won't go up past 97.7.

Sorry if this is TMI- but so many of you would have probably made suggestions re my diet, so wanted to let you know… Thanks a bunch!

 

[Mittir]

RP does not recommend Armour anymore since they changed their formula.
Do you track your TSH, Total T3, reverse T3?
Low temperature shows thyroid problem is not fixed.
Starch increases temperature by increasing cortisol.
Not a good way to increase temp. Starch feeds bad bacteria and
increases endotoxin. It can increase fungus problem.
Pectin in OJ is a problem for many.
You can try pectinase to remove pectin completely or try
other low pectin fruit juices.
He recommends cynomel and cynoplus for thyroid problems.
He mentioned in Josh Rubin final Q and A interview that
(from min 20-40 they discussed whole fungal and candida issues)
hypothyroid people are susceptible to fungal infection.

Coconut oil and flower of sulfur both are anti fungal.
He strongly recommends raw carrot salad or cooked bamboo shoot
to clean intestine of bad bacteria and fungal infections.
Saturated oil kills fungus and PUFA feeds fungus.
In another interview he mentioned that poor blood circulation in the
leg area causing problems. Low calcium causes calcification of
blood vessels and hardening of skin. I have found lowering PTH
by increasing calcium and vitamin D cured my cracked heel.
Here is a RP quote on flower of sulfur

Flowers of sulfur, USP (or precipitated sulfur powder) can be mixed with a little water and applied topically to eliminate yeast...since the yeast live in water, they can interact immediately with the sulfur when it's in water.

 

[Lianda]

Lots of good info there- you mentioned PTH - couldn't find the reference to what it means..
and do you know where I can hear the Josh Rubin interview?
Thanks for taking the time and effort to help-

 

[Mittir]

PTH stands for parathyroid hormone, this is regularly done with serum calcium level
to gauge bone related problems. PTH decreases very quickly with increasing calcium,
vitamin D and K and lowering phosphorus. RP recommends around 1500 mg of calcium
to lower PTH with phosophorus amount equal or less than this amount.
Vitamin K in liver is very helpful too.
here is a link to lots of RP interview. The first one on the list talks about candida and fungus.
http://eastwesthealing.com/ray-peat/

 

[jb4566]

I noticed that you only mentioned your temperature in your post. Do you measure your pulse? I assume you got the temp info from Matt stone? He is wrong on that one, pulse and temps have to be taken together to get an understanding of what is happening in the body.

Also, this post might be helpful to you: http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/2012/3/1 ... guise.html


Danny's idea makes sense in your context given that you were on estrogen replacement previously.

Armour should bring your pulse and temps to normal if you are on a high enough dose, most doctors will tell you to stop reading quackery if you suggest such things though.

 

[bradley]

Rub DMSO gel on the nail, let it penetrate for 5-10 minutes, then apply 2 or 3:1 diluted bleach with a cotton ball around the nail and skin. Tea tree oil is good in combo with this as well.

I’m writing because I have had a continuous problem with candida (female) AND toenail fungus. I had been prescribed Diflucan – and even multiple courses did nothing at all to improve the condition.
There is so much contradictory information about what feeds it, how to get rid of it, etc.. Laser treatment I’m sure will be temporary – but my nails look really nasty, thickened, and picking up from the nail bed. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I’m soaking in vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, using eucalyptus, Tea tree oil…. I was thinking that coconut oil should probably be helpful- thinking about what growing things resist fungus where they grow.

[tab=30](here’s background info on me…. I’m 62 yo female; have Hashimoto’s, and I’m being treated with Armour thyroid. My temps are still not consistently getting higher than 98.0. I stopped taking estrogen after reading Peat- now just take progest-e. Hot flashes at night improved, but still have them.
The Armour thyroid has made my hair thicker, and stop falling out. And my high combined cholesterol (but still high) has gone down but my HDL is still decent (57). Trigylcerides still very high.
I’m taking pregnenolone, Progest –E; B12, D3, ubiquinol, and Magnesium Citrate (the only thing I can feel an immediate effect from- in a fire, I’d run back in to get it!). I also have a fast resting HR (105) without 1 BetaBlocker which I’ve taken for 15 years (never increased the minimum dose).

Also have this chronic problem: Pain in right side near liver was so bad that I went to the ER. Ultrasound showed no obvious problems (no ulcer, no gallstones, but “slightly fatty liver”). But I’ve been having problems with heartburn for a long time now.
Drink baking soda in my strained oj- Drinking it w/o baking soda used to KILL me! I use coconut oil liberally. Get HB from eating fats- icecream sits in my stomach for HOURS, and HB is miserable. I don’t eat much chicken/pork.n (sorry, hate liver- but will start making chicken liver… although RP says it’s not good for thyroid.. and see if it hurts my stomach). Have HB even after my stomach is empty. When I lay down at night, it gets bad. Even baby aspirin hurts. I don’t know if I have too little or too much stomach acid.
I’ve been gluten free, but I don’t feel ANY difference if I eat wheat/gluten or not. I’m at the point of giving it up being GF, because I can’t see depriving myself unless it’s making me feel better. (any recommendations here?) I MUST eat starch or my temperatures won't go up past 97.7.

Sorry if this is TMI- but so many of you would have probably made suggestions re my diet, so wanted to let you know… Thanks a bunch!

 

[AmandaWald]

Possible cure for nail problems

I had toenail fungus under my big toenail on my left foot for the longest time, but couldn't get rid of it.

Eventually, though, I did something which I hadn't seen recommended, which was to let my nails grow longer - not clip them short as you often find recommended - and then, after showering, I would plaster copious quantities of coconut oil under the affected toenail, using coconut oil that was still solid. I'd put lots of coconut oil between my toes and generally just slather the stuff on as thickly as I could.

And, whaddaya know? After a few months of this treatment, the nasty cheesy-yellowy tint under my nail was gone and the nail grew back normally.

As for nails coming away from the nail bed, I had that, too!

For that I used zinc supplements, but I used them for too long and ended up with low copper and my arrhythmias got much worse!

So, as Ray Peat says, use zinc for a short while (or eat zincky foods), but not too long. It stopped my thumbnail from going all funny and yellow and all thick, back to normal again.

Please don't ask where I read about the zinc/nail connection, because it was some time ago, but I found the info somewhere on the web! I like to use the pubmed site, but I don't think I found it there, maybe somewhere like earthclinic?

Good luck!

 

[AmandaWald]

Oh, and I am very happy to hear that the Armour thyroid stopped your hair falling out and made it thicker!

I am hoping to get some T4/T3 prescribed soon, but it depends on whether my TSH numbers are "high enough"...

GRRR.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

I had developed nail fungus on the right big toenail after I left an huge under-nail hematoma as is, whic was caused by having a heavy guy with studded shoes landed directly on them at football.

Common treatment in Germany is tedious topical treatment with expensive ointments/lacquers from the pharmacy or systemical antifungal ingestion for month.
Given that some antifungals like Keatconazol are strongly anto-androgen and thta I see many side effects in animals when I treat the with systemic antifungals I went for an alternative treatment.

Softening the nail with a 20% Urea ointment (selfmade, cheap as f...) and treatinf the infection with palmarosa, orange and oregano essential oils with coconut oil as a carrier. The fugus as cleared after 3 short weeks.

While on it, I thought that salicylic acid might also be a viable treatmnet option, given that salicylic acid ointments are also very good for keratolysis - and additionaly they might be antifungal simultaneously. This reeks of another case of institutional humane medicine deliberately ignoring the simple, cheap options like urea, SA, essential oils and going for the heay and expnsive pharma option.

Here are spme links concerning urea treatmnet of nail fungus:
Nonsurgical Nail Removal for Fungal Nail Infections

Nonsurgical Nail Removal for Fungal Nail Infections
(in addition with an antifungal agent - which I substituted with EOs as said)

 

[DrJ]

@LeeLemonoil I don't know if they have it in Germany, but Vicks VapoRub applied to the toenail(s) twice a day clears it up pretty quickly. It runs about $7USD for a small container that would last several lifetimes because of how little it takes to cover a nail. I think the main ingredient that provides benefits in this situation is the eucalyptus oil.

 

[churchmouth]

For a long time I thought my toenails had fungus, and I was aggressively trying to trim them back and soak/ apply natural treatments etc. laser treatments.

Years later I actually got medical attention and they cannot confirm it is a fungus in the labs (multiple times), instead it appears to be nail psoriasis. They can look very similar.

 

[Dave Clark]

Ozonated oils, which is usually olive oil, although other oils can be purchased, is said to work good externally on these type of problems. Of course, internal ozone therapy would help solve the problem from within, if you have access. Ozonated oils can be purchased on-line.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

@LeeLemonoil I don't know if they have it in Germany, but Vicks VapoRub applied to the toenail(s) twice a day clears it up pretty quickly. It runs about $7USD for a small container that would last several lifetimes because of how little it takes to cover a nail. I think the main ingredient that provides benefits in this situation is the eucalyptus oil.

Thanks @DrJ

Yep, VapoRub and Wick in general is a widely-known medication in probably ost western countries, it's heavily advertised allthough. Essential oils in alcohol or coconut oil shall do the trick, Vaporub is a variety of EOs or isolates from EOs in a carrier as well. Good find.

Camphor (synthetic)
Eucalyptus oil 1.2%
Menthol 2.6%
Inactive Ingredients
cedarleaf oil nutmeg oil petrolatum thymol turpentine oil

 

[ecstatichamster]

I had developed nail fungus on the right big toenail after I left an huge under-nail hematoma as is, whic was caused by having a heavy guy with studded shoes landed directly on them at football.

Common treatment in Germany is tedious topical treatment with expensive ointments/lacquers from the pharmacy or systemical antifungal ingestion for month.
Given that some antifungals like Keatconazol are strongly anto-androgen and thta I see many side effects in animals when I treat the with systemic antifungals I went for an alternative treatment.

Softening the nail with a 20% Urea ointment (selfmade, cheap as f...) and treatinf the infection with palmarosa, orange and oregano essential oils with coconut oil as a carrier. The fugus as cleared after 3 short weeks.

While on it, I thought that salicylic acid might also be a viable treatmnet option, given that salicylic acid ointments are also very good for keratolysis - and additionaly they might be antifungal simultaneously. This reeks of another case of institutional humane medicine deliberately ignoring the simple, cheap options like urea, SA, essential oils and going for the heay and expnsive pharma option.

Here are spme links concerning urea treatmnet of nail fungus:
Nonsurgical Nail Removal for Fungal Nail Infections

Nonsurgical Nail Removal for Fungal Nail Infections
(in addition with an antifungal agent - which I substituted with EOs as said)

how did this work out. @LeeLemonoil

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Urea plus EOs removed the affect part of the nail just fine. Urea that is, EOs treated the fungus.

I did not try SA but that should work too

 

[Dolomite]

I started using Vicks Vapo Rub on my toes and the occasional but irritating sharp pains in the skin folds around my big toes went away. I use it once a day at night.

 

[chompie]

Urea plus EOs removed the affect part of the nail just fine. Urea that is, EOs treated the fungus.

I did not try SA but that should work too

Urea, as in Organic Nitrogen, the fertilizer?

 

[Veritas IV]

Was it Ray Peat or the Borax Conspiracy that wrote that Boric acid clears up foot fungus with one application?

I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to get some under the nail, and may be worth a shot if someone already had it on hand...

 

[Lydie Baillie]

Borax powder has been recommended by several people for fungus infections. I heard about it from a YT gardening channel OAG Old Alabama Gardener .