Fungal nail infections are very common in the UK. Fungal infections like moist warm environments and feet make an ideal habit. I have had problems with fungal nail infections for years. It seemed to come on after I took up running. The running socks and trainers and hours of running seem to create the perfect environment for toe nail infections to flourish! I did seek help from my GP and had nail clippings sent to the lab which confirmed the fungal nature of the infection and treatment by way of anti-fungal nail paint or anti fungal tablets was recommended. And indeed this is what I had been recommending to my patients, if they wished to clear their fungal nail infections, after confirmation by way of lab testing as per the NICE guidelines.
I was very surprised when one of my patients came back and said that she saw a podiatrist who had advised her to stop taking the anti-fungal tablets I had commenced her on and trial applying vaseline instead! I, like many GPs, had never heard of this as an option. I was unable to have the nail paint or tablets as I was pregnant at the time and so chose to simply live with the unpleasant fungal nail infection. But now, with the suggestion that something as simple as vaseline might work, I was very keen to trial this out. I applied it twice daily to the dry infected big toe nail and was amazed when it did seem to actually work. It halted the spread of the fungal infection and the new nail grew out unaffected. All in all it took 3 months to clear.
Now this may not work for all fungal nail infections and if you have any doubt about the nature of any nail abnormality then please do seek the advice of a healthcare professional. But for a cheap and freely available product like vaseline or Vicks vapo-rub that has a much lower risk of side effects compared to the more traditional treatments, I would say it's probably worth a go. Let me know how you get on......
I was very surprised when one of my patients came back and said that she saw a podiatrist who had advised her to stop taking the anti-fungal tablets I had commenced her on and trial applying vaseline instead! I, like many GPs, had never heard of this as an option. I was unable to have the nail paint or tablets as I was pregnant at the time and so chose to simply live with the unpleasant fungal nail infection. But now, with the suggestion that something as simple as vaseline might work, I was very keen to trial this out. I applied it twice daily to the dry infected big toe nail and was amazed when it did seem to actually work. It halted the spread of the fungal infection and the new nail grew out unaffected. All in all it took 3 months to clear.
Now this may not work for all fungal nail infections and if you have any doubt about the nature of any nail abnormality then please do seek the advice of a healthcare professional. But for a cheap and freely available product like vaseline or Vicks vapo-rub that has a much lower risk of side effects compared to the more traditional treatments, I would say it's probably worth a go. Let me know how you get on......
