There isn’t anything wrong with me but I love to worry about it, and the worry will win out in the end, causing no end of physical problems and maladies made real from dreams and reverse wishing, which is actually dread. When you don’t want something to happen, the constant thought that it might is like a neverending wish for it to occur. It’s a baffler, and unfair, but that’s I guess how it works.
Today i am confounded by toenail fungus, which has plagued my beautiful feet for a lifetime. I don’t know when i contracted it, but it certainly has had its way with my feet. I beg the nail tech to grind down the toenails afflicted, which grow up instead of out, making toenails that have more in common with big macs than toenails. They are taken off by file or drill but they are powdered into tough skin and I pay my $50 and I am out of there for a month or so, until they grow up again, tighting my shoes, mocking me in their oddness and fungal existence. Nothing I do, have done, no amount of fungicide and even medication will help. They grow up, thick and menacing, hornlike. I wonder if I left them alone if they would somehow cover my entire foot, and perhaps I wouldn’t need shoes anymore. Just my fungus and me, together for life.
Tags: Beauty & Body Image, General
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Vick vapar rub
I have toe fungus on just my left foot. Try to explain that! Anyways, I stubbed my big left toe and the nail fell off. I am waiting to see if the fungus comes back. Obviously, pulling off toenails is not a solution.
I SUFFER FROM THAT TOO!!!…BOTH FEET! :O(
I’M SORRY, WELCOME TO THE CLUB!!!
I used to have toenail fungus really badly–like I couldn’t wear closed shoes. Luckily I live in CA so I can wear Tevas year round. But it went away with heavy wine drinking, so good luck. Now I just have to figure out how to stop drinking.
Dear Jesus I have that too. I have it only on my big toe on my right foot. I was told by the dr. that I got it from a nail salon – they don’t sterilize the instruments enough. It is yellow and no amount of medicine can cure it. It is rivaled only by my psoriasis that I painfully camouflage with long sleeves all winter long which also does not disappear with all the topical creams that are applied every day sometimes two or three times a day. I feel your pain sistah!
Ok the best remedy I’ve found for toenail fungus is Neem Oil. You get the nail nice and soft (from a bath or shower), trim it as short as you can, and dig out as much fungus from under the nail as is comfortable. Warm up the bottle of neem oil in some hot water from the tap to melt all the good oils that have settled at the bottom and shake the bottle after that. Then, put two drops under each nail. It smells strange… kind of like beef and onions, but it works so well that after about a week of applying it daily, can forget about fungus for almost six months.
PS.. Ms. Cho- I gave you massages at OHI in SD forever ago. You were so kind and sweet to me. I’ll never forget it. Much love.
Remove as much of the nail as possible then soak in Listerine few minutes over a few nights.. worked first try for me!,
Remove as much of nail as possible then soak in Listerine for a few minutes over a few nights.. worked for me.
dear lord — we have to love ghost writers or the lack of creative ingenuity being challenged from phyllis diller’s grave. oh lord — we’d hope they can muster something other than mustard if we must turd — gagging as such on that line beyond crystal phallanx to phallis of dragging heels when drag became so bad. it happens. please wake up or get rid of the ghost writers.
Time to get real. You are seriously committed to getting rid of this, or not. I was plagued with this since the age of 7: the pain, infections, embarrassment. Now at 35 it is all gone. For a serious case, home remedies are bullshit. Also systemic fungi like this have been tied to cancer. You will have to throw away ALL your shoes. Dissolve the infected nails with a medication called urea. Treat the foot with antifungals. Go about in sandals/flipflops/bare feet whenever possible. If you buy new shoes, spray the inside with antifungal spray. Take prescription Lamisil for three months. Repeat if necessary. Cure!
Vicks Vaporub. It really really works. All you have to do is apply it every nigh. Be sure to clip away as much as you can of the infected nail without hurting yourself. Good luck!
Hi Margaret,
I got this lovely shit several years ago from a nail salon. I know this because I had never had a pedi before, always did my own toes.
For the longest time I had no clue what these white marks on my toenails were. I thought I was damaging my toes somehow with too many years of pointed high heels. Finally a bit of Googling and I found out what it was.
So, I went without polish for a year until it all grew out, but it returned once I resumed with polish. So, with a bit of searching the internet, this is what has worked for me. First, what I realize is that when you head to the nail tech, with all the soaking and lotion, the nail stays moist. Without hesitation they start to polish…STOP! Make sure that they remove any moisture from your nails before painting them! Whether by adding polish remover or Rubbing Alcohol, your nails should be moisture free, lotion free and dryed out before they coat in the moisture with polish.
I noticed that my nails would be clear at the time of my pedi and 3 weeks later when I went in to get my nails done, there was the fungus again!
Here’s how I got them clear: I used Nutra Nail Green Tea Antimicrobial Nail Solution and rubbed it on top and under my bare nails morning and night. After that dried, at night I would also add the Vicks Vapor rub. I did this diligently for all toes, infected or not. And it worked. I cut away the fungus as the nail grew out, but a few months later my nails were clear and have been for the most part since. I had the lumps like you described on a few nails which has also cleared up.
When I head to the salon for a pedi I make sure that my nails are really, really dry before they coat with base coat. It really does make a difference. After the file your bumps down, go home bare nailed and try the remedy I listed above.
Good luck chica!
I have suffered with nail fungus for many years. Within those years I have gone to many podiatrists who all said the same thing, “you can’t get rid of dark nails”. This was horrible, because even though it is difficult for me to buy sandals because of my small feet and because they are extra wide I wanted to be able to let me feet get some air. However, I did find a couple of sandals from Footsmart.com that look decent and purchase them years ago but couldn’t wear them because of the 3 dark nails that I had on my toes. Recently, I found a podiatrist who gave me “Formula 3″, which is a natural remedy. I have before and after pictures. It really works and I am so happy now. No toxic nail polishes and no laser. My nails are so much better now. I don’t know why this treatment does not come up when people Google about nail fungus. It is truly the best. I can’t wait to show my niece my toenails she won’t believe how they look. Ask you podiatrist about this item.
What a beautiful lyric about a thing so very, very ugly. “Hornlike”~ugh…I hope they are able to 86 this beast and none too soon. GL…again, such a gorgeous writing! See u soon~XO Mara
I bought a dremel rotary tool and found the small sanding discs to be very useful, taking away majority of the nail and fungus with little effort, keeping this up regularly as regrowth occurs the nail remains soft and porous allowing me to apply clear iodine and anti-fungal liquid effectively twice a day. As far as I can tell it is on its way out, more and more new nail appears unaffected.
[...] matter for some people, popular comedian Margaret Cho makes light of her own affliction. On her official website and blog, Cho talks candidly about the condition of her feet in her trademark humorous tone. She explains [...]