Ugly Toenails: To Polish or Not to Polish?
Feet are a funny thing. I don't know many topics more divisive than feet, actually. Up there with politics, religion, etc., are feet. There are generally two types of people when it comes to feet: those that HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE feet (not sure if I included enough 'HATEs', but it's something along those lines) and the people who just don't mind feet (this is the category every podiatrist I know falls under). I've heard rumors of people with a third classification: those who have a foot fetish; these people I think are fictional, up there with Sasquatch and the Loch Ness monster. If anyone knows someone who LOVES feet, please illuminate me. Either way, many people have feet they're embarrassed about.
Most often, this embarrassment comes from something like thick, discolored toenails. Nail fungus often causes this, although that's not the only thing that thickens nails, but it is the most common. It also usually makes crumbly debris build up beneath the toenails, leading to odor, discomfort, and--you guessed it--embarrassment. In order to minimize their embarrassment, people will resort to covering their nails somehow. Some people will literally never take their shoes or socks off around other people, others will use nail polish continuously without ever allowing you to take a good look at their "embarrassing" nails.
These methods are effective at covering the nails so nobody ever sees them, but they are both very bad for the nails themselves. That's because it actually makes the problem worse. Polish makes a watertight barrier on the nails that prevents any moisture that is generated by your feet from ever escaping from beneath the nails. This makes the problem worse because moisture is like a performance enhancing drug for fungus of all types. Wearing shoes and socks all the time--especially ones that don't breathe, like work boots or leather shoes--does the same thing.
I treat people all the time that have resorted to one or both of these methods to hide their nails from the world. Instead of doing this, I have a few suggestions to try first. If you're the person who isn't squeamish, urine kills fungus quite well. That's a bit gross for most people, but it does work. It's actually a very effective antimicrobial, which is why UTIs are relatively uncommon when you think of all the dirty stuff happening down there.
In case you're like me and don't really love the idea--or the imagery--of that you can try cough suppressant vaporizing ointment. It contains menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus oils which are naturally produced antimicrobials. Plants make these oils as a defense from fungus or bacteria that might damage the plant. They work really well for coughs, but they have some effectiveness against nail fungus as well. Certain fungal species won't respond, but others will and in most cases this will help the fungus.
Here's the catch--you have to apply it at least daily for a year. You read that correctly: a whole year of treatment. That's true of any antifungal treatment because fungi have a contingency plan set up just in case they get decimated by something. They make spores, which are like eggs in incubation for new fungus. These spores get embedded in the nail plate as the fungus is growing and reproducing. When treating fungus, you're not out of the woods until that nail has grown out and gotten clipped off. Until then, you are still at risk of the fungus coming back because those spores will camp out in the nail--protected from the antifungal medication, or oil, or whatever you're using--until the treatment stops and it's safe to grow again. Treating continuously prevents those spores from germinating and ruining your hard-earned progress.
It takes about a year (actually, in most cases probably 6-9 months) for the nail to replace itself entirely, so you need to continue treating until there's no more fungus embedded in the nail (no, it's not a ploy of the big pharma companies to milk dollars out of you--I'm looking at you, Mr. Conspiracy Theorist). One thing to keep in mind about nail fungus is that sometimes even cured nails are still thick and deformed. This is because in more severe cases the cells that grow the nail material out (called the matrix) get shifted around and that, in turn, alters the way the nail grows out.
If you insist on nail polish, there are actually brands that include an antifungal in the polish. I haven't used a lot of it, but I know other doctors who like to recommend it to their patients. My personal opinion is that plain topical medicine is probably more effective than including antifungal in a nail polish, but I also don't wear nail polish... or have fungal toenails, so you can decide for yourself what route sounds most appealing.
Ultimately, if your toenails are embarrassing, usually there is something to be done about it. Try some of the at-home remedies and if they don't work, at least you gave it your best shot and now it's time to get some professional help (especially if you are that person with a foot fixation).
In case you're like me and don't really love the idea--or the imagery--of that you can try cough suppressant vaporizing ointment. It contains menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus oils which are naturally produced antimicrobials. Plants make these oils as a defense from fungus or bacteria that might damage the plant. They work really well for coughs, but they have some effectiveness against nail fungus as well. Certain fungal species won't respond, but others will and in most cases this will help the fungus.
Here's the catch--you have to apply it at least daily for a year. You read that correctly: a whole year of treatment. That's true of any antifungal treatment because fungi have a contingency plan set up just in case they get decimated by something. They make spores, which are like eggs in incubation for new fungus. These spores get embedded in the nail plate as the fungus is growing and reproducing. When treating fungus, you're not out of the woods until that nail has grown out and gotten clipped off. Until then, you are still at risk of the fungus coming back because those spores will camp out in the nail--protected from the antifungal medication, or oil, or whatever you're using--until the treatment stops and it's safe to grow again. Treating continuously prevents those spores from germinating and ruining your hard-earned progress.
It takes about a year (actually, in most cases probably 6-9 months) for the nail to replace itself entirely, so you need to continue treating until there's no more fungus embedded in the nail (no, it's not a ploy of the big pharma companies to milk dollars out of you--I'm looking at you, Mr. Conspiracy Theorist). One thing to keep in mind about nail fungus is that sometimes even cured nails are still thick and deformed. This is because in more severe cases the cells that grow the nail material out (called the matrix) get shifted around and that, in turn, alters the way the nail grows out.
If you insist on nail polish, there are actually brands that include an antifungal in the polish. I haven't used a lot of it, but I know other doctors who like to recommend it to their patients. My personal opinion is that plain topical medicine is probably more effective than including antifungal in a nail polish, but I also don't wear nail polish... or have fungal toenails, so you can decide for yourself what route sounds most appealing.
Ultimately, if your toenails are embarrassing, usually there is something to be done about it. Try some of the at-home remedies and if they don't work, at least you gave it your best shot and now it's time to get some professional help (especially if you are that person with a foot fixation).
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