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Getting Rid of Toenail Fungus

Can I treat it myself?
Toenail fungus is a particularly difficult infection to cure. The only thing you can do on your own is to cut down and file the nail involved. The less nail there is, the less infection. Still, this is only effective when combined with other treatments from a doctor or a podiatrist.

What else can I do?
Over the counter anti-fungal compounds are fine for skin infections and vaginal yeast, but won't do any good for nails. Oral prescription medication needs to be taken for one to two years to get rid of the problem. Even then, it may still come back!

Sometimes, removing or debriding the nails involved is the best and quickest solution. If nail thickening and the cosmetic aspects of the infection bother you most, then debriding works well. Debriding is the filing off the thickened parts of the nail. It is usually done by a podiatrist. It may have to be repeated periodically.

Removal is permanent and is reserved for those whose toenails are painful from the infection. There's no harm to being without toenails. The skin that grows over where the nailbed was is thickened. You can easily disguise the lack of nails with nail polish.

REFERENCES
a listing of scientific articles and texts used.

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