I AM NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR NOR MEDICALLY TRAINED IN ANY WAY. PLEASE USE YOUR WEB BROWSER TO PRINT OFF THIS PAGE FOR CONSULTATION WITH YOUR LICENSED HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER. THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY! DO NOT TAKE ANY SUPPLEMENTS WITH OUT EXPRESS CONSENT FROM YOUR DOCTOR.

Nail Fungus

Fungus facts: The world population is about six billion people. One quarter of these are afflicted with nail fungus. This totals one point five billion people worldwide. In the United States there are approximately seventy-seven million people who have nail fungus. The official name of nail fungus is Onychomycosis.

All immune compromised patients are more susceptible to nail fungus such as HIV, Thyroid, Diabetes I and II, cancer and others.  If a patient is immune compromised and has finger-nail-fungus, they must be very careful with their hands. Do not use your fingers to itch your ears, or other body parts that are warm and dark. Ear scratching can spread the fungus from the ear to the brain! I was given this warning by our Chinese doctor. I then asked our Oncologist, he confirmed this information. (Why I was never warned of this danger eight months earlier when the fungus started, I do not know. I would have been more far more proactive from the beginning if I had known this very key information!)   

Liver Disease and Nail Fungus

“Liver cirrhosis, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV) virus infections are known to be associated with different skin disorders. Nail changes are additional important criteria, which would help in identification of these systemic diseases.” Two groups of patients were studied, those with liver problems and those without. It was found that 68% of the patients who had cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis C and hepatitis B, had nail abnormalities. “Conclusion Nail changes are observed with not only liver cirrhosis but also with HCV and HBV infection, and this will add additional clinical criteria for general practitioners and dermatologists to help them with diagnosis of these common systemic infections.”

I found this interesting as Kayla’s (my daughter) has had elevated liver enzymes for months preceding the spread of her nail fungus to eight of her nails. Any patients who has nail fungus should also (to be on the safe side) get a blood panel done, which includes the liver enzymes. This is important to know before medical treatment with anti-fungal medication that is taken orally as these are liver toxic!

Community Showers

Per several studies a common place to catch toenail fungus is in community showers. A preventive measure would be to wear Crock plastic shoes in the shower so that your toes never touch the water that is sitting on the floor of the shower.

Signs of fungus

Dark spots or slight discoloration of the nail is an indicator of a fungal infection. When I say discoloration I mean a yellowish to orange tinge on the the nail. This can also be a brown color. Brittle, ragged nails are also an indicator to watch for. The end of the nail can become thicker with ridges in the nail bed. These can be painless or become, over time, sensitive to pressure and painful. My daughter’s nails started to lift from the nail bed with a layer of white stuff underneath the nail.

Toenails are much more likely to become infected with fungus because they are kept in a dark warm place.

Treatment

I went through many pages of medical studies for nail fungus and treatment. Most of these written only address medications taken orally. We did not want to do this type of treatment because these medication are known to be toxic to the liver. In many of the studies, even when these were used, the nail fungus eventually returned. Based upon this information it is my opinion that a person would have to address this problem with nutrition as well as medical intervention and home remedies.

Recent break-through

Recently I met a medical doctor through Face Book.  He said he watched some of my videos on You Tube and wanted to tell me about his invention called Piggy Paste. He also gave me permission to print some of his information here on my site.  This sounds very promising and worth trying.

The Story of Piggy-Paste

Several years ago I read in a medical journal that you could soak toenails in a white vinegar and water solution for five minutes daily for four months to treat toenail fungus. Unfortunately because of the pace of our society, even in central Illinois, patients found this recommendation too time consuming and messy to keep it up.

So in 2007 I asked one of the local compounder pharmacists if he could take the vinegar and put it in a penetrating gel so that the compliance of daily application could be enhanced. He told me that all of the compounds in his pharmacy were from a book but that this was close to Italian dressing and that we certainly wouldn’t hurt anybody. In three weeks he sent me 20 tubes with the name “Dr. Paul’s Piggy Paste gel” which I thought was a wonderful name. Over the next year I had patients apply the product to their affected toenails. I thought the bandage was a good idea to keep the product in contact with the nail so that socks or hose wouldn’t inhibit the absorption.

I had 110 patients try the product, and 81 said that with daily application it completely cleared their toenails of the unwanted thickness in less than three months.

I knew the product was successful when a 75-year-old woman who had the thickness for eight years wanted to know how she could get more of the Piggy Paste gel for her two sisters. After having this data, I spoke to local pharmacies who agreed that the topical over-the-counter products they were selling didn’t work and at that point were willing to sell a successful product at their stores. I make no claims that the product is anti-fungal or treats toenail fungus, but its success is based on the results of satisfied users of the product.

For more information, testimonials and where to purchase this product go to http://www.piggypaste.com

Here is the email that Dr. Paul sent me.  I thought it appropriate to put here because of what he says. “Ms. Witter I am not that facebook or computer savy but if my website  or piggy paste can help someone you know  link it up. The story behind piggy paste is on the site and the piggy paste gel just improves the compliance and ease to use the soaking regimin you described which could be cumbersome  in our busy lives. The videos are worth a look and they are why Shark Tank is currently evaluating my buisness to be on ABC. 20% of my customers are atheletes and 80% are over 60. I’ve sold 60 tubes at the premiere Running shoe store in Peoria Illinois since April. I am going to Fort Lauderdale to a geriatrics conference this week so maybe I can make some contacts so I can be retail in Florida. Thanks for placing your you tube article on line.    Dr Paul”

Vitamins

Iron deficiency anemia may make the tongue look pale and smooth. Pernicious anemia, which is caused by a deficiency of vitamin B12, may also make the tongue look pale and smooth. A smooth red tongue and painful mouth may indicate pellagra, a type of malnutrition caused by a deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet. [2] (This sounds out of order here but bear with me. The information about B vitamins is important and expounded upon in the next paragraph.)

Oral Antibiotics have brought on hemorrhages and multiple B-vitamin deficiencies by destroying valuable intestinal bacteria, which synthesize vitamin K and B vitamins. [3,4] The fungus monilia albicans then frequently develops and may grow not only in the intestines but also in the vagina, lungs, mouth (causing thrush), or on the fingers and under the fingernails; sometimes it induces ulcers in the colon, or large intestine, [5] but severe itching around the anus is generally its most annoying symptom. Although such an infection frequently continues for years, it can be prevented or corrected by unusually large amounts of the B vitamins; and often disappears from the intestine in a few days after bacteria (the good type) have been supplied by taking yogurt or acidophilus milk or culture. Such fungus infestations occur without antibiotics if the intake of B vitamins is low.

“When the diets have been grossly inadequate, large amounts of B Vitamins must beobtained for a prolonged period before some fungus infestations, like those around the fingernails, clear up.” [6]

This is interesting to note, because Kayla has not been able to take B vitamins during her leukemia treatment, which has been ongoing for 29 months.

In dozens of experiments men and women volunteers have remained on diets lacking one or another of the B vitamins, quickly became fatigued, depressed, forgetful, irritable, quarrelsome, apathetic, confused, restless, anxious, and uncooperative; they neglected their work and appearance, became intolerant of details and noise, and suffered from insomnia, nervousness, paranoid tendencies, and hypochondriasis, all of which were relieved soon after the vitamin was given. [7 – 11]

Check with your doctor if you are undergoing treatment before taking vitamins! There are five basic vitamins that we all need: Vitamin A, B complex, C, D, E and a multi-mineral. These are the basics to good health. B complex is made up of 8 essential B vitamins that need to be taken in ratio with each other. Here is a definition of Essential as used in this context. Essential: “An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that can not be synthesized by the body.” Taken from Science Daily.

Treatment Options for Nail Fungus

My personal recommendation would be to clean up your diet, i.e., do not eat food that feeds fungus, which are as follows: pasta, (it turns into sugar in the digestive tract), sugar, soda, wheat products (also turn into sugar when digested). Use good-home-cooked- meals and foods that are in their natural state when cooked.

Get yourself some Egg White protein powder and make yourself a shake twice a day. Include in the shake natural sweeteners such as Guava, Xylitol, Stevia, etc. Your going to need to include Coconut oil in your drink as Coconut has caprylic acid in it that helps to kill fungus. The human body requires protein. It is my opinion that the amounts required are higher than is realized, these cannot be met with food alone. If a patient is ill/undergoing treatment, it would be wise to have protein shakes. Egg whites, per a medical doctor, are the easiest for the body to absorb and use.

Purchase a multi-vitamin supplement, B complex 50, Vitamin C and a multi-mineral. Take all of these every day with your protein shake. If your life is very stressful you can take your B complex with a vitamin C twice a day. Remember that Vitamin C and Vitamin B are water soluable, therefore less likely to cause toxicity at these doses.

Purchase white Iodine through your local drug store. Soak your fingers or toes twice a day in a mixture made up of three cups of water and several capfuls of the white iodine.  You will have to test the strength of the iodine to see what ratio works for you. Add two tablespoons of Baking Soda. Heat the water so that it is warm to the touch. Soak for ten minutes. Thoroughly dry your nails and clip them down. Soaking helps to soften the nail for this. Per our doctor the fungus grows under the nail so keeping them shorter helps to keep the breeding ground lessened. Keep your nail clippers away from other family members, sterilize after each use.

Apply Nail-tek to each afflicted nail. This routine is done every morning and evening. After the Nail Tek has dried we also apply Lamisil, an over the counter anti-fungal that you can purchase at any Drug Store. EVERY TIME YOU WASH YOUR HANDS, DRY THOROUGHLY AND REAPPLY THE LAMISIL. OTHERWISE THE WATER BECOMES A BREEDING GROUND FOR THE FUNGUS TO GROW.

Which ever method you choose, the trick is to stay consistent for many months. You can try different products but must allow time for them to work. I have heard that it takes four months for a B complex deficiency to correct. Finger nail fungus can take a year and toe nails two years to eradicate.

There are several other antifungal products on the market. I am giving you a link here to a site that has people write in what worked for them. http://www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/cat_id_~10/id_~4934/forum_id_~201

Based on many medical reports on this subject, there are many different types of fungus that can lead to nail fungus infections. This is why there are so many different topical creams and alternatives available. Because of this it is my opinion that this problem should be attacked internally (diet, see Internal Fungus Page for more information) as well as externally.

Laser

In Germany there has been recent success with the use of dematologic laser therapy with nail fungus. When I say recent I mean April 2010. Here is the quote: “There have been improvements in the therapy of vascular lesions, especially the use of longer, infrared wavelengths. In addition, there is early information on experimental therapeutic approaches for diseases normally not amenable to laser therapy such as onychomycosis (nail fungus infections) , hemorrhoids and allergic rhinitis. [12]

Ultra-Violet-C aka UV-C

Post Script: Although we have used all of the above, Kayla’s infection would temporarily improve. Then get worse. Four days ago Kayla asked if I would call the doctors to have surgery on her nails to remove the infection. That is how much this has become a major annoyance. I did more research and met a light engineer who told me about Ultra-violet light C. He said it has been used on wounds and fungus. “CONCLUSIONS: UVC irradiation may be a less invasive treatment option for onychomycosis, when the appropriate consideration is given to safety.” [13]Warning: THERE ARE MANY SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR USING THIS TECHNOLOGY.USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

We purchased a small hand held unit for the UV-C and use it for 3 minutes a day. By the second day the pain was reduced. We are still using the white Iodine, Baking Soda and water mixture in the morning and evening, plus Lamisil and Nail-Tek. It will take time to know if the UV-C gets rid of the fungus. Here is a link for further technical information on this subject:http://www.biomation.com/wound/wound_ultraviolet.htm

This link has a person describing their experience in using UV-C for their nail fungus. http://www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/cat_id_~10/id_~23276/forum_id_~201

Post-script: Kayla finished her cancer treatment May 2010.  After being off of chemotherapy her nails have completely healed.  Overall Kayla is doing very well and we celebrate living life.

References:

1. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2009 Nov 2. [Epub ahead of print] Nail changes in patients with liver disease. Salem A, Gamil H, Hamed M, Galal S.Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.

2. Merck Manual Tongue Disorders http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec08/ch110/ch110c.html Internet April 2010.

3. Sumnar,L.,J.Tubercal. 30, 62, 1949

4. Sarett, H. P., J. Nut. 47,273, 1952

5. Harris, H. J., J. Am. Med. Assn. 142,161, 1950

6. Davis, Adelle, Let’s Get Well p. 33

7. Williams, R.D., et al., Proc. Staff Meet. Mayo Clin. 14 787, 1939

8. Egana, E., et al., Am. J. Physiol. 137, 731, 1942

9. Elsom, R., et al, Am. J. Med. Sci. 200, 757, 1940

10. Williamsm R. R., et al., Arch. Int. Med. 66, 785, 1940; 69, 721, 1942

11. Brozek, J., et al., Psychosomatic Med. 8,98,1946

12. Hautarzt. 2010 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print] [Innovations in dermatologic laser therapy.] Hohenleutner U. Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, 93042, Regensburg, Deutschland

13. Br J Dermatol. 2008 Jun;158(6):1239-46. Epub 2008 Apr 10. Ultraviolet C inactivation of dermatophytes: implications for treatment of onychomycosis. Dai T, Tegos GP, Rolz-Cruz G, Cumbe WE, Hamblin MR.