Shockingly Effective Nail Fungus Treatments That Get Rid of Your Fungus By Summer (Found Online)

After years of trying nail fungus treatments, I realized there are only a few treatments out on the market that actually work.

Utilizing the effectiveness of natural remedies to clear up nails combined with OTC creams to eliminate fungus proved to work for my dad and me.

Later in this article, we will discuss what exactly my dad and I used to get rid of our toenail fungus for good!

The Best Products for Toenail and Foot Fungus 2018

1. Funginix Maximum Strength (Most Effective)

This is one of those products that are extremely effective and consistent in the treatment of nail fungus. Funginix did a great job by coming out with a MAXIMUM STRENGTH product that can kill the most stubborn fungus. It utilizes a powerful combination of undecylenic acid and essential oils.

This product is for people with milder to severe nail fungal infections.

This product made the #1 spot due to the fact it took care of my friend’s fungus who had one of the most severe fungal infections I’ve ever seen. His nails were curling upwards, yellow, brittle, and scary to look at.

In addition, the science and studies that back the compounds used in this product is amazing.

About the product:

As aforementioned, this product uses FDA-approved undecylenic acid and organic essential oils such as lavender oil, tea tree leaf oil, and jasmine oil.

The essential oils are great for defeating fungus but let us focus on what makes this product unique and superior to others which are undecylenic acid.

Undecylenic acid has been scientifically proven to be one of the most cost-effective and potent compounds in killing the fungus. It works by killing the fungus and then preventing any further growth of the nail fungus.

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A 2008 study published in a peer-reviewed journal by Foot & Ankle Specialist found in the 154 patient study, undecylenic acid, the active ingredient in Funginix, eradicated fungus in 100% of patients with mild fungal infections.

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So not only is Funginix powerful but its also easy to use and quick to apply. It comes with an applicator brush which will allow you to apply the product in just minutes. Results tend to come within two weeks of using.

The only problem I had with this product is that it comes in a 30 ml/1 oz. bottle which can run out kind of quickly if you have a severe infection. But knowing that this product is clinically proven to work makes it worth it and was justification for me to continue using it.

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2. Zane Hellas (Best Value)

This is one of my favorite products that I’ve used consistently to get rid of fungus for good. The best part of this product is that it gives you the most BANG for your BUCK!

Personally, this is the one product I recommend for anyone struggling with nail fungus because it works. I’ve tried the at-home remedies, prescriptions, and other OTC products like sprays and this is the “silver bullet” I was looking for.

A few of my nails were completely engulfed by fungus and my entire nails were yellow and white. Within a few weeks, my nails were healthier-looking with the fungus gone.

For more about this specific product, I wrote a comprehensive review and found some surprising results.

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Now, let us get into the product:

Zane Hellas Fungus Stop is a natural blend of ingredients which includes carvacrol, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E.

Busy people will love the easy to use applicator since it comes with a brush to apply the formula on to your toenails and only requires to be put on twice a day.

Those who want to try a more holistic and natural approach will love the natural blend of ingredients such as Oregano and Avocado Oil.

This particular blend of natural essential oils and vitamins works great for more moderate to severe cases of toenail fungal infections.

The organic blend of essential oils will penetrate the nails and get rid of the stubborn fungus under the nails. Nonetheless, it will still work great on smaller infections which is great if you are trying to get nice nails ASAP.

One thing I have noticed with the blend is that it has a very unique and herbal smell but since this is mostly applied early in the morning and at night it is not a large oversight.

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3. Purely Northwest’s Anti-fungal Tea Tree Oil Wash (Great for Athlete’s Foot)

Purely Northwest’s Anti-Fungal Tea Tree Oil Wash has an earthy and herbal scent to it. It produces a nice amount of bubbles which is good for lathering.

If you have athlete’s feet or toenail fungus, you will love this product. The tea tree oil has natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties that kill fungus quickly.

This product also soothe the itchiness attributed to fungal infections.

Dead, dry skin on the bottoms of your feet will be blasted off if you combine this soap with a pumice stone which will scrub away all the dead skin to give you revitalized feet.

Did I mention that it can be used on your entire body?

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4. Purely Northwest’s Tea Tree Oil Foot Soak

The same company that created an awesome anti-fungal wash also made an amazing foot soak.

This foot soak combines Epsom salts, Australian tea tree oil, and other essential oils to construct a rejuvenating blend.

For people looking to relax and unwind while taking care of their toe fungus then this is the product for you.

If you are a busy person you may want to opt for an alternative since these soaks will have to be performed at least once daily to be effective and take about 10-15 minutes.

These soaks will soften fungus-infected nails making them easier to clip and also soften the skin making it easier for removal.

A foot soak with antibacterial properties is great because it can reach places you might not be able to with ointments or oils.

Be sure to rehydrate your skin with an anti-fungal lotion after using this product to ensure your results will be maximized.

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5. Tolnaftate Ointment (Effective for Athlete’s Foot)

• Comes in pack of 6
• Comparable to Tinactin
• Relieves itching
• Can be used on other fungal infections like jock itch.

One of the best things is that this ointment comes in packs of 6 which allows more than enough to cure toenail fungus and save some for future use.

Some report not seeing any results from using this product while others claim great success. I have seen success with it personally, so I recommend it but it is a gamble for some.

To be 100% transparent not everyone sees results with this. But that should not discourage you from trying. It is like trying to find a face wash that works with your skin type.

Also, the plastic tubing also allows you to get every ounce of the product out before having to discard it once it runs out.

If you have tried prescription ointments or other OTC creams, you will want to give this one a try before calling it quits. This ointment can outperform some of the stuff the doctor prescribes.

This is a great alternative to name brands that you pick up in your local drugstore.

If you feel like you have tried numerous OTC products with no avail, then try this one. I find it much better than a lot of its other ointments and sprays counterparts.

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* BONUS PRODUCTS! *

Biotin for Toenail Fungus (Grows Nails Faster)

• Promotes nail and skin growth
• Can fix nail abnormalities
• Contains organic cold-pressed coconut oil

I think we can all agree on the importance of taking vitamins to assist your body in healing.

Biotin is fantastic for toenail fungus not because it prevents fungus but it helps grow healthier hair, nails, and skin.

With your toenails only growing 1.6 mm a month, you’re going to want all the help you can get.

This particular brand is the one I use which I prefer because it has organic cold-pressed coconut oil. Also, the pills are super small and really easy to swallow.

If you have nail abnormalities, Livestrong.com suggests that it could mean you “have a Biotin deficiency”.

In addition, the faster your nails can grow while you are treating them, the faster that you can replace the fungus infected nails.

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Foot Powder

• Keeps feet dry
• Reduces smell
• Easy-to-use

One huge factor of getting rid of fungus on your feet or toes is the amount of humidity you subject your feet to.

The humidity inside your shoes is a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus.

A solution to this can be utilizing foot powder.

This is great for people who have feet that are typically sweaty and smelly.

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The Causes of Toenail Fungus

Do you have yellow and discolored toenails?  If so then there are a few different reasons on to why that is occurring.

One of the most common causes of yellow toenails is Onychomycosis.  Which is the scientific medical term for toenail fungus.  Approximately 15% of the world population has it – so, don’t worry you are not alone here.

As we get older, we are more susceptible to getting a nail fungal infection because of poor circulation.  Also, men are at an increased risk than females.

The most typical fungi that infect nails are called dermatophytes and candida.

Candida prefers more tropical, hot and humid environments while dermatophytes prefer colder climates.

Some of the leading factors to toenail fungus are:

•      Being infected with athlete’s foot

•      Living in a hot and humid climate

•      Wearing shoes that are not well-ventilated

•     Being barefoot in damp public places like pools or public showers

•     Wearing socks that do not absorb sweat

•     Poor blood circulation

•     Diabetes

•     Weakened immune system

How Fungus Impacts Health

Usually when you have a toenail fungus infection you won’t feel any real pain or discomfort.

However, if left untreated the fungus can transform into a severe infection which can cause pain and discomfort in the nail bed and when trimming nails.  The nail bed could become inflamed and sore if left alone.

Eventually, the nail will become completely discolored and then begin to get thicker.

The thickness begins to accumulate and then the nail becomes brittle and starts to crumble away.  It can erode your entire toenail which will likely increase your chances of more infections and toe injuries.

In some cases, the skin surrounding the nail also becomes dry and flaky and begins to emit and odor if left untreated.

The aforementioned side effects sound minor but it can also create psychological damage as well.

This is because of the appearance of a toenail complete taken over by fungus.  The fungus could spread to fingernails which cannot be easily concealed like the toes.

People with gross and infected nails tend to be less social and outgoing in situations.  I can personally attest to this.  There is nothing worse than not being able to enjoy your summer or hot tub because of the doubt surrounding your toes.

My Story – The Initial Diagnosis

The image on the right is what my feet and toes look liked after years of neglecting the fungus.  My skin on my feet was super dry, cracked and thick in some areas.  My nails were extremely crumbly, discolored and some were even thicker than others.  Not only did they look bad but they also smelled terrible.

I will never forget I went to the pool and was swimming all day at a friend’s house.  I got out to dry off and his dog approached me.  The dog started smelling my feet and sticking his nose in between my feet!  At first, I didn’t know what it was doing until I realized it was smelling in between my toes where the fungus resided.  I couldn’t believe it.

How I got Athlete’s Foot

It all started out my first year of high school football.  My feet were super itchy and I was told I had athlete’s feet.  The itch didn’t really bother me so I did not do anything about it and let it be.  I really regretted that.

After 6 years of not treating them and being embarrassed to take off my shoes, I decided to go see my doctor.  He looked at them for about 2 seconds and said: “Yep you have athlete’s foot”.  After waiting an hour for that 5-second diagnosis, I was more than mad.  But, he did write me a prescription for clortizamole cream.  I was prescribed 3 tubes which were not near enough to tackle the severity of my infection.  I asked for more and only got 2 more tubes.  While I saw progress, it wasn’t enough to get rid of it.  Then the fungus came back even stronger…

This was terrible timing because I was now transitioning to a new house near the beach.  I made friends but all of my friends love swimming and going out on the beach to hang out.  I want to go and even when I do, I leave my shoes on because my nails are disgusting.  I hate it when people questioned, “Why are you wearing your shoes?”  Or “Why do you always wear socks?”.  When I was moving in, I completely ignored my fungus for a few months.  It came back even worse.

After these trials and tribulations of foot fungus, I decided to do an unorthodox type of treatment for my toenail fungus.  So, a few months ago I tried treating my fungus in a different way.  In ways, doctors and podiatrists probably wouldn’t agree with.  I’ll discuss what I did later in this article.

Other Treatment Methods

There is a lot of different treatments for toenail fungus that are circulating the internet.  Pages just like mine.  But what the other guys won’t tell you is stuff that will actually save you money and WORK!

Laser Treatments

One of the newest types of treatment methods on the market for toenail fungus is laser treatment.  Laser treatments use lasers to heat up the nail matrix and nail bed to about 140°F (60°C), to kill the fungus.

Before treatment, your podiatrist may require you to use a urea cream to soften the nail, to increase efficiency of the lasers.  Your doctor may also trim your nails and grind them down to ensure the lasers reach the fungus.

Laser treatment is still not 100% effective but it doesn’t yield the harmful side effects of oral medication. Laser treatment won’t ruin your liver like prescription medications.

Sadly, one laser treatment costs around $800-$1,000 and is typically not covered by insurance.  Also, depending on the severity of your fungal infection, it could take more than just a  few sessions. This money will have to come out of your own pocket if insurance does not cover it.

Even though the lasers are designed to kill the fungus, you still will have to wait for the new nail to grow back which can take anywhere from 5-6 months.  In the meantime, the fungus has a chance of your toenail becoming reinfected from coming into contact with shoes or showers that still are carrying the fungi.

Lastly, this treatment type does not hold any serious side effects but can be painful.  People report of having to take breaks while getting their toes zapped.  Additionally, the pain reported is similar to the “zingers” received during laser teeth whitening.  It is not a walk in the park so it is advised to take some sort of pain killer 30 minutes prior to your treatment.  Consult with a doctor first though.

Prescription Medications

Oral medications used to be a popular treatment option for toenail fungus.  Unfortunately, the misconception with these is that they are the “silver bullet” for nail fungus but that is not the case. On top of that, these medications are very rough on your liver due to their potency.

Additional side effects include headaches, other skin irritations and stomach aches.  Since they are so exhausting on the liver, blood tests are required before, during and after your cycle of medication.

These types of oral prescriptions are prescribed by your doctor.  They are prescribed anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months depending if you are taking daily or weekly tablets.  The liver function test will most likely have to be done to ensure no damage has been done after your course of medicine is completed.

WARNING:  Do not drink any type of alcohol if you’re taking anti fungal oral medication.  Your liver has enough to process with the prescription medication, adding alcohol to the equation can be extremely damaging to your liver and possibly even fatal.  If you drink alcohol, we advise a different type of treatment option.

Home Remedies

During the 6 years of nail fungus, I tried a lot of different home remedies.

I tried the Vick’s Vapor rub, vinegar soaks, and bleach soaks. I saw some changes in the fungus on my feet but not on my toes.

This doesn’t mean that at-home remedies do not work.  It simply means that it didn’t work for me.  Some people have success with at-home treatments, I just wasn’t one of them.

Read more about at-home treatments for nail fungus infections.

Natural Treatments

Over the past decade, natural treatments have become increasingly popular in treating ailments.  Since they are natural they typically do not have any side effects attributed to them.

People are very fond of them because they can be performed at home on their own time.  When people think of organic treatments, they tend to think it will take longer.

But in some cases of nail fungus, natural treatments worked quicker than it’s competitors.

One of the most common ways people use natural treatments is applying essential oils directly to the infected area.

Some of the well-known oils are tea tree oil, manuka oil, and coconut oil.  These oils have anti-fungal properties and eliminate fungus very quickly and naturally.

Find out more about natural remedies for toenail fungus.

OTC Treatments

Topical creams, sprays and gels are cost effective and easy to use.  They are also performed at home, which allows the user to apply them when it’s convenient. Use them daily, multiple times a day to see the best results.

OTC creams are much cheaper than oral medication or laser treatments and also do not carry any extreme side effects.  Creams soften the nail and break down the ugly parts of your toenail.  This allows for one to be able see results rather quickly.

Opposed to laser treatment that just kills the fungus and then you wait for the nail to grow back to see if the treatment was successful or not.

Topical treatments are the best type of treatment when you consider effectiveness and the cost of the treatment.  If you use topical treatments for 6 months without any improvement, then seeing a doctor and trying some more extreme treatments such as the laser procedure should be considered.

Fungus could penetrate the nail bed and matrix so a laser procedure accompanied with a topical cream could clear up the fungi.

One thing I want to emphasis is that in order for these treatments to work, you need to be persistent.  Do not miss a single day.  It is worth the effort because a few weeks will pass and you will see major improvement.

I’ve personally experienced the power of OTC creams and natural remedies with myself and my dad.  We both suffered and now I want to provide others with value and information of toenail fungus because I know how terrible it is to live with it.

Ultimate Nail Fungus Treatment – Not for Everyone

No, the two treatments I outline aren’t for everyone.  Although the treatments are simple they are not easy.

The concept of applying something to your toenails twice a day for a few months is simple.  It is not easy, but it is simple.

Mainly because it requires consistency.  No one wants to take 10 minutes out of there day for something they aren’t seeing instant results.

Here is what typically happens.  A person buys the treatment and tries it for a few weeks and sees little change in his nails.  Don’t worry, I was like that too.  But I realized something after having my toenail fungus for over 6 years.

I realized that if I wanted to see a change in my nails that I was going to have to wait.  The fungus under your nails takes so long to cure because toenails grow so slow.  On average a toenail grows 1.6 mm per month.  This is dependent on a few factors such as age and physical activity.

Practice patience with the treatments below.  Even though my dad and I may have seen results faster does not mean that we did anything different.  It just means that we either were more active or just had a less extreme case of fungus(which I highly doubt).

What You Will Need

When I had toenail fungus, I realized that I was going to need all the help I could get.  This was WAR,  I was going to have to make use of all the tools at my disposal and use them daily.

So, I went out bought a lot of different tools and ended up using only a few.  I don’t want you to waste your money on unnecessary items, so I refined the list to only the tools that helped me cure my nail fungus.

Toenail Clippers – Obvious but you would be surprised the people I talk to who had toenail fungus but not the proper clippers.  Also, use them correctly when trimming the nails.  Be sure to cut them as far back as possible to stimulate growth and to allow the oils and creams to get to the fungus.  If you are unsure on how to properly cut your toenails, I wrote an article that will help.

Cuticle Pusher – For the longest time, I had no idea what this was called.  But I used it to scrape away the fungus and crumbling nail.  I had sections of my nails that were thick. I used the cuticle pusher to remove some of the mass of the nail.

Nail File – A nail file is essential to rough up the nail.  This allows for the oils and creams of your treatment to get to the fungus.

Pumice Stone – This is not required but helpful if you also have fungus on the soles of your feet.  I know my fungus caused for dry and thick skin on certain spots.  This is great to get scrub off the dead skin and get healthy looking feet.

Recommended Products for Toenail Fungus

I’ve also heard of manuka oil which is supposedly more powerful than tea tree oil.  I have not personally used manuka oil but the reviews on it are amazing.  With people saying so many great things about it, I thought it was good enough to put on the list.  I wrote an article about natural remedies for toenail fungus if you are interested in reading more.  Also, if you click the link to manuka oil, you can read some of the reviews people have left on it.  See for yourself what people have been saying, many are claiming it is a miracle for their toenail fungus.

Anti-fungal Foot Lotion – The thing about fungus is that it tends to dry out your feet.  I was using cocoa butter which was great for keeping my feet moisturized but I needed something with anti-fungal properties.  This product is especially great for ensuring the fungus does not come back.  It’s like buying a little insurance on toenail fungus.  The consistency of this similar to a balm.  It is also organic, so what you’re putting on your skin is extremely beneficial and powerful.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that no one is going to treat your fungus for you.  Not me, not your parents, not your neighbors.  It is up to YOU.

Are you an action taker or someone who lets life control you?  Be an action taker.  Nail fungus has controlled enough of your life.

I know how it feels to decline invitations to the beach, leaving your socks on constantly, and just feeling terrible about your feet. I can’t count how many lake days/beach days/pool day I’ve declined over the past 6 years.

All I know now is that I’m glad I took action.  It did take time but it was worth it.  I remember as a kid not being ashamed of my toes but just a few years ago you couldn’t get me to take my socks off in front of my girlfriend.

The thing with toenail fungus is that it does not get better on its own.  Pushing off curing it only allows the fungus to get stronger and spread more.  Not treating it today only increases the difficulty of treating it tomorrow.  If you don’t start treating it now, you will live with it for the rest of your life.

So, are you going to live with toenail fungus for the rest of your life?  Or are you going to take action today?