- We focus on what has worked for 10,000+ patients & medical research.
- The #1 goal is to keep costs LOW and treatment SIMPLE.
- Just remember this is for educational reference only.
- If you have a medical problem visit with your personal doctor.
- Please comment if any questions!
Toenail Pain [Toenail Fungus, Ingrown Toenails, Discolored Toenails]
Thick Yellow Toenails [Causes, Home Remedies & Best Treatments!]
Thick Yellow Toenails have a DEEP, DARK, SECRET! 90% of the time, the toenail is actually dead and must be trimmed out. Then a new healthy nail must grow!
Look:
- We will show you an animated diagnosis & treatment guide, photos, and the best FAST treatment options for toenail fungus.
- These are Simple & EASY options that we have seen success with.
- Also included is our Toenail Fungus Treatment Video Guide!
So, Let’s Get STARTED!
Table of Contents
Thick Yellow Toenails Home Remedies Video:
Thick Yellow Toenails Causes:
Toenail Fungus Picture Gallery:
This gallery shows different types of toenail fungus.
Look:
- The most common type is called subungual onychomycosis. This is when the toenail fungus gets underneath the toenail and lifts the nail.
- This can cause damage to the toenail bed, preventing future attachment of the toenail.
- It is also possible to get superficial white onychomycosis. This is the buildup of white superficial fungus on top of the toenail.
- If you just removed your toenail polish, this may not be fungus. It may be something called keratin granulations.
- This may not be fungus if you have white horizontal lines or white horizontal ridges on your toenails.
- It is also possible to get it throughout the entire nail, or the nail is destroyed and is dead.
- The good news is these are all very treatable!
So click on the photos for gallery mode & description!
Click on pictures for full size & descriptions:
Symptoms Of Thick Yellow Toenails:
The most common symptom is the nail becoming thickened and discolored, especially at the end of the toenail. Other symptoms include:
- Brittle toenails.
- Pieces breaking off or coming away underneath the nails.
- The skin around it becomes thick dry, and crusty.
- Scaly skin forms underneath the toenails.
Causes Of Thick Yellow Toenails?
If you have yellow toenails:** assume that you have toenail fungus!**
- Fungus under the toenails causes cross-linking of molecules called collagen.
- This cross-linking causes the toenail to become thick and yellow.
- The skin underneath the nail also becomes thick, hard, and calloused.
- New studies are showing toenail fungus is almost always the cause of thick yellow toenails.
- This is especially true if the nails have crumbly debris under them.
Quick Yellow Toenail Fungus Treatment Overview:
Do you want to skip ahead and heal your yellow toenail as fast as possible?
- Well, the key is to trim and file down all the dead and discolored toenails!
- YES, it is a DEAD toenail. It won’t grow back!
- The real secret to healing a dead yellow toenail is removing it and letting a new healthy toenail grow properly!
- Once you follow that #1 secret(Cutting it out), you can apply the following products!
How Did I Get Toenail Fungus?
Fungus usually enters underneath the toenail, where it replicates and begins to cause damage.** Foot fungus is always present before toenail fungus can occur!**
- Most people develop micro-trauma under the edges of the nail, which allows the fungus to enter.
- The fungus then begins to colonize underneath the nail plate itself.
- This causes a thick yellow callus to form underneath the toenail.
- This yellow callus is what causes the toenail to look yellow.
- It also causes the nail to become thicker because less moisture gets to the nail from the nail bed.
- Foot fungus is always needed before toenail fungus can occur!
Does Nail Polish Cause Thick Yellow Toenails?
**Toenail polish usually causes white chalky nails, not yellow toenails!**
- If you have white chalky toenails, consider keratin granulations.
- Keratin granulations are when the top of the nail plate becomes dehydrated.
- Toenail polish dehydrates the nail plate, causes the collagen molecules to become white and chalky.
Jump To The Keratin Granulation Treatment Guide.
Confirmation Of Toenail Fungus:
The only way to confirm toenail fungus for sure is to head to your podiatrist’s office, where they can before some tests. But these are usually not necessary!
- KOH smear: this is the fastest & most cost-effective test.
- PAS test: this is the most sensitive test.
- Fungal culture: this is the most specific test.
- PCR (Polymerase chain reaction): this is the most sensitive & specific but most expensive.
The bottom line is all of these tests are time-consuming & expensive. But after years of data, the bottom line is that thick yellow toenails are almost 100% due to toenail fungus.
- It is not essential to know exactly what fungus you have because the medications all work very well!
Home Yellow Toenail Treatment:
Remember that to treat your toenail fungus effectively. You first must be able to prevent fungus from attacking your feet first!
- This means protecting against fungus living on your skin!
Stage 1:Prevention Of Foot Fungus!
A) Get Breathable Shoes:
- Get shoes or sandals that ventilate the moisture!
- Tight & occlusive shoes are a major cause of foot fungus.
- Get shoes or sandals that breathe.
- The goal is to let moisture evaporate from your foot throughout the day.
- Without a tight occlusive shoe, the fungus cannot grow.
- This gives your body enough time to fight the infection off.
B) Get Synthetic Socks.
- Synthetic socks hold less water than cotton socks.
- Synthetic socks are shown to evaporate moisture easier.
- This will let your feet breathe more.
- This prevents the optimum environment for fungal growth.
- Try to avoid cotton socks.
C)Keep your foot web-spaces dry.
- Clean out your wet foot web spaces after showering!
- After you bathe or shower, make sure your web spaces are clean and dry.
- If you have swollen toes, try to dry out the web spaces regularly.
- Don’t put creams in between your toes!
- This will allow the fungus to proliferate.
D) Use anti-fungal powder or spray to prevent moisture buildup.
- Anti-fungal powder or antiperspirant works very well!
- There are medicated anti-fungal drying agents available.
- Do this if you cannot switch to open shoes or synthetic socks.
- This alone will most likely take care of your problem!
- Make sure to use it for at least 30 days for effectiveness.
Stage 2: Preparing Your Toenails Is Essential!
- Understand that the fungus is hiding under the nail, and the treatment agents must get underneath the toenail.
- So thinning the toenail and the skin allows these compounds to soak down underneath it.
Thinning your toenails makes treatment 25%+ more effective:
- Studies show that a thinner and shorter nail allows easier penetration.
- This increases healing rates by over 25%.
- It is essential to take down both the nail length and lightly scrape the nail from the top with a nail file over the entire surface.
- It also helps trim away dead thick skin around the toenails and scrape that off with a nail file or emery board.
Before you get started, get one of the following tools:
- Emery Board.
- Nail File.
- Pumice Stone
The toenail fungus can create a thick impenetrable layer of biofilm that prevents treatment agents from entering the nail bed.
- This lack of penetration under the nail plate is the #1 cause of treatment failure!
- So trim and thin your nails before the following treatments are tried!
Stage 3: Home Remedies To Kill Toenail Fungus!
A) Apple vinegar soaks for foot fungus:
Pros:
- + Easy to use method.
- +Very cheap and readily available at home.
- + 85% success rate.
Cons:
- – Can irritate the skin in some people.
- – It can get annoying to soak your feet every day.
The success rate can be 85%+ after 4 weeks of use!
Why Does It Work?
- A Michigan State University (MSU) study shows that Vinegar has anti-fungal properties.
- This study focused on fungal toenails, but skin fungus is much more superficial and easier to treat than toenail fungus.
- Apple Cider Vinegar provides an inhospitable acidic environment for the fungus.
- It is a fungicidal chemical. This means that it kills the fungus rather than just preventing its growth.
- It is widespread to hear people say they feel immediately better after using this for a short time!
Try This Treatment Now!
B) Vick’s Vapor Rub for foot fungus treatment:
Pros:
- + Easy to use method.
- +Very cheap and readily available at home.
- + High success rate, but perhaps not as potent as vinegar.
- +Less caustic(harmful) to the skin as vinegar.
Cons:
- – It can get all over your sheets.
Vick’s Vapor Rub has been shown to have potent anti-fungal properties!
Why Does It Work?
- A Spanish study indicates that the components of Vick’s Vapor rub are very anti-fungal.
- The Mayo Clinic, on the other hand, states that more treatment studies are necessary.
Vick’s Vapor Rub contains ingredients that have been independently proven to have anti-fungal properties in studies.
- Camphor (4.8%).
- Thymol (1.2%).
- Menthol (2.6%).
C) Listerine Treatment
Pros:
- + Easy to use method.
- + Less caustic(harmful) to the skin as vinegar.
Cons:
- – It can get expensive for constant use.
- – It is a hassle to be dipping your feet every day.
Why Does It Work?
Listerine contains many of the same anti-fungal ingredients as found above.
- Camphor.
- Thymol.
- Menthol.
D) Tea Tree Oil Foot Soak.
The majority of the articles focus on treating athlete’s feet (Tinea Pedis) and other superficial skin fungus infections such as the scalp and ringworm.
- One study found 100% tea tree oil effective against nail fungus in killing toenail fungus.
- The study also compared it to topical medical treatment (clomitrazole) ineffectiveness.
- A follow-up study found that tea tree oil was less effective than medications at lower concentrations.
- This lower concentration still did kill some nail fungus, but less effectively.
- Since athlete’s foot fungus is more superficial, it should be more effective than toenail fungus!
Toenail Fungus (Onychomycosis) Treatment & Cure Infographic:
Toenail Fungus Home Treatment:
- These are our favorite products to treat toenail fungus at home.
- It is difficult to properly diagnose any health problem such as toenail fungus with 100% certainty. So see your podiatrist and make sure you are not missing anything!
- Also, many of these products are considered beauty products more so than health products. Just be aware that they are not always FDA evaluated or approved in any way.
How to fix toenail fungus:
- There are many different types of toenail damage.
- In our experience, about easily 50% or more is related to toenail fungus.
- The key to toenail fungus is to trim it as much as possible and file that nail down vertically and length-wise.
- If you can do that, you have to make sure you can kill fungus the rest of the way with creams and topical medication.
- The best way to do that is to soak exfoliate the affected toenail skin. So, foot soaks can be a strong anti-fungus solution.
- At the same time, you have to apply anti-fungal medication such as these medications evaluated here or the toenail repair pens.
Recommended foot fungus products:
- It is also vital to fix your foot fungus.
- Athlete’s feet can be beneficial to remove from the foot because if left unchecked, they can quickly spread back to the toenails even if they are fixed.
- Even if you cure your toenail fungus, keep your toenails trimmed in healthy: your foot fungus can spread back into toenails.
- So make sure you treat your foot fungus, as well as your toenail fungus.
Best Toenail Fungus Clippers & Files:
- You have to be careful using at home, and definitely be safe and don’t use these if you have dangerous health conditions.
- It is important to see a podiatrist for foot evaluation and care if you have continued health care issues or problems with your feet.
- These are some great value heavy-duty clippers and sets.
- The key is to cut straight across and file the nail down from the top to keep it from impinging in the corners.
- It is also important to make sure all dead, dry skin is removed surrounding the foot.
- This is where you should really see your podiatrist if you have any concerns or are worried about cutting or hurting yourself.
- This is something covered, so don’t take chances with your health!
Best Toenail Fungus Polish and Remover:
- There is some great toenail fungus polish options and polish removal options.
- There are no acetone-based toenail polish removers, they don’t dry as quickly, but they are less like a dehydrator toenail.
- This also applies to your fingernails and hands.
- The benefits of using these non-toxic toenail polishes are that they are filled with non-fungal options such as tea tree oil, preventing toenail fungus.
- These can also work well for the fingernails.
- So great combo is to use one of these healthier toenail paint options, as well as a non-acetone-based toenail polish remover.
Best Shoes For Toenail Injuries:
- The key to prevent toenail ripping and lifting is to have good supportive shoes.
- If you have a good supportive shoe that keeps pressure off your toes in your toenails, there will be no lifting and cracking to allow bacteria and fungus to get in.
- This almost seems counter-intuitive, but when people make a switch to perfect supportive shoes that fit properly, their toenail problems almost always get better over the next few months or a year.
- Your current nail is already likely destroyed, especially with joggers toe, but let the new nail growing healthy without new damage.
- Click the following link for our most recommended shoes. Try to focus on shoes with mesh and room around the big toe and also the smaller toes.
Best Antifungal Moisture Wicking Socks:
- These are some great options for moisture-wicking sucks.
- The more you can wick moisture from your foot, the less chance there is that toenail fungus, and athlete’s foot can survive.
- We tried to focus on budget value stocks that are not too expensive.
- Sure there are better stocks out there, but these are great socks for a great price for most people.
- If you have diabetes, focus on getting yourself some diabetic socks.
Best woman’s antifungal socks:
Best men’s antifungal socks:
Toenail Pain [Toenail Fungus, Ingrown Toenails, Discolored Toenails]