I have had toe nail infections for a long time. Both the Navy docs and civilian medical "practitioners" have prescribed strong anti-fungals. The drawbacks to these pills were two-fold: They are incredibly toxic to our livers and in my case could not kill all the fungus (fungi?) dead enough not to come back when I stopped the pills.
So after years of just having ugly toe nails and getting closer and closer to losing them from the infection, I decided to give the internet home remedy of white vinegar and Listerine a try. Starting on July 29th, I mixed a 50/50 mix of generic white vinegar but Listerine brand mouthwash and began soaking my left foot and applying a wet paper towel to my right foot little toe. That one nail is the only truly infected nail on that foot, but after a month I decided to put both feet in the tub I use to soak my piggies. I have soaked them on average every two days for 20-30 minutes. I haven't used some of the other home remedies like Vick's Vapo rub at night. I am happy to report that all the nails are improving. A healthy pink color has returned to some lightly yellowed areas, the infected/dead nail is growing out, and the worst nails seem to be re-attaching to the toe. The worst nails have some streaks still present to the cuticles. This is an improvement though-as these nails were almost completely "dead" when I started.
Some posts talk about throwing out the mix every time you soak, but I keep mine sealed in an old vinegar bottle and use it for about two weeks, adding some vinegar or Listerine as needed. I bought some store brand anti-septic mouthwash for this month and will see if the results change. While Listerine isn't terribly expensive if I can save a few bucks and still treat my nails, why not? My recommendation to those considering using white vinegar and Listerine for toe nail infections is GO FOR IT! While not a very fast method, it has almost no negative side affects and is working well for me.
