Toenail fungus - Nail Problems Message Board

Croak4 · 11-19-2008, 11:03 PM

I lost the nail off of my big toe about 3 years ago, it started growing back just fine but after the nail was about half way grown back, I ended up getting a fungus from the health club I believe. I've used vicks vapor rub, Leucatin and a nail file for sometime now to get rid of the fungus. I haven't clipped the end of the toenail for awhile and it's grown back to normal length. The problem that I have is that the end of the toenail (about half of it) is

Marti · 11-20-2008, 06:13 AM

You will need to re-post because all of your message does not appear.

Croak4 · 11-20-2008, 08:54 AM

Hi Marti, not sure why the rest of my post didn't show up, I'll continue:

...white or a cream/tan color. It appears that the toe nail isn't attached to the nail bed and isn't pink like the first part of the nail. I'm afraid I've damaged the nail bed from filing and won't ever get the nail to "re-attach" to the nail bed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Shaun

Marti · 11-21-2008, 05:52 AM

First, you need to determine if it is a fungal infection and begin treatment. Treatment must be performed daily for it to do any good. Follow the instructions on the treatment yu purchase or the treatment that is prescribed by your doctor. Secondly, toe nails grow much slower than fingernails and can take up to a full year to completely replace themselves from matrix to free edge. Dependinng on the length of time involved, the nail plate may or may not attach to the nail plate. The lifted portion will not reattach, although as new nail plate cells are born and push the damaged portion toward the free edge, this portion will push forward attached.

Croak4 · 11-21-2008, 09:05 AM

Thanks for the info/response Marti!

Shaun