Consulting The Scientific Research
Itâs time to get science-y.
In 2011, an interesting study researching over-the-counter cures for toenail fungus was published. In this study, researchers used Vicks VapoRub against toenail fungus.
The first thing to note here is there are a few types of toenail fungus. Toenail fungus can be caused by dermatophytes, yeasts, and non-dermatophyte molds.
However, the most common culprit of toenail fungus is the dermatophyte trichophyton rubrum, also known as T. rubrum.
In this study, researchers studied the following toenail fungus:
- T. mentagrophytes
- T. rubrum
- Candida parapsilosis
After 48 weeks, all patients with T. mentagrophytes or Candida parapsilosis toenail fungus went on to a âtotal cureâ.
Remember, T. rubrum is commonly the fungi culprit behind most toenail fungus infections…
How Does Vicks Work On Nail Fungus
While the points mentioned above already make a good case for Vicks Vaporub, theres one more thing to this remedy that makes it all the more worth looking into. Its formula is the very thing that compels experts to consider the validity of the users claims of its effectiveness.
How does Vicks Vapor rub work on nail fungus, you might be wondering? Most experts attribute its success to the menthol and eucalyptus oil contained in this product.
These two are primarily known for their cooling and soothing effects, providing relief to the discomfort that comes with coughs, colds, and some cases of skin irritation.
They also contain antifungal properties, so its easy to see why it can possibly work on nail fungal infections.
Some experts, on the other hand, say that the thymol oil in Vicks Vaporub makes it a potent product against nail fungus. One study shows that thymol oil is effective in eradicating Candida, a species that is a popular cause of nail fungus. According to the study, thymol oil disrupts the cell membranes and metabolism of the said microorganism which then leads them to death.
These are the very reasons why experts are giving Vicks a chance when it comes to treating nail fungus. It shows great potential in getting the job done but more research is required to be certain.
Pros And Cons Of Vicks Vaporub For Toenail Fungus
It does seem that a number of people have found some relief from this difficult problem by using Vicks. On the plus side, it has minimal side effects relative to the traditional treatment methods and is a product that is both easy to find and inexpensive to buy.
However, Vicks has been shown to be ineffective for the majority of people even when used for extended periods of time and the longer you use any treatment, the more costly it becomes. Some individuals have found that it irritates the skin surrounding the nail and are bothered by the strong smell. It seems that even in the best of circumstances, treating toenail fungus with Vicks is just a temporary stop gap as the infection generally returns once the treatment has been stopped. The bottom line is that like all home remedies, it is wise to proceed with a healthy dose of caution and a little bit of common sense when considering Vicks Vapor Rub for the treatment of toenail fungus.
Visit our main website to get a broader and deeper picture about the different treatments available to get rid of toenail fungus fast.
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Vicks Vaporub And Its Ingredients
Vicks VapoRub is a household ointment, and it is commonly designed for cough and cold suppression. But some studies show that some of the ingredients can help treat toenail fungus.
Vicks ingredients are made of camphor, menthol, cedar leaf oil, some nutmeg oils, turpentine oil, eucalyptus oil, and petrolatum. And these oils are believed to be the best of the best in treating nail fungus.
Also, it has been passed on generations to generations in every household. It can also be used to treat ear infections, athletes foot, and hemorrhoids.
How Soon Will It Get Results
Toenail fungus is notoriously difficult to cure. As we noted in the scientific studies, some participants noticed results in 24 weeks and the condition cleared up in 48 weeks. However, toenail fungus is also known to take 12-18 months to clear.
The time it takes for toenail fungus to clear depends on the severity of the infection and your reaction to the treatment. No one treatment works for everybody. However, if Vicks VapoRub does work for you, expect to start seeing signs of improvement after about six months.
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The Research On Vicks Vaporub For Nail Fungus:
As for Vicks VapoRub, there actually have been a few studies showing benefit against nail fungus. In one, people with AIDS had their nail fungus treated with Vicks. The conclusion: safe and effective .
Previously, a pilot study had shown results in 15 out of 18 people using Vicks VapoRub on the nails daily for 48 weeks . Even before that, a study of some of the essential oils in Vicks VapoRub showed that they are active against five different species of fungus that infect nail tissue . Camphor, menthol, thymol and oil of eucalyptus are effective against these organisms. Moreover, fungi rarely develop resistance to them .
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How To Apply Vicks Vaporub On Toenails
Because Vicks is not a conventional treatment for toenail fungus, there is no prescribed method about how to use it. However, conventional wisdom determines that Vicks should be applied to the nails and skin like any other topical cream after washing.
Trim your nails to keep them short. To cut your nails, use a good pair of toenail clippers. If you have hard, brittle toenails, use heavy duty toenail clippers.
Then follow the instructions below twice a day. However, it should be noted that some peoples skin is more sensitive to some analgesic formulas than others.
If you find applying Vicks VapoRub twice a day irritates, only use it once a day. You may also want to consult your doctor before using Vicks as a treatment for toenail fungus.
- Take a hot shower or bath. You can also soak your feet in a bowl of hot water.
- If you have hard skin, corns or calluses on your feet, shave away the top layer of dead skin with a pumice stone.
- File your nails down so that the salve can get into the gaps of the toenail bed.
- Rub the Vicks ointment over the entire surface of your toe and nail with your finger making sure the ointment gets to the skin down the side of your nails and underneath the toenail onto the nail bed.
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Cut Your Affected Toenail
First, trim your toenail thats affected by the fungus. You want to cut it short so that its not poking up from your skin.
This will help remove potentially infectious parts of the nail, and ensure that the infection doesnt spread. Itll also improve the effectiveness of the treatment. Be sure to clean your nail clippers with hot soapy water or rubbing alcohol after using them on your nail.
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Amber Listerine & White Vinegar:
Jen says Listerine and vinegar are her go-to solution:
I used tea tree oil faithfully for several years with some improvement. Also oregano oil, recommended as stronger than tea tree oil and quite expensive. Again, some improvement. I tried the Vicks with socks at night, but I dont like sleeping with socks.
Then I began one hour per week of soaking in water with lots of white vinegar. I had immediate success the fungus cleared almost completely and quickly.
Since then I have continued the weekly soaks with vinegar and the amber Listerine and no water one hour while sitting at the computer. I wonder if there is more than one kind of fungus since the tea tree oil was only somewhat successful, while the vinegar was much better for me. If there is more than one kind of fungus, that would explain why different strokes for different folks seems to be a key factor.
Incidentally, the weeds in my garden do not like vinegar so I just dump my used soaking mixture there I have lots of weeds to use it on! And it works.
We have lost count of the number of people who insist that when all else fails, white vinegar and Listerine foot soaks do the job. We are not surprised. Listerine has a good dose of alcohol and other ingredients that attack fungi.
Vinegar also makes the environment inhospitable to fungi. It does take the kind of patience that Jen describes to work the magic.
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What Does The Research Say About Vicks Vaporub Effects On Nail Fungus
The most commonly cited research regards Vicks effectiveness is from the Journal of American Board of Family Medicine.
In this study, 18 participants applied Vicks VapoRub to their toenails daily for 48 weeks. By the end of the study, 5 patients were completely cured, and 10 had partial relief. 83% of the participants experienced toenail fungus relief!
Another study by the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care tested Vicks VapoRubs effectiveness with AIDS patients who suffered from nail fungus.
AIDS patients have immune system issues, meaning they can not risk pharmaceutical treatments such as Lamisil or Sporanox. In the study,
18 participants applied the treatment to their toenails for 24 weeks. 15 out of the 18 saw improvement by the end of the experiment. Most importantly, there were no side effects!
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Remedies And Treatments For Toenail Fungus
Over-the-Counter Antifungals
Antifungal remedies help to stop the growth of the fungus. Over-the-counter options do not claim to cure toenail fungus, but they can help to improve the look of the affected nail. These products do not work as well as prescription medications. To cure toenail fungus, a remedy has to penetrate the nail and nail bed. Most over-the-counter remedies for nail fungus are topical and do not penetrate deeply enough.
Trim, Buff, and Thin the Affected Nail
Keeping your nails trim, buffed, and clean helps to prevent the spread of the fungus to other nails. Additionally, buffing the nail can allow topical antifungals to penetrate more deeply. Make sure to wash your hands promptly after touching the affected nail, especially before touching other nails.
Vicks VapoRub
Vicks VapoRub is a product marketed for people with coughs. However, it may also be effective against toenail fungus. One small study showed that after applying it topically each day for 48 weeks, 27.8% of participants fully cured their nail fungus â and 55.6% of participants saw partial improvement. However, more study is needed.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil comes from the Australian tea tree. It is an essential oil traditionally used as an antibacterial and antifungal treatment. Early research shows that it may help with nail fungus when used topically. However, more research is needed. If you do use tea tree oil for toenail fungus, only use it topically.
- Confusion
Vicks Vaporub For Toenail Fungus Treatment
Nail fungus is a frequent ailment that appears as a white or yellow spot under your fingernail or toenails tip. As the condition continues, nail fungus can cause your nail to thicken, and crumble at the edge. It is possible that multiple nails will be affected at the same time.
If your problem is mild and does not concern you, you may not need therapy. If your nail fungus is bothering you and has thickened your nails, self-care and medications may assist. Even if treatment is effective, nail fungus frequently returns.
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Can Vicks Cure Nail Fungus
To answer this question there is no better way than to look for clinical studies that were made to see if vicks is an effective treatment for toenail fungus. In April 2003 publication of phytotherapy research stated that vapo rub kills fungus due to combination of its antifungal ingredients namely camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil.
In 2011 there were two pilot studies, the first one was conducted by journal of the american board of family medicine on people with infected nails and the results shown that 15 out of 18 participants got rid of nail fungal infection after applying vicks vapo rub daily for 48 weeks and the other study found that vicks has positive clinical effect against nail fungus.
Journal of the association of nurses in AIDS care conducted a study in 2016 on people with AIDS whose immune system were compromised by the disease and the results shown that daily application of vicks vapo rub kills toenail fungus safely and effectively. In a study conducted by Michigan state university clinicians it was found that vaporub cleared fungal infection of more than 50% of participants in less than a year.
Lastly we heard many success stories of people using vicks at least once a day to clear their nails again. My conclusion is that these small scale studies have shown how effective vapo-rub is against yeast candida, molds and dermatophytes which are common causes of nail fungus.
- Spirits Of Turpentine
Is Using Vicks Vaporub For Toenail Fungus A Myth
Many of our users wonder if using Vicks Vaporub for toenail or fingernail fungus is a myth. It is not a myth Vicks Vaporub is both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial and can help treat your fungal infection. However, it was not created for this purpose and there are quicker options for treating your nail fungus.
Importantly, Vicks Vaporub might take up to a year to start clearing the fungal infection, while other treatments, such as Zane Hellas Fungus Stop can take as little as a few weeks.
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Does This Even Work
There was a small study published in the Journal of The American Board of Family Medicine that followed a group of 18 individuals who used Vicks Vapor for toenail fungus and the study found the following results
- Of the 18 people who were in the study, over half saw an improvement in the appearance of their nails. 10 of them to be exact.
- It did not get rid of their toenail fungus infection completely, they just had perceived improvement in the appearance of the nail.
- This perceived improvement was likely do the nails being more hydrated therefore giving the nail the appearance of being healthier.
The fact that I found alarming about this study is that this small improvement in their nails was after the course of..
How Does Vicks Vapor Rub Work
- Vicks Vapor Rub contains the ingredients Camphor , Thymol , and Menthol , which have all been shown to all fight against toenail fungus in some research studies.
- A Spanish study states that Vicks Vapor rub is very effective.
- The Mayo Clinic admits that while many people vouch for this treatment method, it is difficult to prove that Vicks Vapor Rub has a great deal of effectiveness.
- Anecdotal from our standpoint is that it can definitely kill fungus if used correctly!
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Vick Vapor Rub Cure For Nail Fungus
Toenail fungus usually gains entry to the toenail bed when there has been an injury to the nail, such as a crack or a split 1. Once the fungus has entered, the warm, dark environment that it finds in the shoes and socks encourages it to grow and spread. According to the Foot Health Network, the standard treatment for toenail fungus involves prescription medication or partial to full nail removal 1. Many people want to avoid harsh medications and painful treatment and are turning to a remedy for toenail fungus you may not suspect: Vicks VapoRub 1.
If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.