fungal nail infection

[Twotinygirls]

Hi. Can anyone help? My 5 year old dd has a fungal toenail. It started with a damaged nail which has now grown out and left a yukky yellow nail.
I took her to the Dr Who prescribed ketoconazole 2% cream which doesn't seem to help, actually it makes the Skin around the toe peel off, and she says it stings.

Curanail says it's for over 18s only. Before I take her back to the Dr can anyone recommend anything else?

Thanks

[AndIFeedEmGunpowder]

I read on here to put Vicks on affected toenails every night.

[MrsPennyapple]

Lots of MNers swear by Vicks rubbed in to the nail twice a day for a couple of weeks. I've never tried it myself but I've seen it mentioned on loads of threads.

[AnythingNotEverything]

My mum swears by listerine, possibly mixed with vinegar.

[Twotinygirls]

Oh wow thanks! I Didn't expect such swift helpful replies. I'll get some vicks tomorrow and have a go. If that fails ill get some listerine. Poor little toe it looks so manky and it wiffs.

[MrsPennyapple]

Hope it works, do report back won't you? Hope the poor toe is better soon.

[martini]

DD (10) has amorolfine nail laquer. You paint it on like nail varnish every 2-3 days. Its having some effect but progress is slow due to us forgetting to do it.

You need a prescription I think.

We also had a fungal nail pen from Boots own brand which was ok for under 12s.

The main thing is to keep doing it which for us is not very successful as we keep forgetting.

[Frontier]

Vicks has definitely helped mine. Can't really say it's cured although it is definitely a lot better, but it seems the expensive/prescribed stuff often isn't completely effective either.

[Twotinygirls]

I will report back. Have got morrisons version of vicks as they didn't have the brand stuff, hope it works. It seems like fungal nail problems are very common and the cures are a bit rubbish. (Will go off and find cure for fungal infections and make my millions)

[MrsPennyapple]

How's the toe?

[Afritutu]

Interested to know how this is going. I was advised tea tree oil (naturally anti bacterial) and soaking foot daily in a diluted vinegar - the acid apparently kills the fungus. However need to convince DD that I must remove nil varnish before we start this....

[woodlands01]

Twotinygirls - I sympathise. My 11 year old boy has been plagued with this and had 3 nasty toe nails. I know it is a minor health issue but he was getting embarrassed about sports and swimming and his friends seeing his feet!
Anyhow I am 6 months down the line of using Boots own brand Fungal Nail Treatment pens. You have to be careful as some products not suitable for young children, I think it is something to do with alcohol content. Much to my astonishment his nails are now pretty normal. It took ages to see some initial improvement: my husband has been saying 'I don't know why you bother it won't work', applying twice daily (even though they say once), soaking feet, filing down nails weekly etc. etc. etc. BUT it has worked and I am really pleased I persevered.
Oh I forgot the other annoying thing - £20 a pen which lasts for 4 weeks! Sometimes on offer buy one get one half price. Maybe doctor would give you a prescription if you asked? - that moral dilemma has been around my head a few times over the past 6 months (£120).

[Tekapo]

Thank you woodlands01. My child has yellow fungal infection which is now spreading to little toe. Both drs I went to see basically said to get on with it! Called it a cosmetic problem, drugs can cause liver problems etc and so up until this eve didn't really know what to do other than filing and keeping clean. Am now going to Boots tomorrow to get a treatment pen which I've just checked and it said is ok from 4years up. Also gonna Vicks it too! Thanks for advice. Some action is better than no action and watching it spread to her dismay.

[woodlands01]

Good luck - I got same response from doctor and I do understand in the scheme of things it's not a major issue but it's not nice seeing your child embarrassed by the problem. Perseverance is the key, I thought it would be gone after a month (one pen) but it took 6 months for major improvement. We were admiring his toe nails this morning saying they looked normal. Think I'm going to continue with the blooming pen - daren't stop!