Are Natural Toenail Rot Treatments Effective?

There are several prescription medicines available for the treatment of nail fungus.For most people, these products work well, but they have two disadvantages.

First, they can cause serious side effects,including liver and kidney toxicity, and blood tests to watch for these problems may be required. Some people taking other medications cannot take these products because of potentially dangerous drug interactions.

Secondly, prescription anti-fungal products require that you spend money on a doctor's visit and then spend money on the drug itself. If your case of toenail rot is mild, or has only recently formed, you may want to consider natural nailrot remedies before turning to heavy-duty pharmaceuticals.

Is there evidence that natural or herbal products work in the treatment of nail rot?

Yes, there is good scientific evidence that some natural products work in some circumstances. However, far more data have been produced in testing prescription products than in testing natural products, so you must be careful about what you believe and how long you give a product to work before trying something more powerful.

Nail That Fungus! offers valuable information and strategies for natural toenail fungus treatment.

There have been four recent scientific studies suggesting a benefit from natural herbal products in the treatment of nail fungus:

1. In 2000, a group of scientists from the University of Allahabad in India published the results of tests they conducted on the essential oil of Eucalyptus pauciflora. First, they determined that the oil killed fungus in the test tube. Then, they tested a 1% ointment on 50 volunteer patients who had been diagnosed with fungal infections of the skin or nails. At the end of the study, 60% of the patients had been cured, and the other 40% showed some degree of improvement.

2. In 2003, researchers at Kaiyuan Municipal People�s Hospital in China published the results of their study of a composite formulation of 5 Chinese herbs. They demonstrated that their recipe inhibited 7 types of fungus. They also treated patients with the Chinese medicine alone and in combination with Western medicine. The results showed benefit of both approaches, but the combination was more effective than either alone.

3. Scientists at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, in the United Kingdom, conducted a systematic review of previously published clinical studies of herbal medicines for the treatment of fungal infections. Their results were published in 2004 and suggest a beneficial effect of tea tree oil, extracts of Solanum species, and oil of bitter orange. The authors of the published report suggest that it would be worthwhile to conduct further controlled clinical trials of herbal remedies for fungus infections.

4. Finally, in January of 2008, researchers at Lanzhou University in China reported positive results with the essential oil of Tibetan herbal medicine Dracocephalum heterophyllum Benth. This essential oil was composed of more than eighty compounds, and demonstrated activity against several species of both fungi and bacteria.

As with all health-related products, it is important to do your homework, and watch out for unexpected problems with a product you have never used before. It is also important be aware that health products unregulated by the FDA attract the attention of people willing to commit fraud to generate a profit. However, with strong scientific evidence that some natural products are useful against fungi in certain circumstances, it is important to factor this option into your overall decision-making process as you take steps to get toenail rot under control.

Nail-Rx for Nail Fungus ____________________________________________________________________________
Peruse our site and look through our articles to see if we can help you with your health questions. Remember, though, that only your healthcare professional can diagnose and recommend specific treatments for your health issues. We are here to give you a knowledge base that you can use to better understand your doctor's orders and to help you know what questions to ask.