toe nail

[Guest guest]

Okay, I know this subject has been covered but I want a recap and any

new ideas...PLEASE!!!

 

my husband has had drama with his big toe for years now. He had it

operated on when he was in the military (about 10 years ago) and the

drama just never ended.

 

The original surgery was for an ingrown toenail, they took of the

entire nail, from his recollection, and took out the ingrown part. He

was left with half a nail (horozontial-wise, if that makes sense)

which grew back. Along with it grew another sliver of a nail OVER the

regular nail. This has a root, that can be felt, going off to the

right part of his toe, about as deep as the regular nail. My husband

has literally " pulled it out by it's root " every so often over the

years, but it always grows back. Dh(dear husband)'s " self-surgeries "

have a whole process, first he soaks the foot in warm/hot water and

then he disinfects the area and then he pulls out the sliver, which

brings forth blood and then he disinfects again and puts a band-aid

over it. The doctors tell him he needs to " burn " it off at the root

to keep it from growing, which he hasn't ever done.

 

In the meanwhile, the entire " regular " toe nail has come in opaque

white and quite tough with ridges. It almost looks like a spongy

consistancy in the layers underneith the top " nail " , though it is

quite hard...almost like a pumice stone. Does't look infected or

black or any weird color, just white opaque and pourus/spongy

looking. Now I thought that perhaps it could be a type of fungus, or

perhaps it could be damage that was caused by the surgery in the

military (military doctors, anyone? rolling eyes.) or, perhaps, my dh

hypothosizes that it began growing this way when he dropped a washing

machine on it at some point. (rolling eyes again...I mean, how do you

not remember when your toenail began looking like THAT?!) but there

we have it.

 

So, he'd like to fix the nail.

 

This is where you guys/gals come in. If it's a fungus, how would I

know? I remember talking about oreganio oil and ingesting in a sugar

cube or applying externally...how would this be done...SHOULD it be

done...and would there be a foot soak involved? How long would it

take for me to notice some results, if we were on the right track,

say? Also, the Rambam recommends Henna for this sort of thing.

Powdered Henna, dissolved in a glass of water and drunk...it's

specifically for the health of nails, but I would imagine it would

clear out any other fungal/bacterial issues that would come with it.

Or is this just a damage issue and not fungal/bacterial? And if so,

shouldn't the nail have come in nicely after a certain amount of time

or would'nt some nourishing foods be able to promote healthy nail

growth?

 

Rambam also mentions sunflower (oil? seed?) and oats to improve the

condition of the nails.

 

I think Vit E is also helpful...but I really want this to work and

just need to come up with a focus, plan and implementation schedule.

 

Also, I am wondering about ntural forms of sunscreen, Rambam

recommends avocados, but I'm not sure if that is ingested or applied

topically. Anyone else know or have any suggestions?

 

Thank you kindly,

 

Rivkah in the Holy Land...where the house is 30 degrees celcius at

7:30pm at night. Sigh. I miss winter!