From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Subject: Re: ATHLETES FOOT AND BIG TOENAIL FUNGUS
Date: 01 Dec 1996
Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative

In <19961201035700.WAA09498@ladder01.news.aol.com> jschwa8720@aol.com
writes:

>any suggestions on how to treat either internally or externally .TIA, Ken



Diflucan works very well on both.  It's not an herbal cure, of course.
It will cost you about $15 a week for that 150 mg pill you take every
Saturday (or you pick the day of the week), for as long as it takes the
tonail to grow out (6 to 9 months). Other useful drugs for this
condition are Sporonox and Lamisil, but both end up more expensive than
Diflucan, believe it or not.  An older drug which is much cheaper
(particularly in Mexico) is griseofulvin PG ("Fulvicina" across the
border).  It only has a 50 to 60% cure rate, however, and must be taken
every day.  I know of no topical cure for tonail fungus-- the problem
is too deep, and is protected by the nail.

                                          Steve Harris, M.D.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com (Steven B. Harris)
Subject: Re: ATHLETES FOOT AND BIG TOENAIL FUNGUS
Date: 08 Dec 1996
Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative

In <32a9c0e0.10841856@news.well.com> for.address@see.sig.below writes:

>korg@earthalliance.com (Korg) wrote:
>
>>And as a side note-years ago you found on the side of every Clorox
>>Bleach bottle: Use one tablespoon in a gallon of water as an effective
>>soak for athlete's foot. The FDA made them take it off, probably because
>>it was very effective.
>
>Any medical people have any input on the use of bleach?
>It may be effective, but what are the effects of bleah entering the
>body through the skin - perhaps it is not so healthy?
>I am curious because in fact this does sound like and interesting
>and possibly very effective way of _wiping_ out the athletes foot!
>
>				cheers,  Adam


   It might work.  As for bleach getting into you, your body has great
mechanisms for dealing with stray hypochlorite in small amounts, since
this is what your neutrophils use mainly to kill bacteria.  In fact,
surgical wounds are still occassionally irrigated with Daiken's
solution, which is pretty much dilute bleach.  If they can do that with
a raw wound, I imagine you can get way with it on your feet.  Don't
expect it to kill fungus under your toenails, though.

                                   Steve Harris, M.D.