Bleach is a very good disinfectant: Soak nail clippers and tools in undiluted bleach and wipe them dry with a paper towel. And keep your pets away!
"Nail clippers can be disinfected by soaking for 30 minutes with rubbing alcohol (at least 70%) or hydrogen peroxide," Lin says. "You can also boil your nail clippers in water for approximately 30 minutes."
To do this, you completely immerse your sanitised tools into a disinfectant solution that should be at least 70% isopropyl or ethyl alcohol, such as Mundo Power Plus Ultra Concentrated Instrument & Tool Disinfectant. Your nail tools should be submerged in disinfectant solution for at least 10 minutes.
If you have toenail fungus, you'll probably want to clip your unsightly toenails. However, the fungus will easily stick to the surface of your clippers and could infect other toenails or anyone else who uses them.
Bleach. Some websites recommend the use of bleach to help kill foot fungus.
The best type of vinegar to treat toenail fungus is apple cider vinegar, a very acidic and strong solution that destroys toenail fungus at the source. To take full advantage of this, mix one cup of apple cider vinegar with at least 2 cups of water – this will dilute the vinegar so that it won't burn your skin.
If you do have a toenail fungus, your doctor will likely recommend one or more of the following treatment options: Trimming the Toenail Trimming the toenail is usually combined with medication, but having a podiatrist periodically trim the nail down is helpful and allows the medication to work better, says Sundling.
This helps prevent fungi and other germs from getting under your nails. Sanitize your nail clipper before using it. To sanitize your nail clipper, wash it with soap and water and then wipe it with rubbing alcohol.
Studies show that taking antifungal pills and applying medicine to your nails can be more effective than using either treatment alone. Nail removal: If you have a severe infection or other treatments just don't work, your dermatologist may recommend removing the nail(s) to get rid of the infection.
To disinfect your tools with alcohol you can either wipe or dip them in a solution that is 70–100% alcohol. Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are widely available at a variety of stores.
Effective products include efinaconazole (Jublia), tavaborole (Kerydin) and ciclopirox (Penlac). All require daily applications, and it may take as long as a year to see noticeable improvement. These products may work for early, superficial fungal infections because they kill fungi on the surface of the nail.
It is recommended to spray 60-90% isopropyl or ethyl alcohol on clean, porous abrasives and buffers to disinfect them. A contact time of 5 minutes is sufficient for proper disinfection. All properly cleaned, disinfected and dried implements/tools must be stored in a sanitary manner.
A 1:10 mixture of bleach and water will disinfect clippers.
Remove your clipper blades and submerge them for at least 10 minutes. When you're done, remove the blades and rinse them thoroughly under cool water before wiping them dry with a clean cloth.
Fungus is already a difficult infection to get rid of, and what surprises many people is that fungus can live in your shoes for up to 20 months. Thus, continuously treating your shoes throughout treatment is essential. There are many ways to treat shoes including Lysol, anti-fungal mists and UV shoe cleaning devices.
Fungal spores can live on all kinds of surfaces, including metal toenail clippers for months. When you cut your fungal nail with your clippers, you can easily transmit the fungi to your other toenails or reinfect yourself.
But you can also use a hand sanitizer to clean the affected area as hand sanitizers contain isopropyl alcohol, which is effective on fungus, bacteria, and viruses.
Vicks has a little impact on toenails. Vicks Vaporub softens and lightens toenails. This makes it look like the fungus is being treated. Vicks may have some antifungal qualities, but it is unable to penetrate the toenail well enough to cure the infection.
“Applying Vicks VapoRub to fungus-infected toenails can clear up the notoriously hard-to-treat condition. Michigan State University clinicians found that applying the product daily to the infected nail cleared the condition in 32 of 85 patients, though it took anywhere from 5 to 16 months…”
The fastest way to eliminate the infection is through toenail laser treatment. Laser nail therapy specifically targets the microorganisms under your nail while leaving the keratin intact. In just a few treatments, the infection can be entirely eliminated.
These drugs are often the first choice. One option is itraconazole (Sporanox). These drugs help a new nail grow free of infection, slowly replacing the infected part. You typically take this type of drug daily for 6 to 12 weeks.
Baking soda works by removing excess moisture from your feet, a common cause of toenail fungus. While this home remedy has been shown to reduce fungal growth, it doesn't completely get rid of the fungus.