If your toenail is brown or yellow, is thicker than normal, or has white flaky patches, you probably have a fungal nail infection. The fungus normally affects a small part of the toenail at first and it is only when the weeks and months pass by, and the toenail looks more and more unhealthy, that you realise you have a problem. If you don’t treat the infected toenail as soon as possible the infection can spread further over the whole toenail and then into your other nails. Without treatment the toenail will not get better on its own.
So if you think you have a fungal toenail infection watch this excellent Scholl video below. If you want to cure your fungal toenail infection see Part 2 – Help my toenail has gone brown and thick about an exciting new Scholl product – Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment.
This product is awful – Scholl wont even announce what the active ingredient is or even publish the ingredients.
Don’t recommend it to your patients until they publish some data.
From the rumours I have heard this product will not be on the market for long as they are claiming a medical device staus without information to back it up!
Total Tosh!
Well I disagree, I have found that it does work and that’s why I am recommending it to my patients. I have had patients whose toenails are definitely improving. As a chiropodist and podiatrist I see fungal toe nails every day and I believe patients have to try and do something because if they don’t then all of their nails might eventually get infected. Would I like to have fungal toe nails – No! Absolutely not.
What profession are you? I notice that you are not listed on the Health Professions Council register as a chiropodist or podiatrist. And if you aren’t a chiropodist or podiatrist what are you?
So to everyone reading this comment go ahead and buy this product, but bear in mind that nail fungus is very difficult to treat and it may take a long time to get rid of.
What are some of the other options? Lamisil (terbinafine), Clearzal, Curanail (amorolfine), laser treatment, Imperial feet nail mycosis solution.
It’s good to see a new product like Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment come onto the market. I’ve only had one patient who went to London to have laser treatment and it didn’t work – and it cost him hundreds of pounds. Perhaps it works for other people, who knows.
Apparently vicks vapour rub is better – twice a day!!
Whether it works or not, I find it both suspicious and worrying that the ingredients are not declared. ALL products on sale have to list the ingredients on the label, from the active ingredient down to the last inert substance so why should Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment be any different?
Here are the Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment ingredients.
Deionised Water – Solvent for citric acid and to increase the water content of the nail
Urea – To increase the penetration of the acid into the nail and to break down the bonds between the nails
Citric Acid Monohydrate – To create the inhospitable environment for the fungus
D-Panthenol – A vitamin to condition the nail
Glycerine – To aid penetration of the acid into the nail
Xanthan Gum – To create a protective film
Isopropyl Alcohol – To decrease drying time
Sodium Benzoate – Preservative
Sodium Benxotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate – Preservative
As with any treatment there are no guarantees that a specific treatment will cure your fungal nail infection. Why? Because you might not have a fungal infection, you might not have tried the right product for you, you might not have used the product (or any product) long enough or in the right way, or you might have a medical condition that makes it very difficult to successfully treat a fungal nail infection.
Sue,
You posted in February that your patients nails were improving with this product. How are their nails now?
Thanks.
Hi Sue,
I noticed you published the ingredients for the Scholl product – do any of these ingredients cause severe side-effects? The reason I ask is that our daughter has problems with both big toe nails and one toe next to them on one foot. We have asked on several occasions what can be done as she is nearly 18 and feels extremely self conscious in open footwear/sandals. The nails look like they grow on top of each other – rather like a woodlice effect! They never need trimming either as the nails just get thicker and thicker. Doctor has told her to collect some trimmings next time she can pull some off and they willbe tested. That said, the doctor is reluctant to prescribe anti fungal treatments as apparently side effects can be very nasty, serious or even cause death. Please help as we don’t know where to go from here!
Rose
I think Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment is an excellent product and I thoroughly recommend it. Many of the damaged toenails are beginning to show excellent improvement. Obviously for the product to stand a chance of working the toenail has to have a fungal infection.
Fungal toenail infections often build up over a number of years (this is not always the case) and can take a long time to completely clear, perhaps anywhere between 6 months and a couple of years. If the toenail is heavily infected probably the most difficult time of the treatment process will be the first couple of months where you might be putting the stuff on day after day, week after week, and are not seeing any obvious benefit – it takes time for the new toenail to start growing from the base of the nail. However stick with it, after the new toenail starts to grow up thinner, clearer and altogether more healthy looking, the excitement is “infectious”.
Caroline
Any product can cause severe side-effects. Peanuts are an obvious example. They don’t cause the vast majority of people a problem but are fatal to a few.
Your doctor is quite right, some of the tablets you can take for fungal infections can cause problems. One of my patients taking Lamisil lost their sense of taste for months and was then left with a metallic taste in their mouth for a short while. For some liver complications.
I always recommend trying to clear any fungal nail infections by painting the toenail with a topical fungal nail treatment (like the Scholl one) before thinking about any tablets for the problem.
“Please help as we don’t know where to go from here” – try the Scholl product. Download the Scholl Fungal Nail instructionshere.
Thanks Sue,
I do have a fungal nail and it has been damaged too. The patients that you have seen improvement using this scholl product how badly were their nails to begin with?
Mild or more severe? My doctor tells me mine are moderately infected. I am using scholl now and I will let you know how it works for me.
I have just returned from my second visit to my GP for a horrible bitter metallic taste in my mouth that I have had for the last three weeks.Some days it was unbearable.It had not occured to me that it could have been connected to using the Scholl fungal nail treatment on my toe nails.My GP has advised me to stop using this treatment immediately.After reading your very helpful site and especially your friend having the exact same symptoms I am now sure that this is the reason.
Admittedly I have been using it daily as advised but on all ten toe nails.
Therefore,I would advise anybody who is using this treatment to use it in very small amounts and only on the infected parts of the nail and be aware that there can be side effects.
Hi Andy, Caroline’s doctor was probably referring to Lamisil tablets (Terbinafine) which can, but don’t normally, have serious side effects, and not a topical treatment like Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment which doesn’t normally produce a serious reaction. However anyone who takes anything, either internally or applies it on the skin, must be aware that a reaction, allergy or sensitivity can occur.
Hi Sue
Thank you for your reply.
As soon as I stopped using the Scholl fungal nail treatment there was an immediate improvement with the metallic tast in my mouth.
However,it has taken a further five days to start to regain my normal tastes again.
My G.P was very annoyed that Scholl do not publish the ingredients on the packaging as required as this would have helped in this case.In my opinion and from my recent experience, Scholl should carry out additional clinical trials and publish the ingredients.I would not recommend this product to anybody.
Drinking excessive amounts of water can kill you. Peanuts can cause death in some people. Sun lotions can cause a rash, redness, or swelling in some people. Caffeine, found in coffee and chocolate, can cause extreme reactions in some people. You can be allergic or sensitive to anything. If we stopped selling everything that caused a reaction, sensitivity or allergy to one person then there would be no products for anyone to buy, eat or use. Ingredients are readily available for anyone, including your GP, to check.
Recent Amazon comments – these tend to be from real people:
“This product seems to have worked”
“Thank you, Scholl”
“Best treatment I’ve used so far”
“Seems to be doing the trick”
“this product has been the most effective of any I have used so far”
In summary, it’s a great new product, but like any other product it wont suit everyone.
Sue, how are yor patients nails now? How affected were they before they started treatment?
Some toenails were very affected with a fungal nail infection and the vast majority are doing really well. In fact so well that I am recommending this as my main treatment protocol at the moment.
Hi Sue,
Thanks for a very informative website. This is the first place I have seen the ingredients for Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment listed, which is incredibly useful. I was looking for them so I could find out what chemicals are included as many popular fungal treatments are not safe for pregnancy.
I’m using Scholl at the moment and I definitely think my nails are improving and would ideally like to keep using it as long as necessary. But I’m planning to try for a baby soon so will have to switch over to something else if these ingredients are also potentially dangerous.
Thanks.
Dear Sue,
Thank you for your website. I am surprised to see there is no direct antifungal ingredient in Scholl fungal nail treatment. Have you any experience of or would you recommend combining the nail treatment with a topical antifunggal, such as a miconazole spray, for example the one sold by Scholl for athletes foot? Having bought the Scholl product I was dissapointed to see on the insert that it is only recommended for moderate infections – is this because it doesn’t work on more heavily infected nails or because there are risks associated with using it under these circumstances?
Peter
Use the product on its own. I have been very pleased indeed with the results from my patients and some of them have had heavily infected nails. However I believe it’s not going to work for everyone but it is certainly worth a try.
Sue,
I realize some things wont work for everybody but have any of your patients not had good results from using the scholl treatment? I am so fed up with my nails that I just want the bad nail removed (not permanently!) so a new nail growing might stand a chance. Do chiropodists remove nails? Or is this something that you need someone else to perform as I can imagine some sort of anesthetic would be needed?
Peter, I have thought of trying it combined with an antifungal of some sort – did you try it?
Some of my patients with horribly infected toenails have improved significantly with the Scholl treatment, however some have not – it’s like anything – some things don’t work for some people, not even internal medication such as Lamisil (terbinafine).
Quite often toenails are damaged by both fungal infections and permanent damage from trauma. If the nail cells at the base of the toenail have been permanently damaged by trauma then nothing (unfortunately) will “cure” this. Quite often a toenail that is damaged by trauma will also have a fungal infection because the integrity of the toenail is compromised and the fungal spores can gain access to the area. The only options are to regularly file down the thick toenail to try and make it look like a normal nail or remove the toenail permanently.
Many chiropodists do remove toenails (however not all have been trained to do this and not all have a local anaesthetic licence which you would of course need to do this procedure). Unfortunately there is no guarantee after removal of a toenail that the new toenail will not again be infected because it might be the nail bed that is the problem and applying an anti fungal agent to the area might not “cure” the problem.
Quite often with fungal infections the treatment “fails” because the patient does not keep up the treatment for long enough. The first couple of months of treatment are the most depressing because you are applying something to the nail every day/every week and nothing appears to be happening. It is only as the toenail starts to grow cleaner and thinner from the base of the toenail after a couple of months that it gets exciting because you can actually see something happening.
I am 2 1/2 month into treatment with this, with a mild initial infection. I have followed the treatment to the letter, not missing a day. So far I’m not seeing any change in the nail whatsoever. Keeping fingers crossed but if there is no improvement after 6 months I will give this a thumbs down and move on to something else.
Hello there, I have just found this thread, am I correct in my interpretation that the active ingredient in this product is citric acid, essentially lemon juice?
Am very interested in the above discussion. Looking through the ingredient list for the Scholl product, the active ingredient does appear to be citric acid monohydrate, essentially lemon juice. My husband has been prescribed Trosyl for fungal nail infection – this contains tioconazole, which is an antifungal medication. The Scholl treatment costs around 20 GBP – very expensive for lemon juice plus a few extras, whereas the antifungal from the Dr cost just the price of an NHS prescription.
I am finding some of the comments above very odd, and many of them strangely appear to be from Hotmail email addresses. Now there is nothing wrong with using a Hotmail email address but it’s very easy to hide behind a Hotmail account – you can pretend to be anyone, even a patient. Just remember I can see the IP address of everyone who posts here.
Now why would the previous poster search in Google for “scholl+nail+fungus+treatment+active+ingredient” which is what they did . It’s not something I think that an “ordinary” member of the public would do. And it’s even more odd the use of the term 20 GBP rather than £20.
Just hop over to the Amazon website and you will see two types of reviews for this product – Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment. One type obviously from delighted patients, and the other from very probably rival companies.
There is no doubt that this treatment, like many of the other topical treatments: Trosyl, Curanail, Clearzal and all of the others, will not suit some people, and sometimes the only way to “cure” fungal nails is to try every product on the market, including the oral ones. In the meantime … I will continue to recommend Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment to my patients as many of them are continuing to do extremely well.
Perhaps I should explain to you that I am an HPC registered Podiatrist, reg no. ch10306. I have no connection with the manufacture or sale of any medicaments. Having upgraded my registration by having completed my prescription only medicines course last year I have a professional interest in prescription antifungals, my trust is working through the paperwork for PGD’s to allow us to prescribe directly. If citirc acid, or lemon juice, is indeed an effective, safe antifungal treatment then this could be an exciting new developement in the field. Can you point me to any published data as to its efficacy?
It has been a year now since you first posted here, how are your patients nails now after a year using the scholl treatment? Will you be uploading any before and after photos of the scholl fungal nail treatment on your website?
Very few patients are happy for me to share their images online so I obviously respect their wishes. The patient below was however happy for me to do so. Many of my patients have had great success with the Scholl Fungal Nail treatment and many of them have had toenails which are much more heavily infected than the images below.
When I next see this patient I will take another photo for the series. Very soon after this patient first started using the Scholl Fungal Nail treatment a new toenail started to grow and the two nails slowly grew up from the base with the new one underneath and the old one on top. The old toenail was left in place as long as possible to preserve the space for the nail and to stop the new toenail from ingrowing. As you can see the toenail is growing very slowly indeed which is quite normal for elderly patients with poor circulation.
I have noticed that a number of patients have started to grow a new toenail after using the Scholl treatment.
After a few months of using Scholl Nail Mycosis treatment
Photo taken 5 months after the photo above. The old nail has now completely come off however there is still some way to go before the treatment – Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment – can stop
Wow that shows great progress!!!! Thank you so much for sharing the photos, it has given me reason to keep trying the scholl treatment! I did try it before but my I stupidly didnt continue
Please can you tell me if you filed the nail during treatment or did you allow the new nail to grow? Also how long was it after first using did you notice a new nail?
I have been using it for 2 weeks now but see no difference yet
Sorry Sue but just a couple more questions (seeing the photos has made me excited to really give this treatment a good try!) Then I will leave you alone and stop asking questions lol
Ok firstly did your patients follow the instructions included to a t? (Apply once a day for 4 weeks and then once or twice a week after that) Its just that quite a few reviews on amazon people have said they carried on once a day for quite a long time, over 4 weeks!
Also my nails are quite deformed and don’t have the normal nail structure and have a way of growing upwards, I’m sure you have seen many cases so I hope you know what I mean? I was wondering if any of your patients that have a similar case of nail damage are using the scholl treatment and whether or not they are having success?
The photo that you posted shows the nail structure and growth isn’t damaged quite as much as what I have so I am wondering if I really have any hope?
Yes I have heard of people using the Scholl liquid every day for longer than the recommended 4 weeks. This patient however is using it once a week now.
Not all thick nails are due to a fungal infection. Nails can also be thick because of trauma to the nail bed or some are congenitally thick – the nails will be thick from birth in this case. Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment will only help “some” nails with a fungal infection and will not make all thick toenails thin again. It depends on why they are thick.
The Scholl treatment has worked for some patients who had very thick toenails but not all. However I do believe patient compliance comes into play here. It is boring putting something on your toenails for a long time and some people just won’t see the treatment out.
Best of luck
Sue
Hi Sue
Firstly I’d like you to notice that I don’t have a hotmail account, secondly I’m not sure why you have ignored Cathy Davies question.
I used the scholl treatment twice a day at great expense for 13 months and there was absolutely no change. I then consulted my GP as a last resort and he informed me that I had basically wasted my money. He prescribed me with Trosyl and after 4 months use I have noticed a marked improvement.
Unfortunately your tone in relation to comments on here make me wonder if you are indeed impartial on scholl products.
Please direct questions about the ingredients to Scholl.
Fungal nail infection is sometimes very difficult to get rid of. The longer you have had the infection the more difficult the treatment can be. What works on one person will not always work on another person. This is something you have found, the Scholl treatment did not work for you but the Trosyl treatment appears to be doing so which is great. If there was “absolutely no change” using one of the nail lacquer treatments I would not recommend continuing with that particular one after say about 3-4 months. If it was going to work it would have started to work by then. You would have started to see a healthy nail growing from the bottom of the nail – you would have seen something.
The Internet is awash with people’s comments about the different nail fungus treatments and there is no doubt that there are good and bad reviews of all of them. Even Lamisil (terbinafine) tablets do not work for everyone, however they can be a lot more effective than some treatments. However not everyone wants to take an internal medication and not everyone wants to go to their GP for a prescription nail lacquer. The Trosyl nail lacquer requires a prescription. Scholl Fungal Nail treatment is an option for some people with a mild infection. It is available over the counter and is not that expensive.
You searched for “trosyl nail solution reviews” and the very first one on the list in Google says “I went to the docs and he gave me a solution to paint on, it is called Trosyl, It does not seem to work”. What is certain is that the Scholl lacquer will not work for everyone and neither will the Trosyl lacquer. They are both options though. There are also other nail lacquers on the market.
Thanks for your reply Sue!
)
I know my nails started with a fungus, over the years however they became damaged and thickened from over filing but I will carry on with the treatment and hope for the best!
Whether or not you are advertising for scholl the photos you have posted here show the product works so thank you very much for posting them!
(I am just trusting it is indeed the scholl treatment that is used
The photo was using the Scholl treatment. I will only recommend products that I approve of. Any blog post or article on any webpage that refers to a product can be seen as “advertising”. Without advertising (on TV, on the Internet or verbally) no-one would know about any product.
Even though the Scholl treatment works for some people, the treatment will not work for everyone (like any of the treatments on the market) and you might have to then go onto some other treatment. However if you have a fungal nail infection and want to get rid of it you have to start somewhere.
Sue
I’ve downloaded the Scholl instructions after having bought the treatment and it looks like its not good for me as my toes look like the picture on the bottom right.
What would you recommend for this please. My toes nail is both very thick and discoloured.
Thanks in advance.
Sue
I too, like Paul, have 2 toe nails that look like a picture on the bottom of the 4 examples given in the Scholl instructions. It says Scholl should not be used for toes like these.
Both baby toe nails on my left and right feet have been like this all my life, 27 years, and I thought it was something I inherited, rather than being a fungal infection. After doing some research online, I am considering getting it treated.
What would be best for this type of toe nail? And, if left untreated, what is the worst that can happen? They don’t hurt, and all of my other nails look fine. Could it be true that these toe nails are not infected after all?
Vangie
Sue,
Nice post. Very informative. Like many others i question what is the active. Thanks for posting. Not sure what the antifungal agent is? Glad you are seeing results. Like you state there are many options and some will work on patients and some do not. Even the Rx orals do not work 100% of the time.
The one that has helped me is the Clearzal and i seem to get more for my money.
You are doing good. Sorry about the gmail account, but it is free and works.
All the best.
There’s no need to apologise for having a gmail account. I have a gmail account!
Sue
Hi Sue
Looking for some advice! For the past 6 months I was taking terbinafine tablets daily and applying Trosyl nail solution daily and attending a chiropodist every 2 months.. It is only really in the last month that I have started to see a new healthy nail growing from the base. My chiropodist is disappointed in the progress and the doctor now will not prescribe me any more terbinafine tablets as 6months is the max apparently?! I am still applying the Trosyl solution daily but will need to go back to the doctor to get another prescription. I was considering stopping using the Trosyl nail solution and trying Scholl – what do you think? Thanks
Hi Catriona
Big toenails normally take much longer than 6 months to grow out and it can take several months after you stop taking the Lamisil tablets (terbinafine) for your nail to look completely normal again. I think you should keep using the Trosyl nail solution. Don’t change what appears to be working for you.
HI Sue
Thank you so much for this site. I know I have a fungal infection but have been putting off dealing with it for years. I was going to use Curanail but the cost put me off. However after seeing the results above for Scholl treatment that you are recommending I will be trying that one. Thank you so much for taking the time to post and reply to users of this site. Not many professional would take that time out. Thanks again.
I have an infection in all my toe/finger nails. This started 20years ago in my big toe nails. I started using Scholl treatment 3months ago. My finger nails are going great and can see very clearly the new nail. My little toe nails are doing well. The two big toes (were it started) are more stubborn, but are going through changes and they don’t hurt anymore. I would recommend this to anyone. It’s a great product.
Hi Sue, I have had fungal nail for about 17 years after a summer of lovely painted toenails which must have damaged the nails. One foot recovered and the other became dreadful. After 18 months of using amorolfine nail lacquer twice a week from GP there was no improvement. I heard about laser treatment but was refused as I have immune-suppressment medication now. I have just bought an Excilor nail pen from the pharmacy as the “good” foot looks a bit dodgey now. Do you think I could safely use the same pen on both feet without spreading more of the fungus to the good foot? Have you heard of any results on badly infected nails with this product? Many thanks.
I went. To my doctor. Two weeks ago, he gave me trosyl nail solution, my nails are visible getting better after may years of fungi which had spread to my other toes ‘ dosnt say school on the box, but is really working ‘, thanks to troysyl nail solution, I use it twice a day.
Sue,
Why are you promoting this product so heavily over others (such as Curanail) that do have an active ingredient?
I was hoping to see a balanced review of multiple products when Google landed me here but all I see is what appears to be promotion of a single product.
Curanail is around the same price and has more than just citric acid (lemon juice) as its active ingredient. Do you have an opinion on that or only promote Scholl?
I am not really promoting it “so heavily over others” it just seems to have attracted an awful lots of comments from people who appear to want to promote other products and don’t like this post promoting something else. Personally I find Trosyl quite good as well and recommend it to some patients, quite often in fact. One day I will write a post about Trosyl
One thing for certain is that one product alone will not clear all fungal nail infections. I’m looking forward to Lamisil coming into the “pool” with their nail liquid – hopefully sooner rather than later.
I can’t see a real patient searching for “scholl fungal nail treatment active ingredients”. I’d rather a company or rep contact me direct and ask me to do a review on XYZ. You never know I might.
Hello,
Can I use it if I am pregnant?
Thank you
Hi Sue,
Was researching fungal nail treatment due to a dodgy toenail and stumbled upon the comments here.
My issue with this site is how you fail to understand why people search for ‘active ingredients’ if they are not in the industry.
I’m in no way connected with the health industry, but i always search for ingredients and active ingredients for several reasons:
Firstly, I want to know the active ingredients to look up their function, origin and manufacture, secondly I try to always use as natural a product as possible with fewest side effects and lastly, I aim to use vegan products.
Glad of your pictures though, i had a nail infection last year which was similar and used tea tree oil which made it go away, but it’s back so looking for something to hopefully ensure it doesn’t come back.
Will check the ingredients you posted and maybe give the Scholl a bash.
Thanks
Claire