Tea tree oil

[thugulike]

Mr thugulike has a long standing fungal infection in his big toe nail. I was advised to get him tea tree oil which I did and he has used it for a couple of days. Now his toe is very swollen and red. Is this the good news or the bad news?

[tiny e.a]

I'm no doctor but I reckon it's most likely to be bad. Send him to a doctor, or even to a pharmacist and get them to take a look!

[beejaybee]

I don`t want to alarm you, but my husband had an infection on his toe. He left it for a few days, but it spread. He went to the hospital about it & they wanted to keep him in.He would n`t stay, & was told if it got ANY worse he HAD to go back. He was given very strong antibiotics & luckily he did clear up. He did have to take time off work though as the tablets made him feel sleepy.

[~Wingnut~]

If the toe is red and swollen this can indicate infection. Tea tree is good for fungal nail infections but in some cases can cause skin irritation. I would tell him to go to the Doc's as already said above.

[theonlyone]

Get him to the Docs asap , better to be safe than sorry , hope he is well soon .

[joko]

i had and infection in my fingernails once, the seemed like they were lifting up off the nail bed.

went to hosp, booked me to go back, but i smeared savlon on my palm and then scraped my nails along it, forcing the savlon under my nails.

cleared up in a few days

[WendyS]

I have used Tea Tree Oil for a fungal nail infection and it did clear up after regular application for several weeks , but this sounds like a more serious infection or an allergy to the product. He should check it out with his doctor

[thugulike]

Many thanks for all your responses. I have been trying to persuade him to go and see the doctor but he's resisting at present. The nail does seem to be lifting. Ugggh