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3.2 Overall Rating

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Ease of Use

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Most voted positive review

58 People found this comment helpful

To those with struggling with the fungus, I am hear to tell you that this medication does work. I have had fungus on my left toenail ever since I could remember. I would never want to show my feet and I would always use my right foot to cover my left so that nobody could see the horror of my thick ass yellow toenail. It was so embarrassing!!! And then it began to worsen through the years because I...

Most voted negative review

6 People found this comment helpful

I used this topical solution for about one and a half years. Each time the nails started to show signs of improvement, an in-grown toe nail would develop on each big toe that would require removal by the podiatrist. The ingrown nails became so painful, I could barely walk--even to go to the podiatrist. No one informed me of potential, temporary, debilitating side effects of this topical medica...

Shared reviews and ratings

Bill | 75 or over | Male | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Caregiver
5/10/2022
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Been using Penlac now for 6 months on all nails. I grind down the affected part and after using nail polish remover and soaking my feet in epson salts I grind off the old Penlac and put on new. I see white nail coming out now but slower than a turtle on drugs, at least I see hope, I think? So like everyone else on here says be patient, I’m thinking it takes a year to see results, maybe longer. But since nothing else works this is my only hope. When I go on cruises I have my nail tech put on fake nails with French design, they look great and I even get compliments! So good luck ?? Read More Read Less

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Anonymous | 45-54 | Female | Patient
2/3/2019
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 4.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction
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Beautiful BigToe | 45-54 | Female | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
1/27/2019
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I developed this nail fungus on my big toe when I was pregnant eighteen years ago. I couldn’t take Lamisil at that time & wouldn’t take it after delivery of my child to preserve my own health. I’d rather have an ugly toe and good health than a beautiful toe and a damaged liver! In February, 2018, my dermatologist prescribed Penlac. It’s been great since day one! I’d tried to use hydrotherapy before learning of Penlac, but it was working way too slow with way too much effort (time consuming.) After one week of Penlac, the pink that the hydrotherapy had slowly given me took off! For the first six months, I didn’t know to file down the thick part of my nail. Armed with this knowledge, the healing rate has increased more. Today I re-reread the instructions & learned that I should allow the lacquer to contact the skin around the nail as well & not wash for eight hours after application! ??????? At this point my nail looks 85% normal. With my present knowledge of the proper usage of Penlac by this summer, I should have a BeautifulBigToe! ?? ?? ??Read More Read Less

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Jayce | 35-44 | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
8/2/2018
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

10 toes effected by nail fungus, black, crumbly, and unsightly. When used as directed, this works great, but slowly! Patience is a virtue! You must remember to file your nail down each week when you remove the Penlac! This is critical! Clip as much infected nail away that you can without pain, then file the nail as thin as possible. Sterilize the tools you used on your toes or you will only reinfect yourself. Please remember that you MUST throw away all of your shoes and socks and replace them every 3 month during treatment! Fungus lives in your shoes and will continue to come back if you donâ??t follow this step! I also purchased a steri-shoe device to fight fungus in the shoes I had replaced, but still continued to replace them every 3 months. Copper threaded socks are supposed to help fight fungus and increase blood circulation to the area, speeding up healing time. Fungus canâ??t thrive well in copper threaded socks. Wash socks alone in high temp water with borax and ammonia along with your regular detergent. Dry twice. Fungus sticks to the slightest bit of moisture. I also purchased defense essential oil soap which has fungus fighting properties and washed my feet with that daily! Itâ??s been over a year and 8 of my 10 toes are completely healed. My big toes were the worst, but they are about 75% healed. Iâ??m guessing 6 more months of Penlac and they will be 100%! This is a lot of work, but it does work! Do it right and you will be thrilled with your results! Read More Read Less

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Some12beKJ | 65-74 | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
7/19/2017
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

2nd time my doctor has prescribed it, totally ineffective, and as a matter of fact, my fungal infection has gotten worse this time around. I have sked my doctor for an alternative medication. Don't waste your money.

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Kara52 | 65-74 | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
6/28/2017
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Toenail fungus ALWAYS comes back. Right now, Penlac is keeping things from getting worse. Have not used it but a couple of months. Did use Lamasil 2x and it worked well, but it came back. Finally, a friend told me it always comes back. If you can get rid of it with Lamasil, then diligently use Penlac or another topical 1-2x week as a preventative.

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LexiLou | 55-64 | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
1/25/2017
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 4.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Been using ciclopirox for 3 months now. The treatment regimen is high maintenance but it is working for me. Before I started the treatment, I filed the nails down on both big toes with a dremel. This thinned the nail substantially so the medicine can reach the nailbed. Once a week I remove the built up lacquer with nail polish remover (rubbing alcohol didn't work well). After removing the built-up lacquer I clip dead nail and skin from the nailbed. You definately have to work at this. Don't give up. Nail fungus is very difficult to treat and it takes work to eradicate it. A year is a long time to deal with this, but it will be worth it. I don't think this would work if I hadn't filed my nails down to the nailbed. I just don't think the medicine would get to where it needs to be.Read More Read Less

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Anonymous | 55-64 | Male | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
5/9/2016
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

My doctor told me it would take a while to work, and it did help somewhat for a while, but the fungus came back eventually. I'd had the fungus on my two big nails. The Penlac seemed to be working somewhat for a while. The right toe cleared up, not the left. I've stopped using the Penlac after one prescription renewal; thankfully it's covered by my work plan, but no sense using it any more if it's not working. I'll try the Vicks thing now on the left toenail.

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RatPackDan | 35-44 | Male | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
3/15/2016
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Did not work for me at all. Plus, tough to comply with given the fact that it required having to remove with nail polish remover every week. Ineffective and a waste of time. Would have rather paid more for something that actually worked.

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Anonymous | Female | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
10/3/2014
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 1.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

lost of time of money vicks vaporub was very effective

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AnnieMartin | 19-24 | Female | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
7/17/2014
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 4.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

To those with struggling with the fungus, I am hear to tell you that this medication does work. I have had fungus on my left toenail ever since I could remember. I would never want to show my feet and I would always use my right foot to cover my left so that nobody could see the horror of my thick ass yellow toenail. It was so embarrassing!!! And then it began to worsen through the years because I didn't know you could spread the fungus using the same nail clippers on all nails. So, out of innocence, it spread to my right toenail then to some of the smaller nails. When the new year came I was so desperate to get rid od the rock on my foot and wanted to take the oral medication for fungal infection at the risk of harming my health. I was spectacle of the penlac because i used it before but not on a regular basis. But let me tell you it takes A LOT of patience. It will not go away in a month but will eventually, you just have to be persistent with the treatment. So I began to use the penlac daily applying it every night before i went to bed and at the end of every week i would take soak my nails in water mixed with salt to soften the nail as much as possible. Then i began to peel off as much softened dead and infected nail as i could without it being painful. I would remove the rest of the penlac using alcohol and repeat every week. Enventually about 5months after my nail was pretty much clear and was slowly growing out. I have noticed that the salty bath soaks did help to clear the fungus faster and to speed the nail growth as well. 7months later my nail is almost fully grown out thanks to beautiful penlac. I only used about 2 bottles and is not too bad considering the results. I am so happy, I can finally embrace my feet in public without feeling so selfconcious. I no longer have to put band aids over my toenail or have a horrible sock tan line from wearing shoes all the time. Thanks for reading my super long success story and I hope this helps! God bless you!Read More Read Less

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Zoe | 55-64 | Female | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
5/14/2014
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I began using this lacquer for fungus on both big toenails on Jan 10, 2013. As of today, May 13, 2014, the left toenail looks pretty good and the right nail is significantly improved. It took over a year before my nails began to look better. I have been extremely diligent, applying it daily and removing it weekly with alcohol and a strong file. For a while, my nails looked worse developing digits. It was hard to keep ingrown nails from developing. I will continue this treatment to see if both toes will improve enough to appear in sandals. I do not know if it will come back if I stop.Read More Read Less

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Anonymous | 25-34 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
4/19/2013
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Didn't really do anything for my nails other than make me take better care of them.

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Beth | 45-54 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
6/26/2012
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Have been using for a month and a half works great. Use a stiff file to grind down nail and new growth looks great

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Ant0707 | 25-34 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
6/6/2012
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I've had toe nail fungus before from wearing closed shoes while working in a restaurant kitchen. My previous doctor put me on lamisil twice, worked GREAT! I noticed a few months ago that i had a small hallow looking spot starting to develop at the end of my nail bed (tip of nail). My current dic put me on penlac and said she was unable to prescribe me lamisil as i would need regular blood tests. None the less ( $150 later thank g-d for benefits! and a referal to a dermatologist) i am now using the penlac. The hollow spot has not got any bigger, but my nail has grown out a bit since and i see no improvement. Hopefully the dermatologist will put me back on lamisil. Read More Read Less

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Dr. Don W | 75 or over | Male | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
5/13/2011
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I have had a very severe big toe(both)nail fungus infection for over 50 years. I have never had any satisfactory results in the past.. I began a generic ciclopirox nail lacquer treatment November 9, 2010. As of May 13, 2011, I now have completely clear toe nails on both big toes(82% of both nails has covered both nail beds)I did not remove the nails, but I debrided my nails very thoroughly when I removed the old laquer every Monday. It is very very critical that the directions be followed without exceptions.Read More Read Less

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Anonymous | 45-54 | Female | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
4/17/2011
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Although it took a long time, Penlac cleared up the 80% of the fungus on both big toes. I did 3 rounds of lamasil and it didn't work.

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Leslie | 55-64 | Female | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
7/14/2010
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 4.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I used Penlac several years ago as the oral medicine (lamasil) wasn't an option for me. It did take quite a long time, but I had very good results. Several years later, I'm using it again and hoping for the same good results. The first time I used it, I was seeing a podiatrist monthly who used his "dremel" drill to thin out the thick nail and I believe that really helped. This time I'm using a really stiff emery board to try and thin the thick nail myself. Have patience... this is a great treatment. Read More Read Less

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david | 45-54 | Male | Patient
8/17/2009
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I used this topical solution for about one and a half years. Each time the nails started to show signs of improvement, an in-grown toe nail would develop on each big toe that would require removal by the podiatrist. The ingrown nails became so painful, I could barely walk--even to go to the podiatrist. No one informed me of potential, temporary, debilitating side effects of this topical medication. I had to stop using it. The total cost for using it and the subsequent podiatrist in-office surgeries for in-grown nail removals exceeded $1500. I will never use this product again. I still have the fungus and don't know what else to do. Recently, I heard about a Laser Treatment for toe nail fungus but can't seem to find any info. on-line. Hopefully, Penlac will be more effective for someone else; it was a night-mare for me.Read More Read Less

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Anonymous | 35-44 | Female | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
6/5/2009
Condition: Fungal Disease of the Nails
Overall rating 2.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I've been on penlac for a year and I my two big toenails look the same as when I started.

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