Treating toenail fungus with bleach is sometimes tried as an at-home last resort for treating the fungal infection. Even as a last resort, using bleach in this way is not a good idea. Toenail fungus can be difficult to manage. It is understandable why risky home methods like using bleach could seem attractive. However, before you attempt any treatment for fungus in general, especially anything done at home, you should know everything that is available about the risks and benefits of the treatment.

Knowing this information is important with any procedure so that you fully understand the procedure you’ll be doing. The information on using bleach on toenail fungus is overwhelmingly negative. This is evident in the advice that medical professionals and doctors give.

Bleach Treatment

Treating toenail fungus with bleach can have major implications for your health and wellness in general, and for the skin of your toe itself. This procedure requires putting the bleach directly onto the skin and toenails. Direct contact with the chemical can seriously affect the health of these organs.

Bleach is a very dangerous, toxic chemical. It has strong harmful interactions with the structures of the human body which can lead to serious changes in the body’s health. When you put bleach on your toes, you are exposing yourself to an abrasive cleaning chemical that has a high potential to cause long-lasting harm.

Chemical Burns from Bleach

Chemical burns are the most common injury coming from handling dangerous chemicals like bleach. These chemical burns form as the chemical interacts with the skin, causing damage and irritation. 

Chemical burns from treating toenail fungus with bleach are frequently a medical emergency that will require urgent medical care. If you have a chemical burn, you should seek medical care immediately to prevent long-lasting damage. If you have used a chemical like bleach on your skin, you should first wash it off thoroughly with a long rinse of water and soap.

Afterward, assess the damage done to your skin. If you notice signs of a very severe chemical burn, which include throbbing pain, blistering, pus formation, or other symptoms of a severe chemical burn, contact a medical professional for evaluation and treatment as soon as possible. This is not a condition that you will be able to treat at home. Chemical burns are very serious and can get worse over time if not treated by a medical professional.

Dangers of Bleach

Treating toenail fungus with bleach is also very ineffective, so these attempts to treat the fungus likely won’t even do any good at all. To treat toenail fungus effectively, bleach would need to penetrate the toenail itself to get under the nail bed. Prescription antifungal medications often struggle with being able to treat fungus effectively, and there has been a significant amount of research and money put into their development.

Bleach isn’t even effective at getting under the nail into the nail bed where the fungus resides. If bleach does get into this part of the toe, the fungus underneath it won’t be cured completely. You will be left with fungal spores that will continue to grow after the treatment. If the bleach somehow DOES make its way under the nail and into the nail bed, the sensitive nail bed tissue will likely become even more burned by the trapped bleach than if the bleach hadn’t penetrated that layer. 

Laser Treatment for Toenail Fungus

The best treatment for fungus available is the PinPointe laser. This treatment is FDA-approved and typically requires only one treatment to completely eliminate the fungus from the nail bed. It also is completely safe and has no risk of side effects. Compared to oral medication, this is a big benefit because there are fewer limitations on who can get the treatment done. In fact, the only people who can’t get the PinPointe laser are diabetic patients with severe neuropathy. To see all of our 150 podiatry clinics for PinPointe laser, visit our page here.