Son of an itch

Posted By: Kathleen DavidPosted On:

So I’ve got this stupid toe fungus on my right big toe, like the kind you’ve seen in the commercials. You know, where the anthropomorphic germ is snickering about having set up shop in someone’s toe, and he’s got a little briefcase and lots of smiling friends.

So the doctor prescribed this stuff called “Sporanox.” You take it for some months and it’s supposed to clear up the fungus…provided it doesn’t destroy your liver. But since I don’t drink booze, my liver’s in pretty good shape.

So I take it for two, three days and I’m doing okay.

Day four, I’m starting to itch.

Day five…hives. All up and down my arms, on my chest, base of my neck. I haven’t felt this miserable and uncomfortable since I had chicken pox when I was fifteen.

I stopped taking the stuff immediately, am using everything from Benadryl to calimine lotion to an oatmeal bath to cope with the rash, and I cannot warn folks strongly enough that if the doctor recommends Sporanox, stay the hëll away.

PAD

55 comments on “Son of an itch”

  2. I have Penlac which you paint over the fungus- I’ll send it to you if you want. It worked for me. It’s a prescription thing, but not likely to make you itch as it’s topical, not internal…

  3. Good job using the benadryl, but if symptoms worsen you might need to take a systemic steroid like prednisone.

    Either way, you should inform your doc, PAD. This way he will add Sporonox to the allergy list in your medical record and prescribe something new.

  4. Hmm. Sounds like tons of fun. My wife and I breed cats (Persians and Himilayans) and we have given them Sporanox to treat ringworm before. Try something with chlotrimisole on your toe (it’s a topical)or tinactin. I actually picked up a fungal infection from one of my cats (we don’t talk to the breeder who sold us the cat anymore) and I’ve used a spray on tolfanate/tinactin thing that’s worked well.

    Monkeys.

  7. Hate to say it, but consider yourself lucky. I took the oral medicine “Lamasil”, and within a week, I came down with the “skin infection” they describe as a possible side effect. There’s nothing like a week in the hospital on antibiotics for cellulitis! And once you come down with cellulitis, you’re prone to get it again…and again…and again… (as I proved again a few weeks ago).

  9. Heh – reminds me of the time in High School I got Pneumonia (a very benign case). I was given an antibiotic called Suprax – cleared up the pneumonia great. However, it seemed to turn my digestive tract into a crazy bacteria culture, and I got Pseudomembranous Collitis. Which was a much less fun reason to stay home from school for a week.

  11. I’ve got those little bougars too. There has to be another old fashioned remedy that takes care of them.

  12. This must be how the Shadows cooked up the Drakh Plague…or maybe the Vidian Phage…
    Now that the rest of you are beginning to mutate,
    us New Jerseyans don’t look so bad…

  13. So of course now, in addition to everything else, the anthropomorphic germ and his friends are now laughing their áššëš off at you and your modern medicine.

    My wife is pretty much alergic to every kind of medicine made, so if we’re really lucky all of the truly horrible medical problems will happen to me.

    Anyway, when she had a bad reaction they gave her some dteroid treatment, as someone mentioned above. I also second telling the doc about the reaction since it may give them a clue about what else not to give you in the future.

    Hope it all clears up soon.

  14. I have something similar. A few years ago, I read a medical advice column that recommended using BenGay on the nails, paying attention to the nail bed. I tried it and the condition did get somewhat better. I don’t do it consistently, though, so I can’t guarantee success.

  15. Sorry to here it. I had the same reaction to an antibiotic last summer. At least its not hot and humid out. I took a lot of cold baths to reduce the itching.

  16. Being a pharmacy student, I would recommend you go see a pharmacist. It sounds like the Sporanox could be interacting with another medication you are taking, or it you could be allergic to it. I would recommend that you look into it rather than just stopping it though.

  17. The problem is not as cut and dried as some may believe.
    The medication prescribed is a function of the type of agent causing the toe problem. I’m frankly surprised that your physician did not prescribe Lamisil right away, which indicates to me that it is not a type of dermatophyte causing the problem.
    The hives may have been a reaction to the same agent causing the problem on the toe and not from the medication.
    The best course of action is to consult your physician immediately and determine an alternate treatment.

  20. While I realize your intent is to warn people about a product you believe dangerous, I could have gone my whole life and never read that. Let alone as the feature story. My wife says I hate feet and have a thing about it. No, I just hate ugly feet and stories about it. I’d rather lick a movie theater floor than read that again.

  21. I have heard that the cure to nail fungus is as simple as putting Menthol Camphor on the nail and nail bed for several weeks.

    Never tried it myself, mind you, but I’m told it works. Makes your feet smell funny, but what the hëll, most feet already smell funny.

  22. Reminds me of an article John Brunner wrote for the late, great Science Fiction Age. As I recall, he had a bad reaction to just about every medication medical science ever devised. I mean really bad, including one that caused a years-long bout of writer’s block. If I couldn’t take the meds I do now, I might not be alive today.

    I second the advice to tell your physician about your reaction. If you have a doc that listens, treasure him/her. There aren’t enough of them.

    Chuck

  23. Is anyone else here getting flashbacks to the William Gibson novel Virtual Light? That had one character that was allergic to practically everything under the sun.

    As for PAD, I recommend a trip to Miracle Max’s.

  24. Curiously, when I had an ingrown toenail cut off by a podiatrist (which took surgery, a funny shoe, and a lot of time) the doctor talked about taking Lamasil, compounding it into a paste, and applying it topically to the nail. “I don’t think the stuff is particularly good for your liver,” he said.”

    Of course, since the Pure Food and Drug Act has been just about abolished, drugs like that get sold all the time. Hello, Vioxx!

  26. Without an exception, every time I see a TV ad for a pharmaceutical the cure sounds worse than the illness… I think allowing the big drug companies to advertise on TV was one of the worst decisions the FCC has made in the last 20 years. But then, I’m a bit of a hypochondriac so I’m probably more susceptible than most.

  27. Vicks Vapo-rub should do it. Deprive the little suckers of oxygen and they all die. Takes a long time though, since the nail has to grow completely out.

    Kills scabbies, too.

  28. Good luck with the hives!

    BTW, when I get well dosed with something that I’m allergic to (and get hives), I tend to be sensitive to a lot of foods that I can normally eat without a problem. So you might want to watch for that, just in case.

    (I also appear to become sensitive to the dye in Benadryl, so I started buying the dye-free version. *sigh*)

  29. Few years back, I started getting ‘tension headaches’. Took various painkillers and migraine relievers, to no effect.

    Doc gave me something called Syndol. Was at my parents, started to get a headache, so popped one.

    …when I woke up, my parents said I went out mid-sentence. I remember thinking how incredibly grateful I was that I hadn’t been driving when it kicked in.

  30. Wow, Dad, I thought your blog couldn’t get more fascinating. But an open discussion about your toe fungus? These new heights are simply dizzying.

    Much love.

  31. Sorry to hear about your reaction. I had the same toe issues as you and my doc prescribed Sporanox for me. I had no problems, and the fungus went away as advertised.

    Maybe, as mentioned above, it’s a reaction to some other medication you’re taking.

    Good luck.

  32. AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHH!

    I screwed up. I woke up this morning and realized that I had given out the wrong information last night. I see that Robbnn has provided the correct information. It is indeed Vick’s Vaporub for nail fungus. It is Tea Tree Oil in the Vaporub that is the effective ingredient for battling nail fungus.

    Your feet will still get a new funny smell. That part I got right last night.

  33. Hello from Portugal mr. David,

    Conga-rats on the latest “Fallen Angel”, that last page hit me like a ton of bricks.

    Regarding feet fungus, I got the stupid things in swimming pools. Best thing I found to treat them (and prevent foot perspiration at the same time) is something called Pevaryl here, have no idea if it exists in the states. It’s a white powder made of Econazol Nitrate at 1%. This one is a Janssen-Cilag medicine, but I’m sure there will be an American equivalent.

    And regarding your elections… Well, our fondest hope here in Europe is that Bush will think he wants to be fondly remembered by history and decides to do some good… I personally have little hope of that. On the other hand, he proved to daddy he could take care of Saddam, he proved to daddy he could be re-elected, so perhaps he finally decided he wants to show daddy he’s better than he was at getting peace between Israelis and Palestinians?

    One thing is certain: I don’t think Bush’s second mandate could be worse than the first…

    Best,

    Pedro

  35. Commiserations on your problems. I also have a mild fungal infection on both feet, and it itches like crazy on really hot days. My brother has the same problem with this stuff that you do. I normally use Mycospor (Australian brandname) – it contains chloramitrazole (sic?) and is very effective at clearing up fungal infections. Like everyone else said – see your Doctor, or failing that, go see a Podiatrist.

  36. A bit disturbing…you have an allergy or reaction to a medicine, so that turns it into a bad medicine for everyone?

    I had surgery this year and found out that I have a potential fatal reaction to most anesthetics…that doesn’t mean they’re bad for everyone.

    D. Eric Carpenter

  37. Let’s just hope “Son of an Itch” isn’t followed by “Itch Goes Hawiian”, “Itch Goes Bannanas”, “Revenge/Return of the Itch”, “Attack of the Itch” and pray it’s not “Itch: The Undiscovered Country”.

    Get Well PAD!

  38. if you can’t walk – then sit down …….. AND WORK ON THE NEXT NEW FRONTIER BOOK !!!

    get well soon !

  39. Thank you for all your kind words for Peter. He is trying to work but his hands have broken out as well. I had never seen someone with hives on the palms of their hands until this. He is slowly getting better. He looks better than he did yesterday.

  43. “A bit disturbing…you have an allergy or reaction to a medicine, so that turns it into a bad medicine for everyone?

    I had surgery this year and found out that I have a potential fatal reaction to most anesthetics…that doesn’t mean they’re bad for everyone.”

    Let me put it to you this way: The very first potential side effect they list is “skin rash.” Which sounds to me like it’s not that uncommon. And it’s powerful. I’ve had this for three days, it’s laughing off antihistimines, Caladryl, everything I can throw at it.

    And by the way, another one of the potential side effects is, as it turns out, liver failure, which is also death.

    The reason it’s not analogous to your situation is that if they’re going to operate on you, there’s really no other way to deal with it than anesthesia. This is a frickin’ toe fungus. I’m saying no one should take the risk of this agonizing medicine if they haven’t exhausted every rash-free topical remedy first.

    PAD

  46. I teased, but this topic is really keeping me enthralled. I recommended that my dad simply peel the skin from his bones with a sharp knife. He never listens to me.

  48. Hi! I’m a med student from the Philippines and a fan. 🙂 I’m sorry to hear about your rash, I get those all the time too since I have a lot of allergies. Anyway, here’s my 5 cents…

    Regarding the risk of taking that “agonizing medicine,” you ought to know that ALL medicines have adverse reactions, even paracetamol (one brand name: Tylenol), which is a very common drug. Quite a number of antifungal medications have skin reactions as a side effect and maybe the particular fungus on your toe is not responsive to the other drugs which don’t have skin rashes as a side effect. Quite a number of other medications have hepatotoxicity (liver damage…liver failure) as an adverse reaction and yet these continue to be used. It sounds freaky, but the process by which they heal can, due to many factors, also harm the patient. Sadly, that’s just they way things are. This being the case, it just wouldn’t be practical or economical to exhaust “every rash-free topical remedy first.”
    Also, you mention that you’ve had the toe fungus for three days. Um…those things can last for months or even years. I’ve seen it happen. Fungi really do tend to be persistent and recurrent.
    The best thing you can do at this point is return to your doctor and tell him about your rash. Other things could explain their presence, such as drug interactions if you are taking other medications, food-drug interactions, your dietary habits, etc. If the doctor doesn’t ask, volunteer the information. Ask questions and voice your concerns. Also inquire about non-medical measures you can take to help control the fungus (wearing sandals/open shoes, etc.)
    If the rashes are indeed caused by Sporanox, your doctor should know about this so he can prescribe a 2nd line drug. Let him know whether or not it works because your feedback will point to the next step in the management of your case, and will help the doctor in his dealings with similar cases in the future.

    I hope this helps. 🙂

  49. Yeah, I know the feeling. Back when my acne was at its height, doctors had me on this medication they called ‘the nuclear bomb of acne meds’, because nothing else was clearing it up. It started causing problems with my liver, as well as severe mood swings, nausea and various other unpleasant side effects.

    Even now, though unrelated, it turns out I have dangerously high liver enzymes of some description. I found it kind of ironic that I get the liver problems of all my friends, seeing as I’m the only one who doesn’t drink.

    Best of luck getting that skin rash cleared up. And then even better luck getting rid of that toe fungus.

  50. I’m taking “Lamisil” for a similar condition. Try that one instead, as it’s a newer drug and far more effective than Sporanox.

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