Treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies is effective in the early stages of the disease. With a more advanced form, it is better to consult a specialist.
best remedy for nail fungus
Few people know that with the help of vinegar you can solve the rather difficult medical problem of getting rid of nail fungus. With the availability of table vinegar (9% acidic solution) and even vinegar essence (70% acidic solution) available at the hardware store or the market, there are many ways to treat toe fungus with this product.
Of course, self-treatment with vinegar should be carried out only if the disease is not in an advanced form, and it is advisable to combine it with specially designed drugs. However, when there is an urgent need to treat nail fungus, and there is no money and time to visit a doctor, and there is no medical therapy, it is possible to use vinegar alone as long as you follow the proper safety recommendations. the rules.
Features of using vinegar for the treatment of fungi
The main effect of using vinegar is to create an acidic environment in the area of yeast infection, which prevents the growth of hyphae and the spread of spores. Gradually, the fungus, left without access to new sources of nutrients, dies, and the absence of much more resistant spores prevents the possibility of recurrence of the disease.
At first glance, everything is very simple - like destroying bacteria with an antiseptic. But in fact, the fungus turns out to be very tenacious, since its body is not located on the surface of the nail or skin, but enters the thickness of tissues. In this sense, a positive result from the treatment of onchomycosis should be expected only in the case of strict regularity of the procedures, which will not leave the parasite time for rehabilitation and penetration under the skin.
Before treating nail fungus, make sure that the concentration of acetic acid used corresponds to that indicated in the recipe. If the recipe contains a mention of vinegar essence, it means a 70% solution that must be dissolved or applied punctually. Food or table vinegar, respectively, contains 6 and 9% acid. The neglect of this data can lead to the fact that the treatment will end in a chemical burn.
vinegar baths
Warm foot baths are considered an effective remedy against fungus, regular use allows you to get rid of onychomycosis at an early stage without additional medication. In addition, vinegar baths are an excellent prevention of fungal infections. The procedure requires warm water, about 50°C, and a glass of table vinegar at 9% concentration. The water level in the basin should not be high, but only up to your ankles. The feet are dipped in the solution and held for 15 minutes.
Before the vinegar bath, it is desirable to carry out a complete pedicure procedure, including removing the affected areas of the nail plate and layers of dead skin, corns and corns on the feet, but without applying a decorative coating to the nails. If you cut and file your nails yourself, you'll need to do it very carefully, as microdamage to the skin can contribute to the spread of a fungal infection.
Immediately after the vinegar bath, dry your feet with a towel and put on cotton socks. Repeat three times a week.
acetic lotions
Lotions on areas affected by the fungus are best made after vinegar baths. For this, pharmacy products and 9% pure vinegar are suitable, in which a cotton pad is moistened and applied to the nail for fifteen minutes.
A more complex recipe: a mixture of vodka or medical alcohol at forty degrees, glycerin and 70% acetic acid in equal proportions, mix until smooth. A cotton swab moistened with a solution is kept for fifteen minutes on the affected areas, after which cotton socks are put on. The course of treatment is one week, if necessary, it can be repeated after a few days.
Ointment
Vinegar-based ointments are stored for a long time, they are more convenient to use than liquid consistency products. To prepare an acetic ointment, you need to take 70% acetic acid, dimethylphthalate, glycerin and olive oil in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1, respectively. After mixing all the ingredients well, the ointment is ready to use.
To prevent the spread of a fungal infection and destroy its pathogens, you need to apply the ointment daily to the affected areas with a cotton swab, hold for 8-10 hours, then rinse with washing powder. You can use this recipe not only for the treatment of onchomycosis of the toenails, but also on the affected fingernails.
Toenail Fungus Treatment with Tea Tree Oil
Ways to use tea tree oil:
- Foot bath with tea tree oil. Warm water is poured into the basin up to the level of the ankles, 15-20 drops of essential oil are added and the feet are kept for twenty minutes, maintaining a high water temperature (45-50 ° C). The course of treatment is two months, you need to take baths daily. During the treatment procedure, it is necessary to remove the affected areas of the nail plate using a file, nail clippers or scissors.
- Applying oil to the nail plate. If you do not have a reaction to undiluted tea tree oil, then to increase the effectiveness of the impact, it is applied in its pure form to the affected areas of the nail. Beforehand, the legs are steamed in warm water with the addition of washing powder (for better dissolution, it can be grated). The oil is rubbed into the nail plate with a cotton swab twice a day, it is not necessary to wash off the product.
How to cure nail fungus quickly?
The internal and external use of hydrogen peroxide for the treatment of infectious and other diseases has been described by Professor Neumyvakin in a book written on the basis of personal experience. He mentions hydrogen peroxide as a prophylactic with antibacterial properties.
External use of hydrogen peroxide to treat a fungal infection is carried out after cooking the legs in warm water with soda dissolved at the rate of one teaspoon per liter. When the nail plates become soft, remove a small fragment from the affected area of the nail with manicure tweezers and, after soaking with a 3% peroxide solution, attach it to the nail plate. Let it act 10 to 15 minutes on the nails or 40 minutes to an hour on the feet. Perform the procedure twice a day until the symptoms of a fungal infection disappear.
To reduce peroxide evaporation and increase the intensity of exposure, the lotioned nail plate is wrapped with plastic wrap. After the exposure time, wash your toes and hands thoroughly under running water.
For therapeutic and prophylactic purposes, it is recommended to instill the nail cavity with hydrogen peroxide three times a day.
Good results are given by bathing the hands and feet (depending on the location of onychomycosis) with hydrogen peroxide. Dilute 3% hydrogen peroxide in water at a temperature of 40-50 ° C at the rate of two tablespoons per liter of water. The procedure time is fifteen minutes, the regularity of the procedure is twice a day for a week.
Instead of hydrogen peroxide, negative redox dead water, also called anolyte water, can be used in this recipe. Anolyte water is safe to use on sensitive skin, but it has antiseptic properties that reduce the rate of fungal growth.
Effective treatment for advanced toenail fungus
This extreme method of treating a fungal infection is used for severe injuries to the nail plate, it should be used with caution so as not to damage the skin.
To get rid of the fungus, the nail is treated with a rust neutralizer (available at an auto parts store). This product contains phosphoric acid, which effectively destroys the fungus, but if used carelessly, it can damage your skin tissue. Therefore, in the process of its use, it is necessary to observe safety precautions - work in a well-ventilated area, wear protective glasses and rubber gloves, avoiding contact with the skin and mucous membranes.
A safer way would be to use kerosene, which also has a high penetrating power and a very strong effect on the fungus.
Other folk remedies for nail fungus
Comprehensive treatment of nail fungus using folk recipes based on hydrogen peroxide allows you to destroy the fungus and permanently get rid of the unpleasant odor and other symptoms associated with it.
Two effective folk remedies against a fungal infection:
- Peroxide Recipe 1. To prepare the healing mixture you will need soda (0. 5 cups), hot water (4 cups), 3% strength hydrogen peroxide (0. 25 cups) and half a cup of magnesium sulfate or Epsom salts. Mix all the ingredients well and pour in another quarter cup of vinegar. Dip a cotton swab with the resulting solution and fix it on the nail plate affected by the fungus with a patch. You need to renew the dressing every ten hours, the course of treatment is one month.
- Recipe with peroxide 2. The procedure for treating fungus according to this recipe consists of three steps. First, you need to prepare a solution to treat the nail and skin surfaces affected by the fungus - mix 3% vinegar and peroxide in a concentration of 3% in a 1: 1 ratio. The feet are treated with this mixture while it sizzles. . The second step is soaking fingers with a fungal nail infection for half a minute in a weak solution of bleach in water, after which they are washed well under running water and dried with a towel. Finally, tea tree oil mixed with petroleum jelly in equal proportions is applied to the nail plate. Wear warm socks or gloves (if this technique was used to treat nail onchomycosis). The course of treatment is one week.
- Novocaine lotion. A very simple but effective folk remedy for treating fungus is novocaine lotion. We simply soak a piece of cotton wool in novocaine and apply it to the fungus at night. Just two of these lotions are enough to permanently get rid of the fungus.
- Apricot resin tincture: 1 tablespoon of resin removed from the tree, pour a glass of vodka, insist for three days. Lubricate the skin of the feet and nails with this solution. Shake before each use. It took us a month to treat, the affected nails were cut as they peeled off, new and healthy ones grew. On examination, the doctor confirmed the fact of recovery. I can also recommend using old, thickened sunflower oil in this case.
- Garlic Applications: I took a clove of garlic, squeezed it with a garlic press, applied the paste to the nail, covered it with cellophane and wrapped it in a bandage or placed it on my fingertip. I left the bandage on until the morning, the first few days I felt a throbbing pain, like an abscess, but I had to put up with it. The procedures were repeated daily and new nails grew.
- Strong coffee. Few people know that ordinary but strong coffee is a very good folk remedy for treating fungus. Make your coffee stronger and just dip your hands or feet into the cup, depending on where you have the fungus. This procedure is best performed at night, before going to bed. The fungus completely disappears after several night procedures. At the same time, the skin becomes smooth and the pain quickly disappears.
What causes nail fungus infection
Nail fungus, or as it is called in medicine, onychomycosis, is a disease that causes damage to the nail plates and adjacent areas by parasitic fungal microorganisms. This is one of the subspecies of mycoses. If we consider all the diseases to which the feet can only be subject, onychomycosis is the most common.
It can be caused by several groups of fungi:
- epidermophyte;
- dermatophyte;
- microsporia.
You can catch the infection in public places where humidity is excessive. This includes baths, steam baths, swimming pools, beaches.
Wooden objects (benches, sun loungers, etc. ) are widely used here. Due to the porosity of the wood, the fungus is difficult to kill there.
In addition, doctors distinguish several risk groups. For people belonging to one of them, the probability of infection increases dramatically.
This:
- old people;
- cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy;
- after a course of antibiotic or steroid treatment;
- infected by HIV;
- patients with diabetes.
It is not always possible to get rid of the disease quickly. The rate of cure depends on the variety of the parasite that caused it, the stage of development of the disease, the area of the lesion, the presence of complications and concomitant diseases, and the general state of the body.
Symptoms of onychomycosis
Nail damage by a parasitic fungus cannot go unnoticed. Symptomatic changes in nail plates are quite pronounced and boil down to the following.
- Lost natural shine, transparency.
- The color is changing. It can be yellowish, brownish, whitish, bluish, greenish, grayish.
- The surface roughness appears.
- Stripes, spots and thickenings are clearly distinguishable.
- Stratification is observed.
- There is exfoliation of the nail bed.
- Different areas are painted and crumbled.
- The surrounding tissues may become red, swollen, and itchy.
- There are sensations of pain.
- The feet give off an unpleasant odor.
Despite all this, self-diagnosis can be difficult. Early in development, the signs of onychomycosis are similar to the symptoms of some other lesions:
- injury to the nail area;
- age changes;
- onycholysis;
- nail psoriasis;
- paronychia;
- pseudomonic onychia.
How to quickly get rid of nail fungus with remedies and folk remedies
You must be realistic and understand that fungal infection of nails and nail areas is not treated in a week. According to doctors, the healing period can last from 6 to 8 weeks to six months, and sometimes 8 to 12 months.
It depends on many factors as well as nail growth activity. In the hands, this process is much faster than in the legs, and therefore the healing here comes sooner.
The best and fastest possible positive results can be obtained if you follow the recommendations below.
- Use a variety of therapeutic measures in the complex. Do not trust the effectiveness of any miracle medicine. Competently combine pharmacological preparations and recipes from traditional medicine.
- Treatment should be active but gentle - aggressive agents, often used for therapeutic purposes, should not affect healthy areas of the body located close to those affected.
- Strictly adhere to hygiene requirements so that the fungus does not spread, also to avoid reinfection soon after curing. And the probability of that is very high.
- Pay attention to the dryness of the affected extremities. Remember that humidity and heat are ideal conditions for the active reproduction of the fungus.
- Eliminate all the causes that caused the appearance of onychomycosis and eliminate them.
- Every day, carefully but as much as possible, cut the growing edge of the nail affected by the disease. If possible, go through the laser exposure procedure, which very effectively inhibits the pathological activity of pathogens.
pharmacological agents
Media that act against pathogens are generally divided into three subgroups, depending on the active components. Each of them has in its arsenal external ointments and pills of general action throughout the body.
It should be borne in mind that the latter have an extensive list of side effects. Therefore, you should not prescribe medication on your own. To minimize the risks, it is necessary to carry out an examination, identify which varieties of the fungus caused the disease and act with "targeted" drugs.
Antimycotic drug subgroups
- azole agents. They are based on triazole or imidazole, as well as their derivatives. Depending on the concentration, they have fungistatic or fungicidal effects. They are effective in fighting mold and yeast-like fungi.
- allylamine agents. Active ingredients can be terbinafine, naftifine, butenafine. They are able to stop the growth of the fungus and also have an anti-inflammatory effect.
- Other drugs. They act on the basis of additives of flucytosine, morpholine, griseofulvin, chlornitrophenol. They are distinguished by a narrower activity aimed at certain types of fungal pathogens.
external funds
At the beginning of the development of onychomycotic lesions, only the help of ointments should be resorted to. Only if they are ineffective, pill antimycotics are given.
The difference between creams and ointments:
- have a direct effect on injuries;
- relatively harmless;
- have fewer contraindications;
- adverse reactions are limited.
If you catch the disease early in development, it will be possible to deal with it within a month.
The most popular antifungal creams and ointments
- Zinc ointment. It allows you to relieve inflammation, dry the affected areas, get rid of itching, get an adsorbing effect.
- Based on naftifine. Fights inflammation, has an antimicrobial effect. The agent is prone to buildup on treated surfaces. Use the ointment no more than twice a day. The tool is not used during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Use of tablets
To provide a systemic effect throughout the body, the doctor prescribes oral pills. Broad spectrum drugs are prescribed.
- based on fluconazole. It's enough to take just once a day. Funds are well tolerated. In rare cases, intestinal disorders and skin rashes may occur on the body. The course of treatment can be 1-4 weeks.
- Terbinafine based. Capable of accumulating in the skin and its corneal formations (hair, nails). The course of treatment is at least 6 weeks. Requires 1 tablet per day. The drug is not given to young children, pregnant and lactating women. It can cause migraine, muscle and joint pain, allergies, anorexia.
All medications for fingernail or toenail fungus should only be taken after consulting a doctor.
How to treat nail fungus with folk remedies at home
First of all, you should strictly follow all medical recommendations, not skip the drugs and bring the treatment to an end, and not stop the course after eliminating especially irritating symptoms.
In addition, you need:
- regularly use local baths;
- apply a specialized varnish that blocks the spread of the fungus and also has a therapeutic effect;
- daily remove the protruding parts of the growing nail, affected by the disease;
- use special tools to soften the nail plate to remove it;
- vaporize hands or feet before using external topical agents;
- take steps to prevent infection in families.
special lacquers
Lacquers have a number of advantages. The active ingredients penetrate very deeply into the affected nails, but at the same time they harden and do not leave marks on clothes, sheets, shoes.
The hardened layer reliably blocks the oxygen supply to pathogens, which blocks their activity. But varnish products are effective only at the initial stage of onychomycosis.
Before using varnishes, you should resort to using a warm local bath. Soaked boards affected by a fungus are cut to the maximum, treated with a file or other grinding device. the surface is dry
Lacquer is also recommended to cover healthy nails. The procedure is repeated every night for a long period - from several months to six months.
help from a surgeon
Both the part and the entire plate can be removed. But this is no guarantee of complete relief from the disease. The probability of a fungal infection spreading is very high.
After surgery, the finger heals for a long time. In addition, suppuration may occur. A newly grown nail can become misshapen. A preferred alternative to such a method is laser therapy.
traditional medicine
For the treatment of nail fungus, the following remedies are used:
- Garlic. Apply garlic porridge in the form of applications on painful nails. A fixation bandage is placed on top. A nightly repetition of the procedure is practiced. You can also use garlic juice squeezed in an equal mixture with alcohol. Nails are treated with the resulting balm twice a day.
- Vinegar. Acetic acid acidifies the environment, which inactivates pathogens. This tool lubricates damaged nails every day. You can use vinegar compresses. To do this, cotton swabs are moistened in vinegar and fixed to the desired fingers on the affected area. The compresses last all night, removing in the morning.
- Peroxide. Like vinegar and other similar products, apply directly to nails or cotton swabs. Peroxide acts as an antiseptic.
- Alcoholic iodine solution. They can cover nail plates, including healthy ones, 1-2 times a day. Also, an iodine supplement is suitable for any bath. To do this, just add a few drops of the product.
- Propolis tincture. It can be used for lotions as well as injected into local hand or foot baths. The compresses are left on the nails overnight. You can prepare an ointment, which is a mixture of propolis and butter. The composition is overlaid on gauze and placed on the desired area. The agent is left for 10 hours.
- Burning vegetable remedies. For the treatment of onychomycosis, onions or horseradish are suitable. They have antimicrobial activity. Herbal products are used in the form of porridge. You can also make a kind of ointment by mixing liquid pomace with butter or melted chicken fat.
- Essential extracts. These funds have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and regenerative effects. For the preparation of local baths or as part of mixtures for compresses, oils can be used:
- cedar;
- tea tree;
- rosemary;
- lavender;
- firs and some others.
The essential extract is mixed with petroleum jelly in a 1: 1 ratio. It should be rubbed into damaged nail plates. As always in these cases, the remedy will have a stronger effect if the nails are pre-steamed.
prevention measures
The risk of reinfection with the fungus after getting rid of the disease is very high. Therefore, you need to clearly follow simple rules:
- follow foot hygiene;
- get rid of shoes, towels and socks that were worn during treatment;
- avoid sharing such things with other family members;
- avoid excessive moisture of the feet, use talcum powder;
- treat the inner surfaces of shoes with antiseptics.
Do not forget, all medicines for nail fungus, take after consulting a doctor.