Nail fungus (onychomycosis) is a contagious infection.Every 5th inhabitant of our planet is affected by it.You can catch the fungus by walking barefoot in a water park, pool or on the beach.Onychomycosis is also transmitted during fitting of shoes of a sick person and when using non-sterile accessories for manicure and pedicure.
You can get rid of nail fungus in different ways, but folk remedies are the safest for the body.Unlike pharmaceutical antimycotics, they do not have a toxic effect and do not disrupt the functioning of vital organs.
Today we will talk about what folk remedies can cure nail fungus and how to do it correctly at home.
General recommendations for traditional treatment of fungus
When onychomycosis affects fingernails or toenails, it is important to be able to properly organize the treatment process.
It is better to buy disposable files for treating affected areas.If this is not possible, then all instruments will have to be thoroughly disinfected after each use.Before starting the procedure, it is recommended to steam, trim and sand the plates to remove thickened areas, scales and loose tissue.
Hot baths take 20 minutes.In a softened state, nails better accept the chosen folk remedy.Since fungal strains do not like an alkaline environment, ordinary soda will be harmful to them.It is placed in the bath at the rate of 1 tbsp.l.x 2 - 3 liters of liquid.A higher concentration of soda solution helps to further soften the nails and surrounding skin.
While the fight against fungus is ongoing, increased attention should be paid to foot hygiene.Extremities should not sweat or be rubbed by shoes, since moisture and friction are the causes of the spread of onychomycosis.In the process of treating toenail fungus with folk remedies, you should often change socks, and after recovery, all things that came into contact with your hands and feet should be boiled in a special disinfectant.
If a patient with onychomycosis lives in an apartment with his family, he must take care of the safety of his household and provide himself with individual towels, slippers and other accessories.Before and after water procedures, the shower cabin and bathtub must be washed with aggressive agents, since the fungus does not respond to pouring boiling water over the accessories.To prevent fungus, family members are advised to provide a bar of tar soap.
The first symptoms of nail fungus are peeling, brittleness and discoloration.The skin around the plates peels, turns red and itches.Treatment of onychomycosis with folk remedies is effective at the early stage of the disease, until the strains enter the phase of active development.
Effective folk remedies against nail fungus
Folk remedies for toenail fungus can be combined with pharmaceutical medications prescribed by a dermatologist.The results of therapy in this case will be higher.
At home, onychomycosis is treated with herbs, foods and substances:
- Iodine.
- Vinegar.
- Onion.
- Coffee.
- Garlic.
- Propolis.
- Kerosene.
- Novocaine.
- Birch tar.
- Essential oils.
- Kombucha.
- Hydrogen peroxide.
- Apricot resin tincture.
Let's consider the most effective measures in the treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies.
Vinegar
The point of using vinegar against foot fungus is to create an acidic environment that prevents the spread of spores.As a result, the pathogen loses access to new sources of nutrition and dies.The absence of hardy parasitic cells prevents relapses of the disease.
For treatment of onychomycosis with vinegar to be effective, the product must be used in the correct concentration.
If folk recipes for toenail fungus include vinegar essence, the patient should use a 70% solution.When using table vinegar, you must take a product containing 6 or 9% acid.More saturated compounds cause chemical burns.
Ways to use vinegar to treat foot fungus:
- Baths.The water is heated to 50°C and 200 ml of table vinegar is dissolved in it.The total volume of the solution in the basin should reach the ankles.Legs hover for 15 minutes.3 r.per week.After the procedure, they are dried and cotton socks are put on.
- Lotions.It is better to apply applications immediately after the bath.A cotton pad is moistened with 9% vinegar and applied to the nail for 15 minutes.Another option: vinegar essence, glycerin and vodka are mixed in equal parts.Irrigate a cotton pad with the solution and apply it to the affected area for 15 minutes.
- Ointment.Acetic acid 70% take 2 parts, and glycerin, olive oil and dimethyl phtholate - 1 part each.The ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the ointment is applied to the affected nail for 8 to 10 hours.Then the limb is washed with laundry soap.
Vegetable juices
The pungent juices of onions and garlic save you from many infectious diseases.Healers know how to get rid of nail fungus using onions and garlic, and pass on working recipes between generations.
The easiest way is to lubricate the affected areas with fresh onion juice.A more complex recipe is to dissolve 1 tsp in 1 liter of water.table salt and gruel squeezed from 1 clove of garlic.The drug is applied as a compress.
Garlic juice is mixed with water and pure medical alcohol (1:1:1) and the diseased plates are treated with the resulting product in the morning and evening.To vary the therapy, combine garlic pulp with butter, apply the drug to damaged nails in the evening and bandage your fingers until the morning.
Treatment option for nail fungus with horseradish root:
- Herbal raw materials are crushed using a grater or meat grinder.
- The vigorous porridge is applied to steamed, cut nails.
- The compress is bandaged and kept until the morning.
An unusual recipe with tree resin: remove the “glue” from apricot bark and pour in vodka (1 tbsp x 1 glass).After 3 days, apply the solution to the sore nails, after shaking the liquid.Treatment with apricot resin allows you to get rid of nail fungus in 1 month.
Essential oils
Folk remedies based on essential oils are easy to apply and effective in fighting fungus.They act equivalent to expensive pharmaceutical antimycotics.Plant esters are endowed with diverse healing properties - cleansing, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and regenerating skin and nail tissue.
Essential oils destroy fungal flora and restore the affected plate to its normal state.
Essential oils are used as folk remedies against toenail fungus in different ways:
- Baths.The container is filled with 3 liters of hot water and 10 drops of any essential oil (ylang-ylang, lavender, rosemary, tea tree, etc.) are added with a pipette.The limbs are rinsed with clean water and placed in a basin with aromatic contents for 20 minutes.The procedure is completed by wrapping the feet in a warm towel for 15 minutes.
- Compresses.A little essential oil is heated to 30°C and 1 – 2 tablespoons of water are added.A cotton swab is soaked in the composition and attached for 1 hour with a bandage or plaster to the nail damaged by the fungus.Thanks to the compress, the plate becomes soft and elastic.In this form it is easier to cut and clean with a file.
If you are not allergic to undiluted tea tree oil, apply it to the affected nail, previously steamed with a warm soapy solution.A piece of laundry soap is grated and thrown into hot water.The oil product is taken with a cotton swab and rubbed into the plate 2 times.per day.The product is not washed off.
Essential oils for the treatment of onychomycosis are used daily until a full, healthy nail grows.The effectiveness of aromatherapy is enhanced by careful body hygiene.
How to cure nail fungus quickly
To quickly suppress the activity of the fungus that has invaded the nail plates, external use of hydrogen peroxide is allowed.
To treat onychomycosis, the professor recommends steaming your feet in a soda solution (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water), and then “biting off” a small part of the affected nail with nail clippers.Next, a piece of cotton wool should be soaked in a 3% peroxide solution and applied to the nail area of the finger.
For fungus on the hands, keep this application for 10-15 minutes, on the feet - from 40 to 60 minutes.The frequency of sessions is 2 per day until complete recovery.
Baths for hands and feet for onychomycosis with hydrogen peroxide are made from water heated to 50°C and 3% peroxide.Ratio – 2 tbsp.l.x 1 liter of water.Limbs soar 2 p.per day for 15 minutes.throughout the week.
Peroxide can also be mixed with other substances to obtain effective folk remedies for the treatment of nail fungus:
- Half a cup of slaked soda is dissolved in 4 cups of water and a quarter cup of hydrogen peroxide 3% is poured in.Add half a cup of magnesium sulfate and a quarter cup of vinegar to the mixture.Saturate a cotton swab with the drug and fix the lotion with a band-aid on the affected plate.Change the bandage every 10 hours.The general course of therapy is 1 month.
- Vinegar is mixed with peroxide (the concentration of both substances is 3%) in equal proportions.While the mass sizzles, your feet are immersed in it.Next, the fingertips are placed for half a minute in bleach diluted with water, and the limbs are quickly washed under a running stream.The procedure is completed by treating the nails with a mixture of Vaseline and tea tree oil (1:1) and putting on warm socks.Treatment lasts 1 week.
Lotions with Novocaine will help you quickly and effectively remove fungus from your nails.A piece of cotton wool is soaked in liquid medicine and tied to the affected plate.Just 2 lotions - and nail fungus is cured forever.
Propolis
Propolis is considered a universal remedy for treating many ailments.The product destroys fungal flora thanks to its fungicidal, bacteriostatic and wound-healing properties.
The use of propolis for mycoses and onychomycosis prevents the development and spread of pathogens.The patient notes the disappearance of itching and inflammation.The damaged nail is quickly replaced by a healthy plate.
Let's consider several variations of the folk method of treating toenail fungus (hands) with propolis:
- Soak cotton wool with 20% alcohol tincture of propolis and apply it to the plate.Place dry cotton wool on top and bandage the finger.After a day, the bandage is removed, the softened layer of the nail is removed with a file and the manipulation is repeated.
- A piece of propolis is applied to the problem area, after steaming the hands or feet and removing the top layer.Propolis is kept for half an hour.The procedures are performed 2 times.per day for a month.
- The solid form of propolis is crushed and mixed with antifungal cream from the pharmacy.Lubricating the nail with the improved medicine enhances the therapeutic effect of both remedies.
- Propolis tincture is added to foot baths, keeping the proportion of 15 drops to 3 liters of water.The bath is taken for 20 minutes, then the hands and feet are wiped, and the skin around the diseased plate is wiped with hydrogen peroxide.
With the help of propolis, onychomycosis is treated for 2 – 3 months.You cannot interrupt the course to avoid relapses.If all the rules of therapy are followed, the fungus is completely cured.
Celandine
In the summer, celandine will help quickly cure nail fungus.The juice of the plant has an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and cauterizing effect.Fungi die instantly from the poisonous juice.
The beneficial liquid is extracted by grinding the above-ground part of the plant with a meat grinder and squeezing the juice through cheesecloth.The second option is to pick a sprig of celandine and lubricate the nail with the juice that stands out.
A decoction for foot baths from celandine for fungus is made using dry raw materials:
- The celandine is doused with boiling water (5 tbsp x 1.5 l).
- Cook the broth over low heat for 10 minutes.
- The product is cooled and filtered.
The broth is poured into water and the bath is taken for 15 minutes.Frequency of procedures – 2 r.per day.
If within 1 - 2 weeks of use folk remedies against nail fungus do not produce any results, consult a doctor to clarify the diagnosis and prescribe medications.