![Appearance of toenails affected by fungus](/images/articles/100/Appearance%20of%20toenails%20affected%20by%20fungus.jpg)
Healthy skin and nails are a source of pride for any person. But what if the infection has damaged their appearance? The answer is simple: destroy the infection! One of the causative agents of diseases that spoil the outer skin is a fungus. Over many centuries, people have learned to fight it using available natural remedies.
The favorite habitats of the fungus on the human body are the feet, fingers and toenails. The pathogen multiplies in a warm, moist alkaline environment, so it is rarely found on the hands. The infection is transmitted from person to person, and infection often occurs in places such as baths, saunas, and swimming pools. Another route of infection is through common objects (shoes, towels).
In medicine, skin fungus is called mycosis, and if the pathogen has settled on the nails, then they talk about onychomycosis. Fungal disease is not easy to cure. If the disease is not diagnosed early, it may take months of hard work to combat it. To treat fungus, all means are good - both medicines and folk recipes.
Nail fungus can be cured with folk remedies, provided that the root part of the nail (matrix) and the nail bed are not affected. Deep penetration of the fungus into tissue requires treatment with systemic drugs.
Signs that indicate nail fungus:
- thickening and discoloration of the nail plate;
- looseness of the outer layer of the nail;
- fragility and splitting of the nail;
- redness, itching and burning of the nail fold;
- unpleasant smell from the nail.
If any of these symptoms appear on your nail, be sure to consult a doctor. A dermatologist or mycologist diagnoses and treats fungal diseases.
Forums often discuss what folk remedies can cure nail fungus. People share successful ways to get rid of nail fungus or complain that such and such a medicine did not help.
Among the most effective means of getting rid of fungus are the following:
- apple or table vinegar;
- celandine;
- iodine;
- tea mushroom;
- garlic and onion;
- coffee.
How to quickly cure nail fungus?
![Traditional treatment for toenail fungus](/images/articles/100/Traditional%20treatment%20for%20toenail%20fungus.jpg)
A timely and correctly chosen treatment can help get rid of nail fungus quickly.
If you do not want to be treated with medications and decide to use traditional medicine, in any case consult your doctor.
Each of the traditional medicine remedies can help one person, but will be useless for another.
Therefore, in order to quickly and effectively treat onychomycosis, diagnosis and consultation in a medical institution is necessary.
How to get rid of fungus on nails?
The causative agent of the disease can be destroyed or eradicated using external treatments: baths, compresses, applications. Fungi multiply in a moist alkaline environment, and an acidic environment is detrimental to them, so products such as vinegar and lemon are effective. Plants with strong bactericidal properties also fight fungus well.
Traditional treatment of toenail fungus: effective recipes
Vinegar. A universal remedy for treating fungus, even if it affects more than half of the nail. You can use both table and apple cider vinegar. If the nail plate is slightly damaged, make a bath with 9% vinegar added at the rate of 1 part to 8 parts water.
The procedure must be repeated every other day.
Folk recipes for nail fungus often contain vinegar as a component of the medicinal mixture. For example, a compress of vinegar, eggs and vodka. The mixture stores well in the refrigerator and is used as needed.How to do:
- Pour 2 tablespoons of vinegar essence and vodka into a container, add three egg whites, mix everything well.
- Soak a thin strip of bandage or cotton swab in the resulting mixture and apply to the sore nail for 15 minutes.
- Repeat daily until a new nail grows.
A similar recipe with vinegar has the following composition:
- vinegar essence - 1 tsp;
- dimethyl phthalate - 1 tsp;
- vegetable oil - 1 tsp;
- egg - 1 pc.
Compresses are applied for several hours, then the feet are rinsed with running water. Do it once a day for 4 days with the same rest interval. Treatment with this recipe continues until a healthy nail grows back.
Iodine. Good to use at an early stage of the disease. It is recommended to lubricate the diseased nail with iodine twice a day for 20 days. A slight burning sensation should not be alarming, but if severe pain occurs, then the iodine should be diluted with water.
Garlic. The healing agent is used in the form of alcohol tincture, gruel, or juice. There are many recipes made from garlic, because this remedy is very effective in fighting fungus. The simplest is a compress of crushed garlic at night. Fresh paste is applied to the nail and secured with a bandage. If compresses for treatment are not acceptable for some reason, then you can lubricate the nail with garlic juice.
In the folk treatment of toenail fungus, herbs such as euphorbia, celandine, tea tree oil, Kalanchoe, chamomile, calendula, and rowan leaves are successful.
Spurge. This plant is popularly used to treat eczema, fungus, warts, and purulent wounds. To combat fungus, you need to lubricate the nail plates with milkweed juice twice a day. The treatment period usually does not exceed three weeks.
Celandine. It has established itself as an excellent means of combating fungus at different stages of the disease. It should be used with caution, because the plant is poisonous. Pharmaceutical tincture of celandine is lubricated with nails affected by fungus or added to foot baths.
You can prepare a decoction for a bath from fresh or dried celandine. It is good to add other components in equal parts: oak bark, calendula, chamomile. You can add a couple of tablespoons of sea salt to the hot bath with the addition of the broth.
Coffee for nail fungus- An excellent remedy for combating illness. Natural freshly prepared coffee is used for treatment. How to treat:
- Brew coffee, after it has brewed, pour it into a hot bath and immerse your feet in it for 15 minutes.
- After steaming your feet in the bath, apply coffee grounds to the affected areas of the nails and skin, massage, clearing the nails of dead tissue.
- Repeat daily, and after 5-7 days the skin and nails will be smooth and the fungus will disappear.
![Garlic is a folk remedy for fungal infections.](/images/articles/100/Garlic%20is%20a%20folk%20remedy%20for%20fungal%20infections.%20.jpg)
General recommendations for the treatment of nail fungus
- Regardless of which folk recipe for nail fungus you choose, you need to prepare your nails for treatment. Before applying the antifungal agent, take a hot foot bath with soda, salt or laundry soap. This procedure is needed to soften the nails in order to remove the affected surface and subsequent treatment with the selected product.
After a foot bath, use manicure tools (nippers, files, brushes) to clean off the top layer of the affected surface as much as possible. Do not use the same tools on infected and healthy nails.
Important!
It is advisable to do such baths before each new application of the drug. If the treatment involves making compresses or applications several times a day, then it is not necessary to treat your nails as often. Once every 1-3 days is enough, depending on the degree of fungus damage to the nails.
- During treatment, carefully maintain foot hygiene. You can't let your feet sweat or tight shoes rub your feet. In this case, the infection will spread to healthy nails and areas of the foot more actively. Wear shoes that are as light and loose as possible. If your feet sweat a lot, change your socks several times a day. Clothing or towels that have come into contact with infected nails and skin should be boiled or disinfected with special means.
- For those who live in the same apartment with a person who has nail fungus, you need to carefully follow the rules of hygiene. You cannot use foot care products alone. Before bathing in a shared shower or bathtub, the surfaces of the plumbing fixtures should be thoroughly cleaned with household products. Wash your nails with tar soap - this is an excellent prevention against fungus.
- If folk treatment for toenail fungus does not bring the desired effect, do not try them all one by one, consult a doctor. The advanced form of the disease is much more difficult to cure, so only a specialist can correctly prescribe effective treatment.