Healthy skin and nails are a source of pride for every person. But what if the infection damages their appearance? The answer is simple: destroy the infection! Fungus is one of the causative agents of skin diseases. For centuries, people have learned to fight it using available natural remedies.
The favorite habitats of fungi in the human body are feet, fingers and toenails. The pathogen thrives in a warm, moist, alkaline environment, so it's rarely found on hands. The infection is transmitted from person to person, and infection often occurs in places such as baths, saunas, and swimming pools. Another way of infection is through common items (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 treat. If the disease is not diagnosed early, it can take months of hard work to fight it. All means are good for treating fungus - both drugs and folk recipes.
Nail fungus can be treated 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 the tissue requires treatment with systemic drugs.
Signs of nail fungus:
- thickening and discoloration of the nail plate;
- laxity of the outer layer of the nail;
- fragility and splitting of the nail;
- redness, itching and burning of the nail bed;
- unpleasant smell from nails.
If any of these symptoms appear on your nail, be sure to consult a doctor. A dermatologist or mycologist deals with the diagnosis and treatment of fungal diseases.
Forums often discuss whether folk remedies can cure nail fungus. People share successful ways to get rid of nail fungus or complain that this or that medicine didn't help.
Among the most effective means to get rid of fungi are the following:
- apple or table vinegar;
- celandine;
- iodine;
- river mushroom;
- garlic and onion;
- coffee.
How to cure nail fungus quickly?
Timely and correctly selected treatment can help to quickly get rid of nail fungus.
If you do not want to be treated with drugs and decide to use traditional medicine, consult your doctor anyway.
Each of the traditional remedies may help one person, but will be useless for another.
Therefore, diagnosis and consultation in a medical institution is necessary for quick and effective treatment of onychomycosis.
How to get rid of nail fungus?
The causative agent of the disease can be destroyed or eliminated using external treatment methods: baths, compresses, applications. Fungi thrive in moist alkaline environments and acidic environments are harmful to them, so products like vinegar and lemon are effective. Plants with strong bactericidal properties also fight the fungus well.
Traditional treatment of nail fungus: effective recipes
vinegar. Although it affects more than half of the nails, it is a universal remedy for the treatment of fungus. You can use both table and apple cider vinegar. If the nail plate is slightly damaged, prepare a bath with 9% vinegar added to 1 to 8 parts water.
The procedure should be repeated every day.
Folk recipes for nail fungus often include vinegar as an ingredient in the medicinal mixture. For example, a compress from vinegar, egg and vodka. The mixture is well stored in the refrigerator and used as needed.How to:
- Pour 2 tablespoons of vinegar essence and vodka into a container, add three egg whites, mix everything well.
- Soak a thin bandage or cotton swab strip in the resulting mixture and apply it to the painful nail for 15 minutes.
- Repeat every day until a new nail grows.
A similar recipe with vinegar has the following ingredients:
- vinegar essence - 1 teaspoon;
- dimethyl phthalate - 1 teaspoon;
- vegetable oil - 1 tsp;
- egg - 1 pc.
Compresses are applied for several hours, then the feet are washed 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.
Iodine. It is good to use in the initial stage of the disease. It is recommended to lubricate the sick nail with iodine twice a day for 20 days. A slight burning sensation should not be a concern, but if severe pain occurs, 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 with garlic, because this remedy is very effective in the fight against fungus. The simplest is a compress of crushed garlic at night. Fresh paste is applied to the nail and fixed with a bandage. If compresses for treatment are not acceptable for some reason, then you can lubricate the nail with garlic juice.
Herbs such as euphorbia, celandine, tea tree oil, Kalanchoe, chamomile, calendula, grasshopper leaves are successful in the folk treatment of toenail fungus.
Spurge. This plant is widely used in the treatment of eczema, fungus, warts and purulent wounds. To fight the fungus, it is necessary to lubricate the nail plates with milky juice twice a day. The duration of treatment usually does not exceed three weeks.
Celandine. It has proven to be an excellent tool for fighting fungi at various stages of the disease. The plant is poisonous and should be used with caution. Pharmaceutical tincture of celandine is lubricated with nails affected by the fungus or added to foot baths.
You can prepare a decoction for the bath from fresh or dried celandine. It is good to add other components in equal parts: oak bark, calendula, chamomile. You can add a few tablespoons of sea salt to the hot bath with the addition of broth.
Coffee for nail fungus- It is an excellent tool for fighting disease. Natural freshly brewed coffee is used for treatment. How to treat:
- Brew coffee, pour it into a hot tub after brewing and keep your feet in it for 15 minutes.
- After steaming your feet in the bath, apply coffee grounds to the damaged areas of the nails and skin, massage, clean the nails of dead tissue.
- Repeat daily and after 5-7 days the skin and nails will be smooth and the fungus will disappear.
General recommendations for the treatment of nail fungus
- Regardless of which folk remedy you choose for nail fungus, you need to prepare your nails for treatment. Before applying the antifungal agent, take a warm foot bath with baking soda, salt, or laundry soap. This procedure is necessary to remove the affected surface and soften the nails for further treatment with the selected product.
After the foot bath, use manicure tools (nippers, files, brushes) to clean the top layer of the affected surface as much as possible. Do not use the same products on infected and healthy nails.
It is important!
It is recommended to take such baths before each new application of the drug. If the treatment involves applying a compress or application several times a day, then you do not need to treat your nails as often. Depending on the degree of fungal damage to the nails, once every 1-3 days is enough.
- Carefully observe foot hygiene during treatment. You can't allow your feet to sweat or tight shoes to rub your feet. In this case, the infection will spread more actively to healthy nails and areas of the foot. Wear light and loose shoes as much as possible. If your feet sweat a lot, change your socks several times a day. Clothes or towels in 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 with nail fungus, you should carefully follow the rules of hygiene. You cannot use foot care products alone. Before bathing in a shared shower or bathtub, the surfaces of plumbing fixtures should be thoroughly cleaned with household products. Wash your nails with tar soap - this is an excellent prevention against fungus.
- If folk remedies against toenail fungus do not bring the desired effect, do not try all of them one by one, consult a doctor. It is more difficult to treat the advanced form of the disease, so only a specialist can correctly prescribe an effective treatment.