Healthy skin and nails are the pride of any person. But what if the infection has ruined their appearance? The answer is simple: destroy the infection! One of the causative agents of diseases that damage the outer skin is fungus. For centuries, people have learned to fight it using natural remedies available.
The favorite habitat of fungus on the human body is the feet, fingers and toenails. Pathogens thrive in warm, moist, alkaline environments, so they are rarely found on hands. This infection is spread 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 nail, then they talk about onychomycosis. Fungal diseases are not easy to cure. If the disease is not diagnosed early, it may take months of hard work to fight it. To treat fungus, all means are good - both drugs and folk recipes.
Nail fungus can be cured with folk remedies, provided that the nail root (matrix) and nail bed are not affected. Deep penetration of the fungus into the tissue requires treatment with systemic drugs.
Signs that indicate nail fungus:
- thickening and discoloration of the nail plate;
- loosening of the outer layer of the nail;
- fragility and breakage of nails;
- redness, itching and burning of the nail folds;
- unpleasant odor from nails.
If any of these symptoms appear on your nails, be sure to see a doctor. Dermatologists or mycologists diagnose and treat 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 this and that medicine doesn't help.
Among the most effective ways to get rid of fungus are the following:
- apple or table vinegar;
- celandine;
- iodine;
- tea mushroom;
- garlic and onion;
- coffee.
How to quickly cure nail fungus?
Timely and correctly selected treatment can help get rid of nail fungus quickly.
If you do not want to be treated with drugs and decide to use traditional medicine, in any case consult your doctor.
Every traditional medicine can help one person, but not useful for another.
Therefore, to treat onychomycosis quickly and effectively, diagnosis and consultation in a medical institution are necessary.
How to get rid of nail fungus?
The causative agent of this disease can be destroyed or eradicated using external treatments: 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 antibacterial properties also fight fungi well.
Traditional treatment of toenail fungus: effective recipes
Vinegar. A universal remedy to treat fungus, even if it affects more than half of the nails. You can use both table and apple cider vinegar. If the nail plate is slightly damaged, bathe with 9% vinegar added at a rate of 1 part to 8 parts water.
The procedure must be repeated every day.
Folk recipes for nail fungus often contain vinegar as a component of the medicinal mixture. For example, a compress of vinegar, egg and vodka. The mixture is stored well in the refrigerator and used as needed.how to make:
- 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 in the resulting mixture and apply it to the sore nail for 15 minutes.
- Repeat daily until new nails grow.
The same recipe with vinegar has the following composition:
- essence of vinegar - 1 teaspoon;
- dimethyl phthalate - 1 teaspoon;
- vegetable oil - 1 teaspoon;
- egg - 1 pc.
The compress is used for several hours, then the feet are rinsed with running water. Do it once a day for 4 days with equal rest intervals. Treatment with this recipe continues until healthy nails grow back.
Iodine. Good to use in the early stages of the disease. It is recommended to lubricate diseased nails with iodine twice a day for 20 days. A slight burning sensation should not be alarming, but if severe pain occurs, then iodine should be diluted with water.
garlic. Healing agents are used in the form of alcohol tincture, porridge, or juice. There are many recipes made from garlic, because this medicine is very effective in fighting fungus. The easiest is a crushed garlic compress at night. Fresh paste is applied to the nail and tied with a bandage. If compresses for treatment are not acceptable for some reason, then you can lubricate the nails 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 suppurating wounds. To combat the fungus, you need to lubricate the nail plate with milkweed juice twice a day. The duration of treatment usually does not exceed three weeks.
Celandine. It has proven itself as the best way to fight fungus at different stages of the disease. It should be used with caution, as the plant is poisonous. Pharmaceutical colored celandine is lubricated with nails affected by fungus or added to a foot bath.
You can prepare a decoction for bathing from fresh or dried celandine. It is good to add other components in equal parts: oak bark, calendula, chamomile. You can add a few spoons of sea salt to the hot bath with the addition of the broth.
Coffee for nail fungus- Excellent medicine to fight disease. Freshly prepared natural coffee is used for treatment. How to treat:
- Brew the coffee, after it's brewed, pour it into a hot tub and soak your feet in it for 15 minutes.
- After steaming your feet in the bath, apply coffee powder to the affected areas of the nails and skin, massage, clean the nails from dead tissue.
- Repeat every day, 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 the folk recipe for nail fungus that you choose, you need to prepare your nails for treatment. Before using an antifungal agent, take a hot foot bath with soda, salt or laundry soap. This procedure is necessary to soften the nail to remove the affected surface and subsequent treatment with the selected product.
After bathing the feet, use manicure tools (nippers, files, brushes) to clean the top layer of the affected surface as much as possible. Do not use the same tool on infected and healthy nails.
Important!
It is advisable to perform such a bath before each new application of the drug. If the treatment involves making compresses or applications several times a day, then there is no need to treat your nails as often. Once every 1-3 days is enough, depending on the degree of fungal damage to the nails.
- During the treatment, be careful to keep the feet clean. You can't let your feet sweat or tight shoes rub your feet. In this case, the infection will spread to healthy nails and foot areas 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. Clothes or towels that come into contact with infected nails and skin should be boiled or disinfected in a special way.
- For those who live in the same apartment with someone who has nail fungus, you need to follow the hygiene rules carefully. You can't just use foot care products. 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 remedies for toenail fungus do not bring the desired effect, do not try everything one after the other, consult a doctor. The advanced form of the disease is much more difficult to cure, so only a specialist can properly prescribe an effective treatment.