Fungal infection of the nail plate is an infectious disease caused by several types of harmful microorganisms. Since the fungus leads not only to deformation, but also, in case of complications, to rejection of the nail, it must be treated. A folk remedy for nail fungus is the safest and most effective treatment option for the disease.
Nail fungus and its signs
Before using folk remedies for nail fungus, make sure that this is it. Signs of onychomycosis do not appear immediately, but gradually. The first symptoms almost always go unnoticed, especially if the person has not previously faced a similar problem.
The main precursors of the disease are itchy skin on the palms and soles and discoloration of the nails. If you start therapy at this stage, it will be easy to heal. In addition to itching and changes in the shade of the nail plate, fragility appears, inflammation is observed in the areas of the fingers close to the nails, as well as thickening of the surrounding skin.
Important! The pathological process must be diagnosed by a doctor, who will also tell you which folk remedies should be used to treat mycosis.
Causes of nail fungus
Depending on the type of injury and its location, the causes are diverse. Nail fungus affects not only the feet but also the hands. When one nail becomes infected, the lesion spreads to the other. This disease is contagious, so it is worth familiarizing yourself with the causes of its occurrence on the arms and legs.
On foot
Ringworm is a public disease, as it is easier to become infected in places where it is widely used:
- Infection can occur in a swimming pool, sauna or bathhouse. Harmful microorganisms remain in the shower, on the floor, in changing rooms and on carpets. High humidity is a favorite environment for the life and reproduction of pathogenic fungi.
- At home, in the bathroom. Even if a person does not go to swimming pools or wash in public showers at work, this will not protect them from infection. If there is already a carrier of the infection in the family, the use of a towel, cloth and soap becomes the cause of the family infection. Bathroom rugs, shower rails, and dirty bathtubs can also become a source of infection.
- At a pedicure session. Manicurists and pedicurists are required to sterilize their instruments after each use. If these rules are ignored, the client may not only become infected with a fungus, but also acquire additional skin problems.
- When trying on shoes. Not all stores and points of sale control the process of trying on shoes at the time of purchase. When choosing a new pair, you should try them on with socks, as this increases the likelihood of nail and skin problems in the form of fungus.
- When walking barefoot on the beach. Particles from the feet of infected patients remain in the sand, and when walking barefoot, a healthy person can contract onchymycosis.
In hands
Before thinking about how to get rid of nail fungus with folk remedies, you should familiarize yourself with the causes of its occurrence. The palm of the hand does not come into contact with the causative agent of the disease as often as the foot, therefore the routes of infection of the nail plate on the hands will be different. The most common include:
- disruption of the endocrine gland, the presence of serious blood diseases that lead to complications;
- increased level of sweat in the palms;
- prolonged use of antibacterial agents or medications against malignant tumors;
- the presence of chronic gastrointestinal diseases, which lead to a weakening of the body's resistance to various microorganisms;
- formation of damage during professional activities, household chores;
- manicure with non-sterilized instruments.
How can adults and children get rid of fungus?
Depending on the form of the disease being treated, therapy may differ. At the first manifestations on the skin of the hands or feet, or on the nails of the extremities, you should consult a pediatrician if you are a child, a therapist or a dermatologist if you are an adult.
The specialist will prescribe the necessary medications. These include pills and ointments. Also, many of them recommend folk remedies for nail fungus. These methods are no less effective and help to combat the problem, even if it is an advanced version.
Important! Therapy requires an integrated approach, as it greatly facilitates the elimination of the lesion. Therefore, along with the listed methods, hardware treatment options are practiced.
Folk remedy recipes
Treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies occurs after consultation with a doctor. After diagnoses and examinations, the specialist takes into account the patient's individual needs and prescribes appropriate medications. It is not worth practicing independent treatment, as ignorance of some features of the disease and the presence of allergies to some components of the medicine or folk method can lead to complications.
Vinegar and egg essence
Vinegar and other acids destroy microorganisms that cause fungus to develop. Therefore, 9% vinegar essence or common table vinegar is widely used in the treatment. Baths with it can help even in advanced forms. They use it to make baths, lotions and prepare ointments. The most effective remedy with this component is an ointment that includes a chicken egg and butter. Making homemade ointment:
- Wash an egg and place it in a container so that it does not touch the walls or peek through.
- Pour not with vinegar, but with vinegar essence (70%).
- Place in a dark place for a few days, during which time the peel should completely dissolve.
- Remove the film from the resulting composition and mix with the essence.
- Add a spoonful of butter and beat.
Apply the mixture to the affected areas before bed. To improve the effect, rewind with a bandage. Treat with it for at least a month and a half or until the problem is completely eliminated.
To prepare the second recipe, you will also need essence (1 tablespoon) with egg, as well as dimethyl phthalate (1 teaspoon). Mix all components and leave in a cold place for 24 hours. The resulting ointment can also be used before bed. After application, wear gloves or socks, depending on the location of the lesion. The result after daily application of the composition should appear after 3-4 weeks.
Peroxide and vinegar
Fungal nail disease can also be treated with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. With the help of this composition, it is removed from the skin within 1 week. For preparation, use 3% hydrogen peroxide and the same vinegar. It is necessary to mix these solutions in equal quantities. If there is no 3% vinegar solution, it is worth diluting the 9% solution with water in a ratio of 1 to 3.
Before applying the resulting liquid, it is worth preparing the surface. The hand or foot should be washed with antibacterial soap and nails, if any, should be trimmed. Apply the solution with a cotton pad. Remove it from the nail plate only after stopping the hissing process characteristic of peroxide. Afterwards, wash your feet and hands and lubricate the affected areas with tea tree essential oil. Although this recipe is quite effective, it will take a month for your nails to grow back.
Tea mushroom
Previously, kombucha was popular and was found in almost every home. Despite its current irrelevance, it is an effective folk remedy for combating fungi. It has an antibacterial effect. For the first treatment option, it is not the liquid that is used, but the mushroom itself. A small piece is applied to the affected area, wrapped in a bandage or plastic bag. Leave it like this until it dries or in the morning. For preventive purposes, in addition to lotions, kombucha liquid itself is also used. In addition to lotions, kombucha is used in other ways. To do this, it must be crushed and rubbed into the affected nails or the skin of the feet or hands. Do this at least twice a day.
The next option involves the presence of a kombucha infusion for three months. The liquid in which the mushroom floats is also used as a solution for lotions. It must first be strained and boiled for at least 40 minutes.
Important! It is not recommended to use this option for pregnant and lactating women, suffering from diabetes or alcoholism, as this mushroom contains alcohol.
Washing powder treatment
Another homemade option for eliminating fungus involves using washing powder. Despite the fact that experts consider this option to be ineffective, it is still used as an aid. Laundry soap has antibacterial and antifungal properties.
It helps to soften the nail during the bath, which simplifies the subsequent nail care process. To enhance the effect, tar and vinegar are used together with soap. You can speed up the healing process by using the following product usage options:
- wash your feet or hands with washing powder twice a day (morning and night);
- steam your feet with a small amount of grated laundry soap for at least 20 minutes (one spoonful of soap per liter of hot water);
- soap your feet, wait 20 minutes.
After the presented manipulations, the skin and nail plates soften, which simplifies their processing.
Birch tar and tar soap
Birch tar and its derivatives, usually soap, are used to solve cosmetic problems. These include increased skin oiliness, occurrence of comedones and also nail fungus. Previously, birch tar was used to eliminate skin lesions, lubricating the skin and nails with it. But before doing this, it is worth steaming it in soapy water or another solution. After removing the dead skin with a pumice stone, nail file or scissors, the tar is applied with a cotton swab and left for several hours without dressings.
In addition to using it in its pure form, you can prepare an ointment from it. For this you need baby cream and tar. Mix in equal amounts. Also use by applying to the necessary areas. Leave the ointment for 2 hours and then wash your feet (hands) in warm water.
Another way to cure a fungal infection is also to create a tar ointment. To prepare it you need badger fat or cream, sulfur powder and tar. The mixture consists of two parts tar and one part fat and sulfur. Mix all of this until smooth. To make the process easier, heat it in a water bath. Apply the resulting composition to your nails and cover with a bandage.
Folk remedies for treating nail fungus involve the use of tar soap. With it, as well as with household items, you can make baths and lotions. It also has antibacterial properties. Tar soaps and ointments based on it are effective products, but their significant disadvantage is the specific smell, as well as some limitations.
Important! Soaps and ointments should not be used if the patient has sensitive or dry skin or is allergic.
Iodine solution against fungi
Iodine is used to combat the proliferation of microorganisms on nails and skin. Helps eliminate unpleasant odors and itching. To get the effect of this remedy, you must use it systematically for one or two months.
To get rid of fungal infection, you need to take a 5% solution and apply it twice a day. They also make baths with it, adding it to hot water. The procedure lasts at least 15 minutes and then hydrogen peroxide is applied to the damaged nails.
Lotions are made with iodine solution. To prepare it, you need nitrofungin with garlic juice, iodine and vinegar essence. Mix everything in equal amounts, stir and apply to the steamed skin area overnight. In addition, with this composition, the affected areas of the nails can be easily removed.
Important! After using files, scissors and other objects to remove the lesion, it is necessary to disinfect it. This is necessary to eliminate the possibility of re-infection.
Potassium permanganate solution
The easiest way to disinfect a surface is to treat it with potassium permanganate. This product allows you to use it both in lotions and in baths. The easiest way is to take a moistened cotton swab, dip it in manganese and treat your skin and nails.
- To prepare an antimicrobial bath you need half a liter of vinegar and 10 grams of manganese. Dilute all this in 10 liters of boiled water. Keep your feet or hands in this liquid for 20 minutes. Repeat the procedure until recovery occurs.
- For lotions, add half a teaspoon of liquid potassium permanganate to a glass of water. Add some lemon juice here. Moisten a napkin or cotton pad with this solution and apply it to the injury. Put on a sock after bandaging the area. Keep the lotion for at least a quarter of an hour.
Essential oil lotions
Traditional treatment methods are inexhaustible and everyone can choose a more effective option for themselves. Oils, whether essential or not, are used for a variety of purposes, but they have also proven to be an effective solution to the problem of fungi. Onychomycosis is eliminated with tea tree, lemon, eucalyptus, mint, thymol and pine oil. Also castor oil, avocado oil, coconut oil.
The first lotion solution consists of a small amount of vinegar and eucalyptus oil. Leave the composition for three days and store in a cool place after use. Lubricate the affected nail and skin with it. Use until signs of illness disappear. No less common is a mixture of two oils – tea tree and lemon. This composition will quickly return your nails to their previous state.
Important! Using tea tree oil often leads to darkening of the nail plate.
Table or sea salt baths and compresses
The simplest and most effective remedy against fungus consists of sea or table salt. Additionally, you will need iodine with soda, essential oils, garlic water and much more. For the first bath, you need to mix a glass of soda with a liter of water, two spoons of salt and an iodine solution.
The next option requires the use of essential oils, which have a calming effect and disinfectant properties. For 100 grams of salt you need 6 drops of oil. Chamomile, eucalyptus and juniper are suitable. Lotions are also made with salt. The solution requires a tablespoon of sea or table salt as much as garlic juice. Dissolve all of this in a glass of water. Apply to the nail plate and skin twice a day.
Important! Sea salt baths are effective even in advanced forms of the disease.
Mumiyo
This pharmaceutical medicine is a means of wide application and action. Its rich composition eliminates the signs of onychomycosis. But its significant disadvantage is that it can cause an allergic reaction. This remedy negatively affects the proliferation of fungi by activating several processes. They allow you to destroy pathogenic microorganisms without unnecessary pain and trouble. This medicine allows you to restore the natural process of skin regeneration, which leads to rapid healing of injuries on the leg and arm.
Cheap and effective medicine
The best medicine for treating ringworm is the one that is ideal for a particular patient. If we talk about the initial form of the disease, then the simplest and cheapest means are suitable for therapy. These include lotions with vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and iodine solution. The best foot baths with your hands are when you add sea salt or common table salt, also with the same potassium permanganate or iodine.
Despite the low cost and ease of preparation, the use of these options leads to quick achievement of the effect. The more advanced the form, the less likely it is to eliminate the manifestations of the disease. In this case, one cannot do without the use of medications.
Important! When using folk remedies, the main condition is systematic use.
Assessments
After people notice the manifestations of the disease, they often do not go to the doctor for a consultation, but go to the forum and read the reviews of those who have already solved the problem. This option is suitable if the patient has at least some knowledge about the treatment.
There is a lot of information and videos on the Internet on the topic of onychomycosis and its therapy. Each of them is effective in a specific case. If we are talking about an advanced form of the disease, the traditional treatment option will not work. Therefore, it is worth stopping alternative medicine before an examination by a specialist takes place.
Nail fungus prevention
A good method to eliminate onychomycosis is prevention. Fighting the disease begins with the following recommendations:
- refuse to walk barefoot on the beach;
- use rubber slippers when using bathrooms and showers in places of general use, saunas and baths;
- try on shoes while shopping for socks;
- choose socks made from cotton fabric;
- refuse someone else's shoes;
- do not use other people's personal hygiene items;
- keep your feet dry;
- monitor your health status, as a fungal disease manifests itself against a background of general malaise.
Important! Compliance with preventive measures is also necessary after treatment, since after recovery the patient has an increased risk of relapse.
Conclusion: Folk remedies for treating nail fungus are an effective method that even experienced specialists consider. Therefore, it is actively used not only at the first signs of the disease, but also in advanced forms of nail fungus. Watch user video: how to quickly get rid of nail fungus.