Healthy skin and nails are the pride of every person. But what if the infection has damaged their appearance? The answer is simple: kill the infection! One of the causes of diseases that spoil the outer skin is the fungus. For many centuries, people have learned to fight it using available natural means.
The favorite habitats of fungi on the human body are the feet, fingers and nails. The pathogen thrives 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 way of infection is through common objects (shoes, towels).
In medicine, the skin fungus is called mycosis, and if the pathogen has settled on the nails, then they talk about onychomycosis. Fungal disease is not easily treated. If the disease is not diagnosed in time, it can take months of hard work to fight it. For the treatment of fungus, all means are good - both drugs and folk recipes.
Nail fungus can be cured with folk remedies, provided that the root part of the nail (the matrix) and the nail bed are not affected. Deep penetration of the fungus into the tissues 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 splitting of the nail;
- redness, itching and burning of the nail fold;
- unpleasant odor 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 medicine did not help.
Among the most effective means to eliminate the fungus are the following:
- apple or table vinegar;
- yellow flowers;
- iodine;
- tea sponge;
- garlic and onion;
- coffee.
How to quickly cure nail fungus?
Timely and correctly selected treatment can quickly get rid of nail fungus.
If you do not want to be treated with drugs and decide to use traditional medicine, in any case consult your doctor.
Each of the means of traditional medicine may help one person, but will be useless to another.
Therefore, for quick and effective treatment of onychomycosis, diagnosis and consultation in a medical institution is necessary.
How to get rid of nail fungus?
The causative agent of the disease can be destroyed or liquidated by external treatment: 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 fungi well.
Traditional treatment of toenail fungus: effective recipes
Vinegar. A universal remedy for the treatment of fungus, even if more than half of the nail has been affected. You can use both table and apple cider vinegar. If the nail plate is slightly damaged, make a bath with 9% vinegar added in a ratio of 1 part to 8 parts water.
The procedure should be repeated every other day.
Folk recipes for nail fungus often contain vinegar as a component of the treatment mixture. For example, a compress of vinegar, eggs and vodka. The mixture is stored well in the refrigerator and used as needed.How to do it:
- 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 a cotton pad in the resulting mixture and apply to the sick 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 teaspoon;
- vegetable oil - 1 tsp. ;
- egg - 1 pc.
Compresses are made for several hours, after which 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.
iodine. It is good to use in the 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 medicinal agent is used in the form of alcohol tincture, mash or juice. There are many recipes made with garlic, as this medicine 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 treatment compresses 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 and rowan leaves are successful in the folk treatment of toenail fungus.
Spurge. This plant is widely used to treat eczema, fungus, warts and festering wounds. To fight the fungus, you need to lubricate the nail plates with milkweed juice twice a day. The duration of treatment usually does not exceed three weeks.
yellow flowers. It has established itself as an excellent means of combating fungi at various stages of the disease. It should be used with caution as the plant is poisonous. Pharmaceutical tincture of celandine is rubbed on nails affected by fungus or added to foot baths.
You can prepare a bath decoction 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 added broth.
Coffee for nail fungus- An excellent means of combating the disease. Natural freshly brewed coffee is used for treatment. How to treat:
- Boil the coffee, after it has steamed, pour it into a hot tub and soak 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, cleaning 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
- No matter which folk recipe for nail fungus you choose, you need to prepare your nails for treatment. Before applying the antifungal agent, make a hot foot bath with baking soda, salt, or laundry soap. This procedure is necessary 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 (tweezers, files, brushes) to clean 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 recommended to take such baths before each new application of the drug. If the treatment involves making compresses or applications several times a day, then you do not need to treat your nails so often. Once every 1-3 days is enough, depending on the degree of fungal nail damage.
- During the treatment, carefully maintain the hygiene of the feet. You can't let your feet sweat or tight shoes rub your feet. In this case, the infection will spread more actively to healthy nails and areas of the feet. 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 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 should carefully follow the rules of hygiene. You can't just use foot care products. Before bathing in a communal shower or bath, the surfaces of the plumbing system must be thoroughly cleaned with household detergents. Wash your nails with tar soap - this is an excellent prevention against fungus.
- If folk remedies for toenail fungus do not produce the desired effect, do not try them one by one, consult a doctor. The advanced form of the disease is much more difficult to treat, so only a specialist can correctly prescribe effective treatment.