Onychomycosis (nail fungus) is one of the most common infections on our planet. She watches us in the bathroom, in the pool, in the beauty salon during a pedicure procedure, on the beach and during fitting in a shoe store. The disease develops rapidly and very quickly affects not only the nail plates, but also the skin areas surrounding them. It is important not to miss the onset of the disease, when it is still possible to treat nail fungus with folk remedies.
Therapy of fungal diseases in general, and onychomycosis in particular, still remains one of the most complex and unsolved problems in medicine. Every third inhabitant of our planet suffers from this disease (according to WHO).
Symptoms of the disease
It is impossible not to notice this disease even in the earliest stages of development. This greatly facilitates the diagnosis and allows the treatment of the pathology to begin at the right time. First of all, the color of the nail begins to change: from pale pink it turns yellow, brown and sometimes black. Other typical symptoms of this disease include:
- itching of the skin around the nails;
- grooves, spots or inclusions in the nail plate;
- bitterness;
- peeling nails;
- rotten smell;
- removal of plaque from the nail bed;
- A white layer appears under the nail plate in the soft tissues.
How does infection occur?
Nail fungus is possible in people with weakened immune systems and age-related skin changes. The risk of contracting an infection increases significantly in patients suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and thyroid gland. At the first signs of infection, you should immediately consult a doctor to make a diagnosis and start treatment. Otherwise, the infection will spread to other areas. All family members of an infected person are at risk. During the treatment period, you should stop walking on the floor barefoot. It is necessary to strictly follow the simple rules of hygiene when taking a shower (rinse the bathroom well after yourself, use a personal towel).
Is it possible to get rid of nail fungus using folk remedies?
This is a very common question. Yes, in the early stages of the disease this is not difficult to do. The situation is much worse with an advanced form, when the disease can seriously damage health:
- weaken the immune system;
- cause an allergic reaction;
- provoke the worsening of chronic diseases.
Magicians and healers know how to treat toenail fungus with folk remedies. Of course, it will not be possible to quickly fix the problem (in a few days), but there will still be a positive result. Traditional medicines are divided into two groups:
- for internal use - teas, tinctures, decoctions;
- for external use - solutions, bandages, ointments.
By combining these methods, you can get rid of the disease and restore health. Below we will describe how to treat nail fungus at home using folk remedies.
Preparations based on celandine
This plant is known not only to specialists in the field of herbal medicine, but also to ordinary city dwellers: many of them have seen small bushes covered with small yellow flowers near houses and roadsides in spring. But not everyone knows that the plant has disinfectant and wound healing properties. It is also used to treat nail fungus. Most often, celandine is used in the form of a tincture. It is also possible to use pure plant juice.
Fresh juice
The easiest way to use celandine is to smear the damaged nail plate and cuticle with the juice of the plant three times a day. Treatment continues for a week.
Vodka tincture
Wash and dry the celandine herb well, chop it and place it in a glass container. Fill the raw material with vodka (1: 2). Close the jar tightly and put it in a dark place for two weeks. The tincture is taken according to the following scheme: for the first three days - 3 drops, diluting them in ½ glass of water. Then every day the dose increases by 1 point. When it reaches 20 points, it is also gradually reduced to three.
Celandine and calendula
How else can you cure nail fungus? Folk remedies, for example celandine and calendula, are very effective in combating this pathology. In a teaspoon of celandine juice, add two drops of calendula and oregano solution. Add 4 tablespoons to the resulting mixture. l. water. The composition is applied to the affected nail plate three times a day.
Vinegar in the treatment of mold
Healers claim that vinegar can help cure nail fungus. Folk remedies based on it can be different. Next, let's look at some popular recipes.
The essence of vinegar
Treat the affected nail plate with 70% acetic acid. However, this rather aggressive method is not suitable for people with disorders of the heart and blood vessels, suffering from allergic reactions to this substance and hypertension.
Eggs and vinegar
Perhaps this is the most common popular method of treating nail fungus, allowing you to quickly get rid of the pathology. To make the medicine you will need apple cider vinegar and a chicken egg, preferably a house. Pour vinegar into a 200 ml glass jar, put the egg in it and put it in a dark place. When the egg is completely dissolved, remove the film remaining behind it, pour the resulting mixture into another glass container, add a teaspoon of butter (teaspoon) and mix thoroughly.
Steam your feet, apply the product to the affected areas, cover with a bandage folded several times, wrap with plastic wrap and secure. After 12-14 hours, the nail will rise and soften. It should be cut with pre-disinfected scissors. The procedures are repeated until the symptoms of the disease disappear.
Ointment
Mix one part of glycerin, o-phthalic acid dimethyl ester, olive oil with two parts of acetic acid (70%). The ointment is applied to the affected nails for 8-10 hours. It is recommended to perform the procedure before going to bed.
Foot bath
Table vinegar (200 ml) is added to water heated to 50 °C. Its level should reach the wrists. Your feet float in this solution for a quarter of an hour. The procedure is performed three times a week.
Uses of iodine
Many people are interested in how to quickly treat toenail fungus with folk remedies. At the beginning of the article, we said that a positive result can be achieved only in the initial stage of the disease. Onychomycosis can be treated using ordinary iodine. This is an affordable but painful procedure that is preferably performed on weekends.
Steam well and dry your feet. Coat the infected nail plates with iodine, bury it in the cracks until it stops absorbing. After some time, you will feel a strong burning sensation that you have to endure. If the discomfort is unbearable, put your feet in a basin of cold water. At the beginning of the disease, one procedure is enough to cure.
Baking soda
Traditional methods are often used in the treatment of onychomycosis. How to treat nail fungus with baking soda? The powder is used for warm baths at the rate of two tablespoons per three liters of water. To make the procedure more effective, add half a spoon (teaspoon) of laundry soap, grated on a grater, to the water. The procedure takes at least a quarter of an hour. After finishing, your feet should not be wiped: let them dry naturally. Then you should wear cotton socks. For complete recovery, such procedures should be performed every three days for a month.
Essential oils
Many people say that if the disease is advanced, it is quite difficult to cure toenail fungus with folk remedies. Healers believe that essential oils cope well with this task. They are compared in terms of their effectiveness with expensive antifungal medications. In addition to the antifungal effect, the oils have many useful properties:
- cleaning;
- regenerative;
- anti-inflammatory;
- bactericidal.
Essential oils not only destroy the fungal cells, but also restore the normal condition of the nail plate. These tools for the treatment of nail fungus are used in different procedures:
- Compresses.Heat tea tree oil to 30°C and dilute with two teaspoons of warm water. Soak a piece of cotton in the resulting mixture and place it on the nail plate for an hour. After the procedure, it will become soft and elastic, which will allow it to be shortened.
- The bathrooms.Pour three liters of hot water into a basin, add ylang-ylang essential oil, add rosemary or lavender (10 drops). Soak clean feet in the solution for a quarter of an hour. After the procedure, wrap your feet in a warm towel for a quarter of an hour.
- Use it in its pure form.If the oil has no allergic reactions, you can use it to lubricate the nail plate, previously evaporated in hot water with 72% laundry soap. Dip a cotton swab in the oil and dab it on the affected nails. It should not be washed.
Tincture of propolis
There are many traditional methods for treating nail fungus. A universal and safe remedy is propolis, or rather, its tincture with alcohol. The drug has fungicidal, wound healing and bacteriostatic properties.
With onychomycosis, propolis does not allow the pathogen to multiply. Judging by the reviews, itching and inflammation disappear after just a few procedures. Gradually, the affected nail is replaced by a healthy one. There are several ways to treat pathology with propolis:
- A piece of propolis is applied to the affected nail, previously boiled in a solution of potassium permanganate, for half an hour. The procedure should be performed twice a day for a month.
- Wet a piece of cotton with an alcohol solution (20%) of propolis and apply it to the nail plate, covering it with dry cotton wool on top. At the end of the procedure, bandage the finger. The bandage can be removed after a day and the softened nail can be removed.
Tea mushroom
The healing properties of this unique medicine are used in the treatment of many infectious diseases. You can use this popular remedy to treat nail fungus. Use it as follows:
- separate a thin layer from the fungus, soak it in water for an hour, then apply a portion to each affected nail;
- cover the compress with plastic wrap and wear a woolen sock;
- Leave the compress overnight.
The procedure, during which burning and itching can be felt, is repeated every two days until the symptoms of the disease disappear.
Garlic
Many patients are interested in which folk remedies can treat nail fungus. Many of the remedies are always available in every home. For example, garlic, which is no less effective than special antifungal drugs.
- Pour a glass of apple cider vinegar over a clove of garlic in a glass container with a lid and put it in a dark place for two weeks. The finished composition is applied to the nails affected by the fungus in the evening, a gauze bandage is applied on top and left until morning. Treatment continues until the symptoms of the pathology disappear.
- Squeeze the juice from five cloves of garlic. It should be diluted in 30 ml of boiled water. This product is used for painting injured nails, which must first be steamed and dried.
Hydrogen peroxide
How to quickly treat nail fungus with folk remedies? Traditional healers claim that there are methods that help to get rid of the disease in a very short time. These include preparations based on hydrogen peroxide. It can be used in different ways and in different combinations:
- A mixture of several products.Dissolve 1/2 cup baking soda, diluted with vinegar, 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 cup magnesium sulfate in four cups of water. Secure a cotton swab soaked in this mixture to the affected nail with a bandage. The bandage stays on the affected area for 10 hours. Then it is replaced with a new one. Treatment continues for 10 days.
- Peroxide and vinegar.Mix equal parts peroxide and 6% vinegar. Dip your fingers in this mixture and keep it until it turns brown. The feet are then washed with warm water and tea tree oil mixed in equal parts with petroleum jelly is applied to the dry nails. This procedure should be performed every day for a week.
Anesthesia based on procaine
Yes, this is not exactly a popular remedy, but it would be a mistake not to mention it in this article. Cotton swabs are moistened with anesthetic and fixed to the affected nails. Some patients claim that this simple method can get rid of the fungus in just two procedures.
Plants
How else can you treat nail fungus? Folk remedies based on herbs and medicinal plants have a disinfecting and anti-inflammatory effect.
Recipe:
- Mix equal parts of wormwood, burdock leaves and chamomile flowers. Pour a spoon (tablespoon) of the mixture with a glass of boiling water. After 20 minutes, when the mixture has cooled a little, dip your fingers in it for 15-20 minutes.
- Chamomile flowers, oak bark and calendula should be taken in equal proportions. Pour boiling water (one liter) into three spoons of the mixture. Let the mixture stand for half an hour. Then add a tablespoon of sea salt to the broth. Put your feet in it. The procedure continues for a quarter of an hour.
- Blackberry leaves, verbena grass, horsetail, calendula flowers and oak bark are crushed and mixed in equal parts. Pour boiling water (200 ml) into a spoon (teaspoon) of the mixture. Place the container with the herbal mixture in a water bath for a quarter of an hour. Strain, cool and wet cotton with the resulting decoction. They are applied in the form of lotions to sore nails at night.
- Gently beat the burdock leaf with a spoon to extract the juice. The pieces of the sheet are placed on the nail plate, the finger is bandaged and a sock is put on. The dressing should be changed every 12 hours. Continue treatment for 10 days.
- Kalanchoe leaves and golden mustache should be ground into a paste. The mass is applied to the infected surface and fixed with a bandage. In the morning, remove the bandage and wash your feet with warm water. Treatment is carried out until the symptoms disappear.
- Pour 150 ml of vodka with 10-15 g of lilac flowers. The raw materials are injected for two weeks in a dark place. Wipe the damaged nail plate with the prepared solution twice a day for a week.
Mushrooms in advanced form
If the nail is completely yellow, does not adhere firmly to the nail bed, crumbles, the nail folds are red or sore, this means that the nail fungus has advanced. Treatment of this form of pathology with folk remedies is impractical and ineffective. In this case, alternative medicine is used only as an adjunct to drug treatment.
Affected nails are washed with tar soap at night. Pour salt on top and wrap with a sterile bandage. In the morning, remove the bandage and wash your feet with warm water. Repeat the procedures for at least a week.
Disease prevention
If you are an opponent of traditional medicine or for some reason you cannot buy pharmaceutical drugs, you can try to cope with the disease with folk remedies. In this case, it is necessary to treat nail fungus when the first symptoms of the disease are detected.
Prevention of this pathology is no less important. The causative agents of onychomycosis are inert to conventional disinfectants. Powders, soaps and detergents do not affect the viability of spores. In this regard, nail fungus is a dangerous disease; its treatment at home is quite difficult and preventive measures are often ineffective.
However, it is necessary to follow the basic preventive rules:
- Do not use other people's hygiene products. This rule must be respected even within the family circle, since, judging by medical statistics, more than 60% of cases of infection occur at home.
- Treat the bathroom and carpets with disinfectant solutions.
- Use a 5% chloramine solution to treat bedding and towels used by the patient.
- Socks or stockings should be changed daily. Fungal spores migrate to the fabric, and you can get rid of them only by boiling, and this is not always possible.
- After visiting the pool, treat your nails and feet with a 40% hexamethylenetetramine solution.
- Dry or sweaty skin is an ideal place for the infection to spread. Doctors have proven the high effectiveness of boric acid, hexamethylenetetramine and talc to help cope with dryness or excessive sweating of the feet.
If the treatment of fungus with alternative medicine does not give a positive result, you should consult a doctor who knows exactly how to treat nails with the help of medications.
Alternative treatment for nail fungus: patient reviews and doctors' opinions
Many people claim that they were able to completely get rid of this pathology using only folk remedies, the recipes for which are given in this material. True, they all claim that they managed to achieve a positive result, because the treatment began after the first symptoms of the disease were detected.
Doctors are not so optimistic. They believe that treating nail fungus with folk remedies is not always safe. The fact is that many of them are quite aggressive, and doctors more than once had to deal with the consequences of their uncontrolled use - burns, inflammations, etc.
Therefore, doctors recommend that if you suspect a fungus, consult a doctor, do an itch, identify the sensitivity of the causative agent to various drugs, and then start treatment. If in your case the doctor considers it possible to treat nail fungus using traditional methods, he will include effective means as part of the complex therapy.