Surely many have heard of at least one folk remedy for toenail fungus. In fact, there are dozens of them. And how among such a variety to choose what exactly will help? Treatment of onychomycosis (namely, in medicine it is called damage to the nail plate by the fungus) on the legs can take from several months to a year. Therefore, the choice of funds must be approached with all seriousness. To facilitate your task, in the article we will consider the rating of funds from toenail fungus for home use.
What is a nail fungus
As the name implies, the causative agent of the disease are fungi, namely the genus Trichophyton. Once on the nail plate, the spores spread inland, destroying its structure. Outwardly, this is manifested by a change in the structure and color of the nail. It becomes yellow or brownish. If you drag your finger along the surface, you can feel that it has become uneven, tubercles and grooves appeared. When the disease is started, the nail plates crumble, break, or even go away. And also the disease can go to the skin of the fingers and feet. In this case, treatment with folk remedies for toenail fungus will be ineffective. It will be necessary to connect antifungal drugs.
Stages of fungus development
Specialists distinguish several stages of the disease:
- At the first stage, it is almost impossible to determine onychomycosis at home. Symptoms are manifested only by minor changes in the nail plate (spots, cracks).
- In the second stage, the symptoms are well manifested. Deformation of the nail is noticeable. Its color becomes yellow or grayish, an unpleasant odor appears. At this stage, it is still possible to eliminate the fungus of toenails with home remedies.
- The third stage is considered a neglected form of the disease. The nail crumbles, breaks and may come off.
How to recognize the disease at an early stage
When the disease progresses, curing it with home remedies can be difficult. In order not to wait for obvious signs of nail damage, you need to know the symptoms of the onset of the disease:
- peeling of the skin around the nail and on the fingers, as well as itching in these places;
- the appearance of an unpleasant odor on the legs;
- pain when walking;
- redness of the surface near the nail;
- foci of cloudy and dark circles;
- laminating plates.
If you notice in time these harbingers of toenail fungus, folk remedies will help to quickly cope with the disease. Therefore, try to examine your toes more often.
How does an insidious ailment appear on nails
If you are faced with onychomycosis, then you should not be upset and reproach yourself for your frivolous attitude to your health. This disease is quite common. According to the World Health Organization, they suffer from 20% of the world's population. Anyone can get onychomycosis, no one is safe from this. Of course, there are factors contributing to the onset of the disease. There are several reasons for the appearance of nail fungus:
- excessive sweating of the legs;
- tight or low-quality shoes;
- mechanical damage;
- inadequate foot care;
- ingrown nail;
- non-observance of personal hygiene;
- non-sterile nail care tools;
- taking antibiotics;
- weakened immunity.
The risk of contracting onychomycosis increases when visiting public places:
- steam room;
- pool;
- group fitness rooms;
- locker rooms;
- public beaches;
- spas.
A healthy body can easily cope with a fungal attack. If you have weakened immunity, there are wounds on your legs, it is recommended to refrain from visiting these places. But even if you do not go to such institutions, the risk of infection with a fungus still exists. Disputes can pass from relatives through common household items: towels, manicure accessories, washcloths, slippers. As a rule, many of these items are individual. If this is not so, then you need to make sure that each member of the family has his own set of similar household appliances. Especially if one of the household has a fungus on his legs or arms.
General rules for treating fungus at home
Having chosen home remedies for the fight against nail fungus, you need to be patient. The procedures will need to be performed regularly with a break per day or daily, and in some cases several times a day. The duration of the course is from several months to a year.
Therapy of toenail fungus includes the following steps:
- Steam coarsened areas well using antimicrobial agents. Hot baths take at least 15 minutes.
- Trim and grind damaged areas of the nail with a file. To clean the damaged tissue that was under the cut nail plate.
- Then, the affected areas should be treated with the selected drug. You can combine the use of folk and pharmacy products. You can steam your feet in a herbal broth or add soda, salt or hydrogen peroxide to the water. And you can treat your nails with an antifungal ointment.
- Careful hygiene is a prerequisite for the effective treatment of onychomycosis. Use disposable nail files and treat manicure with alcohol. Change socks more often, and slippers are best purchased with an open toe.
How to cure nails with laundry soap
Laundry soap for toenail fungus is used as a separate tool and together with other drugs. The effectiveness of the drug is associated with a high concentration of alkali, which creates an environment unsuitable for fungi. For the treatment of fungus, soap with a mark of 72% is suitable. Consider proven recipes:
- In the evening, with a soapy washcloth, rub your nails for at least 15 minutes. Remove affected areas by cutting them with scissors and sawing with a file. In the morning, wash your feet under the tap, dry and grease your nails with tar. Repeat the procedure every 2 days for 2 weeks.
- Prepare a solution of hot water, grated soap and soda. In the bath with the prepared product, steam the legs for 15-20 minutes. Trim and file damaged areas with a file.
- For this recipe, you need to prepare a decoction of aspen bark: 100 g of crushed bark pour 0.5 liters of boiling water and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Steam in a bath with a decoction of the legs for 20 minutes. Then dry your legs and grease your nails with a mixture of laundry soap and soda. To prepare the mixture you need to grate a tablespoon of soap, add a teaspoon of soda, pour a little hot water and mix well.
The use of acetic acid against fungus
To remove the fungus from the toenails, vinegar should be taken 9%. There are several methods for applying vinegar:
- For a therapeutic bath, you need to add a glass of vinegar in a bowl of water heated to 50 ° C. After steaming, dry and put on cotton socks.
- To enhance the effect of treatment, you can conduct a course of vinegar lotions. Moisten a piece of soft tissue with vinegar and place on affected areas. Keep for 15-20 minutes. Repeat the procedure every 2 days until the fungus disappears.
- Acetic ointment. This recipe will require 70% vinegar. It is necessary to mix acetic acid, glycerin, vegetable oil and dimethyl phthalate. Vinegar is taken in two parts, and the remaining components one at a time. Mix well and apply to the affected area for 8 hours, preferably at night. Wash your feet well in the morning.
Onion and garlic treatment
Onions and garlic from toenails are considered a very powerful remedy. It is able to cope even with long-standing onychomycosis. For treatment, it is better to choose recipes where onions and garlic are used in liquid form. So antifungal components more easily penetrate into damaged areas. There are several such recipes:
- Grate the onion and squeeze the juice. Before going to bed, onion juice is processed on the nail plates, socks are put on the legs. The tool does not require rinsing.
- To prepare the tincture you need 4 tablespoons of onion husks pour 200 ml of vodka. After 14 days, the infusion will be ready. They lubricate sick nails several times a day.
- Garlic lotions are prepared from chopped garlic and softened butter, taken equally. The mixture is applied to the affected areas overnight. The compress is fixed with a bandage. For greater fixation, socks are worn on top.
The disadvantage of these tools is a persistent smell, especially in the case of garlic.
Use of hydrogen peroxide
First you need to steam your feet well in water with the addition of soda (a tablespoon of soda is taken on a hot water kettle). The water temperature must be at least 50 ° C. Place a cotton pad soaked in peroxide on nails, wrap it with plastic wrap on top. Hold the compress for an hour, and then remove and rinse with water. To have an effect, you need to do the procedure 3-4 times a day.
The use of baking soda in the treatment of onychomycosis
In the treatment of nail fungus on the legs, soda acts as a means of softening the nail plate. To make the therapeutic agent easier to penetrate the affected tissues, they are soaked in hot baths with the addition of soda and laundry soap. Then the legs are dried with a towel and ointment, cream or other product is applied to the nails.
Celandine will clean the nails of the fungus
This herb has long been known for its antiparasitic properties. The juice of the plant is poisonous and has an antifungal effect. For the treatment of celandine toenail fungus, use the recipes:
- Squeeze juice from fresh grass and drip it on sore spots every 1-2 hours. Such treatment should be carried out for a month or until the fungus disappears.
- With a decoction of dry grass, make baths. To do this, pour 100 g of herbs with boiling water and insist 20 minutes. The filtered broth is mixed with water one to one. Take a bath for about 20 minutes.
- Celandine tincture on alcohol also successfully treats nail fungus. Dry celandine is poured with vodka and infused for 2 weeks. Proportions are taken one to two. Start treating the affected area with 5 drops, gradually increasing to 20.
The use of tea tree oil
In folk medicine, tea tree oil from toenail fungus has been successfully used. Legs are steamed in a hot bath. Add 20-25 drops of oil to the bowl. You need to soar your feet in the bath for at least 20 minutes. The procedure is carried out once a day, the duration of the course is 30 days. There is another option for using tea tree. First you need to steam your feet in hot water with the addition of soda. Dry legs and grease affected areas with tea tree oil. It is recommended to apply the product 2 times a day.
Iodine
Iodine lubricates diseased nails with a cotton swab. The remaining plates will also be useful to treat for prevention. Just use another cotton swab for this. Perform the procedure 1-2 times a day.
Propolis tincture
Propolis tincture from a toenail fungus can be prepared at home or bought a finished drug. For self-cooking, you need to pour propolis with alcohol in a ratio of 1: 4. Let it brew for 2 weeks. Compresses are made from 20% tinctures. To do this, a cotton pad or tampon is moistened in tincture and applied to the nail. The compress is fixed with a bandage. After a day, the old compress is changed to a new one.
Ammonia
Ammonia, or ammonia, can be found in any medicine cabinet. For treatment, you need to add 1 tablespoon of ammonia to 1 glass of water. In this solution, moisten a cotton pad, swab, or just a piece of tissue. Make a compress on sore nails at night.
Prevention of toenail fungus
Prevention can prevent many diseases, including onychomycosis. Compliance with these simple recommendations will help protect yourself from this ailment:
- Use personalized manicure tools. Disinfect them periodically.
- Do not wear other people's shoes. It can be slippers at a party, common slates in the pool or bath.
- When trying on new shoes in a store, do not put them on your bare foot.
- Wear shoes made from natural materials that allow your skin to breathe.
- Fight excessive sweating of the feet with baby powder, special products, or oak bark.
- Strengthen immunity, especially in the spring and autumn. Eat more vegetables and fruits, conduct hardening.
- Monitor your blood sugar. Diabetes mellitus can cause fungus on the toenails.
- Do pedicures and other hygiene procedures on time.
- Wash your feet and change socks daily.
- Wipe your feet dry after washing.
- Wear shoes according to the weather. Wear sandals, slippers or lightweight fabric shoes during the warmer months.
- Wash your shoes inside with laundry soap.
- Keep your bathroom clean. Do not allow mold to appear there.
These simple tips will protect you from nail fungus, and folk remedies will help eliminate the disease in the early stages. If the situation is neglected, and folk remedies do not help for more than a month after the start of use, then it is better to turn to traditional medicine and visit a mycologist.