Toenail fungus (toenail fungus) is a common disease that spreads easily in unsanitary conditions, in public places and can also be caused by sweaty feet from wearing poor quality shoes. If the rules of personal hygiene and general hygiene are not observed, onychomycosis quickly affects the toenails, and then one has to undergo long and expensive courses of treatment, not always. ensure complete remission.
How to recognize mushrooms?
Sometimes a person does not appreciate the fact that the nails have changed color, structure, become brittle or, conversely, thick and hard. Furthermore, the early symptoms of nail fungus are not obvious, although at this stage, treatment can still help quickly resolve the problem.
Treatment should begin immediately if the following symptoms are detected:
- the appearance on the nails of inconspicuous white stripes, dots or spots;
- loss of the natural luster of the nails and the formation of opaque, whitish or brownish areas;
- delamination of the nail plate;
- dermatitis adjacent to the diseased nail.
Characteristic signs of nail fungus are itching, burning, dryness, and peeling. If at least two or three signs are found, it indicates that it is time to start treatment.
Effective traditional medicine
For the treatment of onychomycosis, people use various means - from drugs that are freely sold in pharmacies, chemicals to medicinal plants. Often you have to try different methods or combine several methods to get good results. The main thing about such treatment is not to stop and finish the course, as untreated nail fungus tends to manifest in the form of a relapse and lead to the loss of new, healthy nails.
Medicines and remedies available
Some improvised means available in the closet or first aid box in every apartment are effective antifungals. These remedies include common iodine, with constant rubbing into the affected nail you can quickly cure the disease completely, but only in the early stages of onychomycosis.
The standard course of treatment with the use of iodine includes the daily application of a 5% solution, which must be rubbed into the nail twice a day (in the morning and at bedtime) for one month. . After a few weeks of treatment, you may feel some pain on the skin around the affected nail, but this is not a chemical burn but a sign of the healing process starting.
An alternative to iodine is a strong solution of potassium permanganate. This remedy, diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio, is also rubbed into the affected nail with the same frequency, and after the first week you can see better changes.
Hydrogen peroxide is considered a more benign agent: cotton swabs impregnated with this substance must be applied to the affected nail so that such swabs can be easily secured by wearing socks. It is necessary to change the disc twice a day, provided that you wear shoes frequently (for example at work). This will soften the affected nails, then easily remove the diseased segments and areas.
Common folk antifungals are soda and propolis, which can be used in many ways.
- Soft drink. Baking soda is added to a bowl of hot water at the rate of one tablespoon per three liters of boiling water. After steaming the feet with such liquid for thirty minutes, the nails affected by onychomycosis should be lubricated with celandine essential oil, after drying the feet. It is applied until complete recovery.
- Propolis. 10 grams of propolis is added to one hundred grams of alcohol, the product must be stuffed as tightly as possible under the affected nail after steaming. The applicator can also be applied on the surface of the affected nail, then put on tight socks or bandages. You can change such a bandage after only one day. Use until the nail fungus is completely cured.
- 20% alcohol propolis solution. The affected areas of the nails are lubricated daily with the product. Apply for two weeks.
These funds usually give results 7-10 days after starting the course. If these methods don't work, you need to try other recipes.
Herbal treatment
Herbs are the safest natural ingredients that, in some recipes, help cure nail fungus quickly. Usually, a golden mustache is used as a natural medicine. It is necessary to cut about 50 segments of the plant and press in 500 ml of vodka. A week later, the finished infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3 and applied to the affected nail two or three times daily until the fungus is completely eliminated.
Common lilac is also antifungal if prepared properly. Just pour 10 grams of freshly picked flowers of this plant with one hundred grams of pure alcohol and let it steep for two weeks - and the product is ready. It should be applied in the same way as before.
An interesting method that does not involve external use, but internal use. To prepare such a remedy, you need to take 10 grams of the following plants:
- blackberry leaves;
- Oak bark;
- horsetail meadow;
- flower calendula;
- verbena.
A mixture of these herbs is poured with a cup of boiling water and boiled over heat for fifteen minutes. The remedy is taken 4 times a day, one tbsp.
Other folk remedies
For treatment, you can use ringworm medicine, which can be bought at any pharmacy. This tool is used as follows:
- In the evening, the feet are thoroughly steamed and laundered for 15-20 minutes.
- Soft nails should be cut short, paying special attention to the removal of diseased areas of skin.
- Nails are thickly coated with birch resin, which must be left on for one and a half to two hours.
- After this time, the feet can be cleaned of ringworm and thoroughly washed, the process is repeated once a week until the nail heals.
Kombucha is effective against nail fungus. This tool is used to apply pressure: a tight bandage, gauze, or piece of cloth impregnated with kombucha, is superimposed on the affected nail.
To prepare kombucha, you will need three liters of tea and one and a half cups of sugar. Tea must be poured into a three-liter jar and left in a warm place for several days: during this time, a film forms on the surface of the liquid, which looks like ordinary mold. At this time, sugar is added to the jar, which helps speed up the growth of the kombucha. It usually doesn't take more than a month and a half to mature.
Then the entire foot is wrapped with polyethylene: this is an additional factor that reduces the ability of the fungus to access oxygen, which speeds up the process of killing the parasites. Warm socks are placed on polyethylene, and in this form you can go to bed, removing the bandages in the morning. The procedure is repeated until complete recovery daily.
If the previous methods don't work, you can try using essential oils. In fact, these cheap drugs are almost exactly the same as expensive antifungal drugs, so in terms of their properties and effectiveness, the essential drugs closely resemble any antifungal drug. What pharmacy mushroom?
The advantage of essential oils is that they work in a complex manner, providing antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cleansing and regenerating effects on the skin, so recovery is quick and painless. Unlike many antifungal creams and gels that completely destroy the affected nail, essential oils clear the affected areas.
You can use those products in different forms, to make the product, the entire container with essential oils is used completely:
- In the form of compresses: essential oils must be heated to a temperature of 30 degrees in a water bath, then add a few tablespoons of water to dilute the viscosity. Tampons or cloth impregnated with such oil, are fixed on the diseased nail for a period of not more than one hour. After removing the gauze, you can see that the affected nail has peeled off, but its cleaned main part remains (it will later be covered with a new protective layer).
- For the bath: pour three liters of hot water into the basin and add ten drops of essential oil. Keeping your feet in the pot for 20-30 minutes is enough, then dry them and wrap them in a thick towel for a while.
- As an ointment: essential oils are applied in any amount to pre-steamed diseased nails. After that, the oil does not need to be removed but simply apply such an amount that has been completely absorbed into the nail plate (this is revealed empirically).
You can absolutely use any essential oil according to your preference:
- Tea tree oil;
- ylang-ylang;
- rosemary oil;
- anise essential oil;
- bitter orange oil;
- basil oil;
- bergamot oil;
- eucalyptus oil;
- vetiver oil and any other.
The only contraindication in this case may be an allergy to the components of a certain oil.
Such recipes are used until complete recovery.
Fungus is a dangerous and common disease that requires immediate treatment. Without proper measures, such a disease can develop into a chronic form, which is sometimes completely irreversible. Usually, experts recommend giving up the use of folk remedies, but according to statistics, nail fungus is often cured with the help of traditional medicine, but to get effectiveIf you are positive, you need to choose the right formula that works for you.