Foot fungus is a disease, the signs of which are seen in about 20% of people. Mycosis is easy to get when walking barefoot on a wet floor of a swimming pool or sports locker room, but it's not that easy to cure. It is necessary to begin therapy quickly, with the appearance of the first symptoms. To do this, use any folk remedy for foot fungus in combination with medications prescribed by the doctor.
How to get rid of foot fungus with folk remedies
There are many ways to remove the fungus on the feet with folk remedies. The most famous are birch tar, garlic and onions, soda and salt, celandine, vinegar. Everyone is able to alleviate the condition with onychomycosis, and with regular use, they help heal.
birch tar
A well-known folk remedy for foot fungus. Tar contains up to 15% of tannins, phenols, alkaloids, essential oils, a small amount of carcinogens. It is not known when tar was first used for medicinal purposes, but traditional medicine has long known how to treat fungi using this viscous and pungent birch distillation product.
When applied to the feet, tar acts on multiple problems at the same time. It softens keratinized areas, relieves inflammation and creates unfavorable conditions for infection.
The simplest folk remedy based on it is tar soap. It is suitable for several procedures:
- Soap paste lotions. Rub the soap powder, dilute with water until a semi-liquid consistency is obtained, apply on the affected legs, fix with a plaster and leave to act for 3 hours.
- Bathrooms. Rub the soap, measure 3 tbsp. L. Fill a basin with warm water and dilute the soap powder. Steam your legs for a quarter of an hour.
- Rubbing. Grind some powdered tar soap, measure 1 tsp. Add 2 tbsp. L. water and 1 tsp. drink. Apply the mixture on the nail affected by the fungus before going to bed, rinse the rest off in the morning. Repeat every day.
If there is no soap, but there is pure tar, an ointment can be made. According to the popular recipe, badger fat or any neutral cream can be taken as a basis. Equal parts of base and tar are mixed and used to lubricate the affected areas on the legs. After two hours, rinse the skin to remove the excess ointment.
You can improve the popular recipe with sulfur powder. Take 2 parts of tar, 1 part of sulfur, 1 part of cream or badger fat. The composition must be heated and thoroughly mixed. Apply the finished ointment to the toenails and cover with a plaster.
Antifungal vegetables - garlic and onions
Onions and garlic are the most effective foods for fungal infections. They cleanse the skin, strengthen the body's immune defenses and work great in tandem. In folk medicine, they are used for a wide range of diseases.
Garlic is rich in phytoncides, allicin (substance with a strong fungicidal effect), essential oils. Onions are rich in phytoncides and essential oils, flavonoids.
For foot fungus, apply the vegetables externally alone or in a mixture:
- Garlic juice. Crush the cloves, squeeze the juice and apply to the feet twice a day with any applicator, but not with your fingers.
- Onion and garlic juice. Chop 4 cloves of garlic, pour over 1 tbsp. L. onion juice. Apply and keep the composition on the feet with a compress or bandage for half an hour.
- Onion tablets. Chop the onion, mix with petroleum jelly in equal proportions. Apply daily to the skin of the legs in a 10-15 day cycle.
- Garlic applications. There is no time to squeeze garlic juice - just cut a clove in half, sprinkle with salt and rub the affected skin in half.
- Garlic lotion. Prepare the garlic gruel and squeeze the juice. Mix 1 part of juice with 1 part of water and 1 part of denatured alcohol. Apply the resulting lotion to the affected area of the legs.
Essential oils
In recipes recommended by folk medicine for foot fungus, various essential oils are often mentioned: cloves, cinnamon, thyme, cassia oil, geranium, oregano and lemongrass.
But the most popular is tea tree essential oil. It is a powerful, highly concentrated antiseptic. Use it carefully so as not to cause burns, redness or skin irritation.
There are several versions of the use of folk remedies - you can rub pure oil or you can dissolve it in baths.
To prepare a healing bath, use the following proportions: 1 liter of water, 1 tsp. soda, 1 tbsp. L. salt, 15 drops of oil, 1 tbsp. L. honey. If you need more blend, multiply the amount of all components. Baths are carried out for 20 minutes, every day without interruption in a course of 1-3 months.
Herbs for the bath
Herbal baths are soft folk remedies for foot fungus. Just make sure you don't have an allergic reaction to the plants that make up the composition.
A simple popular recipe includes burdock leaves, yarrow, plantain, and wormwood. Mix the herbs in equal proportions, for example, 2 tbsp. L. Pour boiling water over the raw material, wait for it to cool down a little, fill the bowl with broth and soak your feet. After a few days of daily steaming, conditions will improve.
A good effect is given by a decoction of oak bark. Prepare it at the rate of 4 tablespoons. L. dry raw materials for 1 liter of water. Add 2 drops of peppermint essential oil and 10 drops of tea tree oil, mix and allow to cool. After an hour, add the broth, 3 liters of hot water and 2 tbsp. L. drink. You can keep your feet in such a mixture for 30 minutes. Make time for this in your daily schedule. The course usually lasts 2 weeks.
Soda and salt
Folk recipes based on salt and soda are extremely easy to prepare. Take a basin for the baths, pour hot water, add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda and the same amount of salt (normal, sea or iodized), mix. If you have non-iodized salt, add a few drops of iodine. Spray your feet daily until symptoms subside.
Baking soda is good for foot wraps. Prepare a liter of water, a teaspoon of baking soda, dip the socks in them, squeeze them a little. They need to be worn on the feet for a long time, so put shoe covers / plastic bags on top or wrap your feet with cling film. Leave this compress on your feet for 2 hours. Repeat every day for 1. 5 months.
Rowan
An underestimated folk remedy for the treatment of mycosis. According to the recipe, fresh rowan leaves need to be kneaded so that the juice appears and applied to the feet. It is recommended to wrap it on top with a burdock leaf, but you can do without it. After that, you need to wrap the leg with a bandage and leave the compress for a day. Then switch to fresh. To be treated for 7-10 days.
Tea mushroom
Another popular foot fungus recipe includes kombucha. Medusomycete contains usnic acid and yeast, which have a weak antifungal effect.
The mushroom can be enhanced by using an infusion that accumulates over three months.
Such a concentrated remedy will help against toenail fungus. Prepare the infusion: boil for 40 minutes and strain. Moisten a cotton ball with broth, apply and fix overnight. In the morning, remove the diseased part of the nail and treat with iodine.
Another popular recipe for fungus treatment recommends cutting a portion of the fungus, mincing it into a puree, and rubbing it into your feet and nails twice a day.
celandine
The poisonous plant has a complex disinfectant, anti-inflammatory and soothing effect on the skin. Celandine oil is widely used in the treatment of skin diseases and is a well-known folk remedy for nail fungus.
Treatment with celandine does not require complex manipulations. It is enough to steam your feet in a soda bath and lubricate the affected areas with vegetable oil.
The oil is suitable for medical compresses. To do this, apply it to a cotton swab, attach it to the affected area and fix it for half an hour. Do this twice a day for 3-4 weeks.
Kalanchoe
Among the methods of treating foot fungus with folk remedies, indoor aloe is often mentioned. Grind 2-3 leaves of the plant, pour boiling water and leave for 3 hours. Moisten a cotton ball or gauze in the resulting solution and treat the affected area once a day. Aloe softens the skin and accelerates healing. It works best for toenail fungus.
Vinegar
Vinegar, popular in folk recipes, creates a destructive environment for the fungus, but it can also corrode the skin on the legs. Use it carefully, in small concentrations and only if there are no ulcers or erosions:
- Soak in a solution of wine or apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegar to 6 parts water) for 15 minutes every other day until healthy nails grow back.
- Soak the socks in the vinegar and wear them overnight, repeat every day until the symptoms disappear.
- Lubricate the affected areas with a mixture of equal amounts of vinegar essence and carrot juice (1 tablespoon each), every day until health is restored.
Use vinegar on shoes that come into contact with the affected skin on your feet. Take 70% acetic acid, moisten a tampon, clean the inner surface, leave it in the shoes for 48 hours, placing the shoes in a tightly closed bag. Then ventilate.
Don't forget socks and tights - it's best to boil them, not just wash them.
Simple medicines from home home first aid kit
In addition to expensive fungicidal preparations, there are many simple pharmaceutical remedies that can be used if the fungus on the legs has not yet started so badly. Knowing how to deal with the fungus with such medicines, you can use the available folk remedies.
Boric acid
Antiseptic that causes the coagulation and denaturation of the proteins of pathogenic microorganisms. In folk recipes, the remedy is used only locally and especially helps with nail plate fungi.
Steam your feet in a soap and baking soda bath, remove coarse tissue with a pumice stone, file and trim your nails. Then apply boric alcohol to the affected areas. Repeat the procedure every day. Use a disinfectant for socks, tights, and shoes.
Hydrogen peroxide
Peroxide can be used as a compress. According to folk recipes, it is necessary to apply a pharmaceutical preparation on gauze, apply to the affected skin for half an hour. Repeat every evening and morning for a week.
The peroxide will prevent the fungus from spreading to other areas.
Iodine
Even without knowing how to cure the fungus on the feet, you will most likely remember this antiseptic, familiar to everyone from childhood. This drug is used as part of the popular treatment of mycosis. It can be used to make trays and lotions.
Prepare 5 liters of water and add 3 tbsp. L. iodine. Soak your feet in such a concentrated bath for 20 minutes, then pat them dry. Repeat every other day.
For lotions, dilute an equal amount of iodine and alcohol, dip a cotton ball into the mixture and pat the skin of the feet. Apply at bedtime daily for 5-10 days until symptoms subside.
Iodine is not used for intolerance to this element and for any thyroid disease.
Drops with essential oils
A drug prescribed for colds. But it is also effective against some fungi. Those who have tried the folk method on themselves recommend applying the product daily to the affected area of the skin and nails after steaming. The substances in the composition of the drug have antiseptic properties, destroy fungi, viruses and bacteria, help in the complex treatment of mycoses on the legs.
This is not a complete list of folk remedies for nail fungus treatment. But whatever you choose, be sure to consult your doctor before use. In the case of a neglected fungus, weakened immunity and other aggravating factors, folk recipes may be ineffective. But with properly selected drug therapy, such drugs will be an excellent addition to complex treatment.