For the treatment of onychomycosis, doctors prescribe serious local and systemic chemicals. They can cause allergies and side effects. An alternative to pharmacy drugs are homemade formulations with antifungal action. The effectiveness of traditional methods has not been clinically confirmed. The benefits of treating with homemade products lie in their availability and positive experiences with others.
When you can do without a doctor and chemistry
Dermatologists focus the attention of patients - neglected onychomycosis can be treated exclusively under the supervision of a doctor. Long-term complex therapy will be required, with the appointment of pills and external agents. Self-medication is allowed only in the early stages of the development of nail fungus. It is possible to distinguish the progressive yeast infection from the one that has just started with the symptoms:
- color - after infection with a fungus, the plaque at the end becomes fuzzy, whitish or slightly yellowish, spots may appear; in advanced cases, the entire nail turns gray-yellow, greenish or brown;
- structure - in the early stages of onychomycosis, the structure of the nail plate does not change significantly, as the nail progresses, it strongly thickens, stratifies, peels off, crumbles;
- the condition of the skin around - at the onset of the disease does not change, in the later stages dryness, pain, cracks, burrs appear;
- sensations - absent, if the skin is damaged, itching, pain, general discomfort appears.
Home remedies can only be used in the early stages of onychomycosis. You can recover on your own if no more than 3 nails are affected, in less than 2/3 of the area there is no severe hyperkeratosis, and the skin is not involved in the pathological process. With significant changes in the nail plates, complex treatment will be required, lasting from 3 to 12 months.
There is no food that can kill the fungi from inside the body. Homemade mixtures have a fungistatic effect - they slow down the growth and reproduction of fungal microorganisms. They prevent the infection from spreading to the growing nail.
Why Home Remedies Are Better Than Drugstores
Traditional methods of treating onychomycosis are based on the use of:
- available food (garlic, onion, honey);
- popular chemical compounds for household use (vinegar, soda);
- inexpensive local antiseptics from the pharmacy (peroxide, iodine, alcohol);
- plant extracts (infusions, essential oils).
All of these substances have a high level of safety and are well tolerated when used outdoors. However, a small risk of individual sensitivity remains. The presence of an allergic reaction is easy to check if you coat a small area of skin with a prepared nail preparation. If you experience itching, burning, or swelling, you should stop using the mixture regularly.
Homemade natural medicines have another specific property - they nourish the nail plate and accelerate its growth. This contributes to faster regrowth of the nail and the removal of the affected part of it.
The undoubted advantage of folk methods is their low cost. Most products and substances are found in every household. In their absence, you can buy them in any store, with minimal financial investment.
The disadvantages of homemade drugs for onychomycosis are insignificant - an unpleasant smell, staining of the nails, the time spent on the preparation and treatment of the limbs. Considering that at the end of the treatment the patient will make a full recovery, the imperfections of traditional methods can be endured.
How to choose an effective recipe
Common sense should be used to become familiar with existing treatments for nail fungus. No one applies completely indifferent substances to the horn plates, such as rice porridge or pancakes. Naturally, sour cream, milk, raw dough will also be completely ineffective. Traditional medicine recommends mixtures that affect the acidity of the environment (soda, vinegar), vitamin products and essential oils. Such preparations can be really useful, because they create unfavorable living conditions for the fungus, stimulate exfoliation of the damaged part of the plaque and accelerate the growth of nails.
Recommendations to apply motor oil, formaldehyde, dilute aggressive acids to nails affected by fungus are inventions of irresponsible "healers". All methods that could damage healthy skin should be discarded immediately.
If the fungus affects only a small part of the nail, then products rich in vitamins and minerals are sufficient. If several nails are affected at once, but the damaged area of the plaque does not reach half of the surface of each plaque, you can choose herbal medicines. If your nails are half damaged, you can stop at recipes with baking soda, vinegar, or antiseptic drugs. With more extensive yeast infection, you should immediately consult a doctor. The excess risk is fraught with onycholysis - the process of destruction and rejection of nails on all the fingers of a limb.
List of the best home remedies
The most effective are substances that can have a detrimental effect on the fungus. These include vinegar. At home, you can use regular table acid. For a smoother effect, you should opt for wine, apple cider, rice vinegar. Basic home use methods.
- Cotton pieces are impregnated with acid, applied to damaged nail plates, glued with a plaster or wrapped with a plaster. Leave on for 3 hours, repeat the operation twice a day.
- The principle is the same as in the first method, but the compress is left overnight. The method is only suitable if it is well tolerated and there is no irritation on the skin around the plaque.
- 9% table vinegar in equal proportions is mixed with glycerin, applied to the nails with cotton swabs, for 15 minutes. The treatment is repeated three times a day.
- A glass of table vinegar is poured into a basin filled with hot water up to the ankles. The legs hover for 15 minutes, after which they simply wipe off the moisture with a towel. Repeat the procedure 3 times a week.
Baking soda can be used as a paste or as a foot bath. Solutions containing it effectively prepare the nail plate for exposure to other drugs.
- The required amount of finely ground soda is diluted with water to the consistency of a thick paste. The tool is used to treat nail plates, applying the paste in a thick layer. Cover with a bandage or bandage. Stay upright for 15 minutes. Then they are washed with water, the nails are wiped with a washcloth. Treatment is carried out daily, up to 3 times a day.
- To prepare a bath of medicinal soda for the feet, you need to heat 3 liters of water, add 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of iodinol solution. Feet hover for 20 minutes, rinse with clean running water and wipe dry. The procedure is repeated daily, twice a day.
- A tar-soda bath is prepared as follows: heat 3 liters of water, add 3 tablespoons of soda, 3 tablespoons of iodine solution, 3 tablespoons of tar soap crushed on a grater. The solution is stirred until a foam forms. Immerse your feet, hold until the water cools completely. The treatment is carried out 3 times a week.
Using these methods, you need to carefully monitor the reaction of the skin. When burning, redness, swelling, dryness, itching appears, the method of treating onychomycosis should be replaced with a more gentle method.
Food
Some vegetables, juices, and root vegetables have antifungal properties. They are most pronounced in essential oil plants - with a strong aroma and specific taste. Proven treatments for onychomycosis involve regular application of oatmeal or vegetable juice.
- The garlic is passed through a press until a homogeneous substance is obtained. The same amount of common table salt is added. Mix the composition well until the crystals are completely dissolved. Apply the product to cotton swabs, apply to damaged nails, leave under a bandage overnight.
- Garlic juice, water and glycerin are mixed in equal amounts. The solution is stored in the refrigerator, used for regular nail treatments with a brush, three times a day.
- Onion juice is mixed with aloe juice. The resulting substance is used to lubricate damaged nails 3 times a day.
- At night, a compress made from horseradish root, rubbed in a homogeneous gruel, is attached to the nails. Before grinding, the roots are peeled from the skin.
By using natural remedies, the risk of allergies or irritation is reduced. Redness, burning, itching - reasons to halve the time of exposure to compresses, wash off the remnants of solutions from the nails 2 hours after treatment.
Beekeeping products
Gifts from bees have always been considered a storehouse of minerals, vitamins and biologically active substances. Among them there are components with a wide spectrum of antifungal action. Wax, honey, bees bread, propolis, pollen - all products from the apiary can improve health when used internally and externally. For the treatment of fungal diseases of the nails, they should be used according to special recipes.
- Propolis is used as a tincture. You can buy ready-made products at the pharmacy. To prepare the extract at home, you will need to pour 10 g of crushed propolis on a grater with 100 ml of vodka or alcohol. After 14 days of infusion, the product is filtered into a vial for storage. The tincture is used to treat nails damaged by the fungus 3 times a day. To enhance the effect, the product is applied in 3 layers.
- Ointment with propolis. Any fat (100 g) is heated in a water bath. Propolis (10 g) is frozen, crushed with a rolling pin into a fine powder. It is introduced into heated oil, actively stirred until a homogeneous substance is obtained. Place the mixture in the refrigerator until it solidifies completely. The ointment is rubbed into the nails 2 times a day. After application, it is advisable to wear cotton socks.
- Equal amounts of honey and onion juice are mixed until smooth. The tool is used to lubricate the nails 3 times a day.
You can use bee donations on one condition - if they are well tolerated. If you are allergic to honey, it is better to choose other methods of treating onychomycosis.
Medicinal plants
Among the herbal remedies, the most popular are herbal raw materials with tannins and essential oils in the composition. In the treatment of onychomycosis, the use of pure essential oils is allowed, provided that they are applied exclusively to the nail plates.
- 50 crushed calendula flowers are brewed in a large cup of boiling water. After complete cooling, the product is filtered into a bowl of hot water (3 liters). The legs hover for 10 to 15 minutes.
- 6 tablespoons of oak bark pour 1, 5 liters of boiling water. They light a low heat, simmer for half an hour. After complete cooling, the hood is mixed with 1. 5 liters of clean hot water. Take a bath for 20 minutes.
- 10 drops of tea tree, lavender, ylang-ylang or rosemary essential oil are diluted in 3 liters of hot water. Immerse your feet in the mixture for 20 minutes. After that, the feet are wrapped in a towel for 10 minutes. The procedure is carried out every day.
- Tea tree oil is mixed with a little hot water. The resulting mixture is impregnated with a cotton swab, attached for an hour to the affected nail plate. The manipulation is repeated twice a day.
When using herbal remedies, one should not expect a quick effect. However, regular use of these recipes will not only get rid of the fungus, but also strengthen the nails, improve local blood circulation and heal the skin on the feet.
Chemical components
For the treatment of the fungus, people recommend using laundry soap (brown, with an inscription of 72%, fragrance-free). Wet feet and nails are well lathered. The bar can be used to walk directly on the nail plates so that the foam penetrates the area under the rollers and under the free edge of the nail. In a soapy state, sit for 20 minutes. After that, the foam is thoroughly washed off with a stiff brush. The treatment is daily.
Damaged nails can be treated with a 5% pure alcohol iodine solution. The downside to this therapy is that the plaques are stained brown.
With the help of a solution of pure hydrogen peroxide, antifungal compresses for the nails are made twice a day. Cotton swabs soaked in hydrogen peroxide are applied to the nails previously steamed. After 15 to 40 minutes, the compress is removed.
It is very easy to assess the effectiveness of alternative methods of treatment - if a healthy nail grows at the base, and the damaged area decreases after each pedicure, the method is useful. If the condition worsens. And the nail becomes yellowish, thickens - which means that the tool is ineffective. In order for traditional medicines to work better, you need to cut the damaged area of the nail every week, treat the shoes with antifungal agents.