For the treatment of onychomycosis, doctors prescribe serious local and systemic chemicals. They can cause allergies and side effects. An alternative to pharmacy medicines are home formulations with antifungal action. The effectiveness of traditional methods has not been clinically confirmed. The benefits of being treated with household products lie in their availability and positive experiences with others.
When you can do without a doctor and chemistry
Dermatologists focus patients' attention - neglected onychomycosis can be treated exclusively under the supervision of a physician. Complex long-term 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 progressive mycosis from that which has just started with symptoms:
- color - after infection with the fungus, the plaque eventually becomes blurred, white or slightly yellow, spots may appear; in advanced cases, the entire nail becomes gray-yellow, green or brown;
- structure - in the early stages of onychomycosis, the structure of the nail plate does not change significantly, as the nail progresses, it thickens strongly, exfoliates, loosens, crumbles;
- the condition of the surrounding skin - at the beginning of the disease does not change, in the later stages appear dryness, pain, cracks, scratching;
- sensation - absent, if the skin is damaged, itching, pain, general discomfort appear.
Home remedies can be used only in the early stages of onychomycosis. You can heal yourself 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 extensive changes in nail plates, a course of complex therapy, lasting from 3 to 12 months, will be required.
There is no food that can kill the fungus from inside the body. Homemade mixtures have a fungistatic effect - they slow down the growth and reproduction of fungal microorganisms. They prevent the spread of infection to the growing nails.
Why Home Remedies Are Better Than Pharmacies
Traditional methods of treating onychomycosis are based on the use of:
- food available (garlic, onion, honey);
- chemical compounds known for home use (vinegar, soda);
- cheap local antiseptics from the pharmacy (peroxide, iodine, alcohol);
- plant extracts (infusions, essential oils).
All these substances have a high level of safety and are well tolerated when used externally. However, a small risk of individual sensitivity remains. The presence of an allergic reaction is easy to control if you lubricate a small area of skin with a prepared nail preparation. In case of itching, burning or swelling, you should stop using the mixture regularly.
Home-made natural remedies have another specific feature - they nourish the nail plate and accelerate its growth. This contributes to the faster growth of the nail and the removal of the affected part of it.
The indisputable advantage of popular methods is their freedom. Most products and substances are found in every home. In their absence, you can buy them in any store, with minimal financial investment.
The disadvantages of home remedies for onychomycosis are insignificant - an unpleasant odor, staining of nails, time spent preparing and processing limbs. Given that at the end of treatment, the patient will fully recover, the imperfections of traditional methods can be tolerated.
How to choose an effective recipe
Common sense should be used when getting acquainted with existing treatments for nail fungus. No one applies completely indifferent substances to corn dishes, like rice porridge or pancakes. Of course, yogurt, milk, raw dough will also be completely ineffective. Traditional medicine recommends mixtures that affect the acidity of the environment (soda, vinegar), vitamins and essential oil products. Such preparations can be really useful, as they create unfavorable living conditions for the fungus, stimulate the exfoliation of the damaged part of the plaque and accelerate the growth of nails.
Recommendations to apply motor oil, formaldehyde, aggressively diluted acids to mold-affected nails are inventions of irresponsible "healers". Any method that may damage healthy skin should be discarded immediately.
If the mold affects only a small part of the nail, products rich in vitamins and minerals are enough. If several nails are affected at the same time, but the area of plaque damage does not reach ½ the surface of each plate, you can choose herbal remedies. If your nails are half damaged, you can stop at prescriptions with baking soda, vinegar or antiseptic medication. With more extensive mycoses, you should immediately consult a doctor. Excessive risk is fraught with onycholysis - the process of destroying and rejecting nails all over the fingers of the limbs.
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 ordinary table acid. For a softer effect, you should choose wine, apple cider, rice vinegar. Basic methods of home use.
- Pieces of cotton wool are impregnated with acid, applied to damaged nail plates, glued with plaster or wrapped in a bandage. Leave on for 3 hours, repeat the procedure 2 times a day.
- The principle is the same as in the first method, but the compress is left overnight. The method is suitable only if it is well tolerated and there is no irritation on the skin around the plate.
- Table vinegar 9% in equal proportions mixed with glycerin, applied to nails with a cotton swab, for 15 minutes. Processing is repeated three times a day.
- A glass of table vinegar is poured into a tub filled to the ankles with hot water. The feet fly 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 with 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 plaster or bandage. Stand for 15 minutes. Then they are washed with water, the nails are wiped with a washing cloth. Processing is performed daily, up to 3 times a day.
- To prepare a bath with baking soda for the feet, you need to heat 3 liters of water, add 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of Jodinol solution. Soak the feet for 20 minutes, rinse with clean running water and wipe dry. The procedure is repeated daily, twice a day.
- A bath with tar-soda is prepared as follows: heat 3 liters of water, add 3 tablespoons of soda, 3 tablespoons of iodine solution, 3 tablespoons of granulated tar soap. Shake the solution until foam is formed. Soak your feet, hold until the water has cooled completely. Processing is performed 3 times a week.
Using these methods, you should carefully monitor the skin reaction. When burning, redness, swelling, dryness, itching appear, the onychomycosis treatment method should be replaced with a milder one.
Food
Some vegetables, juices and root vegetables have anti-fungal properties. They are most pronounced in plants with essential oil - with pronounced aroma, specific taste. Proven treatments for onychomycosis include regular application of vegetable grains or juices.
- The garlic is passed through a press until a homogeneous substance is obtained. Add the same amount of ordinary table salt. Mix the composition thoroughly until the crystals are completely dissolved. Apply the product on the cotton swab, apply on 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 brush treatments of nails, 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 into a homogeneous grain, binds to the nails. Before grinding, the roots are peeled from the skin.
By using natural remedies, the chances of allergies or irritation are 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, bee bread, propolis, pollen - all beekeeping products can improve health when used indoors and outdoors. For the treatment of fungal diseases of the nails, they should be used according to special recipes.
- Propolis is used as a solution. You can buy the finished product 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 storage bottle. The tincture is used to treat nail damaged by mold 3 times a day. To increase the effect, the product is applied in 3 layers.
- Ointment with propolis. Heat each fat (100 g) in a water bath. Propolis (10 g) is frozen, crushed with a rolling pin into a fine powder. It is put in hot oil, it is actively mixed until a homogeneous substance is obtained. Place the mixture in the refrigerator until it hardens 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 for painting nails 3 times a day.
You can use bee gifts 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 boiled in a large cup of boiling water. After complete cooling, the product is filtered into a bowl of hot water (3 liters). The legs fly for 10-15 minutes.
- 6 tablespoons oak bark pour 1, 5 liters of boiling water. They set on low heat, simmer for half an hour. After complete cooling, the lid is mixed with 1, 5 liters of clean hot water. Take a shower for 20 minutes.
- Dilute 10 drops of tea tree essential oil, lavender, ylang-ylang or rosemary in 3 liters of hot water. Soak your feet in the mixture for 20 minutes. After that, the feet are wrapped in a towel for 10 minutes. The procedure is performed daily.
- Tea tree oil is mixed with a little hot water. The resulting mixture is saturated with a cotton swab, tied for an hour on the affected nail plate. The manipulation is repeated twice a day.
When using herbal medicines, you 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 of the feet.
Chemical compounds
For the treatment of fungi, people recommend the use of laundry soap (brown, with 72% inscription, odorless). Wet feet along with nails are well foamed. The tape can be used to walk directly over the nail plates, so that the foam is inserted into the area under the rollers and under the free edge of the nail. In a soapy state, stand for 20 minutes. After that, the foam is washed thoroughly with a stiff brush. Processing is daily.
Damaged nails can be treated with pure alcoholic solution of 5% iodine. The disadvantage of this therapy is that the plates are colored brown.
Using a pure solution of hydrogen peroxide, antifungal nail compresses are done twice a day. Cotton swabs soaked in hydrogen peroxide are applied to pre-steamed nails. After 15-40 minutes, the compress is removed.
It is very simple to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative treatment methods - if a healthy nail grows to the base, and the damaged area shrinks after each pedicure, then the method helps. If the condition worsens. And the nail becomes yellow, thick - which means the tool is ineffective. In order for folk remedies to work better, you need to cut the damaged area of the nail every week, treat the shoes with antifungal agents.