Fungal diseases of toenails or fingernails are treated with pharmaceutical products - antiseptics, creams and tablets. In addition, there is also the treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies. Let's take a closer look at the most effective of them.
About the infection
Fungus on the legs, feet or nails brings many unpleasant moments - from the inability to wear open shoes to itching and burning in infected areas.
Reasons for this discomfort:
- endocrine diseases that reduce immunity;
- immune system diseases, including HIV infection;
- obesity;
- intense sweating;
- shoes are out of season, remaining closed for a long time;
- neglect of personal hygiene;
- endemic factor;
- specific working conditions.
The main causes of ringworm are reduced immunity for one reason or another, poor personal hygiene and the introduction of an external fungal infection.
When conditions are right for fungal infection, the infection progresses rapidly, causing symptoms characteristic of infection of certain areas:
- skin;
- nail plates;
- internal organs;
- joints.
Toenail fungus at the initial stage of development may have mild symptoms characteristic of hypovitaminosis or dermatitis - slight peeling of the skin on the feet, slight itching.
Signs that appear
After some time necessary for the infection to develop, signs of foot fungus become more characteristic:
- increased itching of the skin;
- slight swelling of the tissues around the affected area;
- qualitative change in the nail plate - color change, deformation;
- disintegration of nails;
- thickening of the nail plate, subungual tissue;
- roughness of the skin on the fingers and toes;
- formation of cracks between the fingers;
- detachment of the nail from the bed on the sides of the plate;
- keratinization of the stratum corneum of the nail plate;
- deformation of the nail, acquisition of a brown tint on the plate;
- gradual detachment from the bed.
The occurrence of these symptoms indicates the progression of the infection which, if left untreated, involves the skin and adjacent nail plates in a fungal infection.
Treating nail fungus is not as simple as it seems at first glance; the problem is that the nail plates are almost constantly covered when closed - by shoes, socks. For men, the treatment of mycosis of the nail plates is especially difficult due to increased sweating and the use of closed shoes at any time of the year.
How to get rid of nail fungus? Some use medication – taking pills and topical nail treatments. Some resort to folk remedies to treat mycoses. Which is preferable – medication practice or alternative therapy methods?
Ringworm therapy
Therapy for mycosis of the nail plates is a targeted and sequential suppression of the fungal environment using local antiseptics and drugs with fungicidal or fungistatic effects.
The essence of drug treatment is to disinfect the affected surface with antiseptic agents, followed by applying creams or agents that inhibit the growth and reproduction of fungi.
Medicines are selected depending on the type of fungus causing the infection, which is determined during diagnosis in the doctor's office, dermatologist or mycologist.
If the pathogen is not diagnosed, the treatment of mycosis can drag on for a long time and turn into an acute chronic form, the therapy of which will give results only with the use of systemic antimycotics, but only on the basis of the diagnosis.
Consequences of incorrect treatment of nail fungus:
- the occurrence of symptoms of severe mycosis;
- development of dependence on the drugs used, which nullifies therapy;
- damage to nearby tissues - skin, neighboring nails;
- autoinfection leading to infection of the nail plates of the hands, intestinal dysbiosis;
- decrease in the body's defenses;
- the occurrence of concomitant dermatological diseases;
- treatment with systemic drugs that have a toxic effect on the liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.
Alternative medicine methods are essentially similar to drug treatment, but the means and methods of therapy used are different - medicines, properties of chemicals, herbs, oils.
Home treatment
Folk remedies for nail fungus have one essence - changing the alkaline environment of the affected area to acidic, which leads to the death of fungal spores, inhibiting their reproduction.
To this end, traditional folk medicine uses:
- soap or detergent for softening fabrics;
- oils for antiseptic treatment, disinfection of affected areas of the skin, nail plates;
- acid solutions, chemical compounds for therapeutic baths;
- medicinal preparations for applications.
Among the various ways to get rid of nail plate fungus, we will highlight the most effective ones.
Treats nail fungus:
- An aqueous solution of laundry soap.
- A 9% solution of water and food vinegar.
- Manganese aqueous solution.
- Ammonia solution.
- Tea tree oil.
- Lactic acid.
- Glycolic acid.
- Boric acid for nail fungus.
- Ammonium persulphate.
- Potassium dichromate.
- Ammonia.
- Bleaching powder.
- Formaldehyde.
- Allydride.
These substances treat fungus on the nail plate, however, you must follow the application rules, dosage of the substance and use respiratory protection.
The success of treatment depends not only on the correct choice of medication for therapy and diagnosis. After passing all the necessary tests and purchasing medications, there is always room for an unsatisfactory treatment result.
Three components of competent treatment:
- Correct diagnosis of the disease.
- Correctly selected medicines, taking into account age, individual characteristics and contraindications.
- Accurate implementation of recommendations and application of products according to instructions.
During therapy, it is necessary to monitor personal hygiene and limit the consumption of carbohydrates and simple sugars.
ethnoscience
It is possible to cure toenail mycosis with folk remedies if the fungal infection has not progressed to a mild or mild form. In other words, the treatment will be successful in the initial phase of mycosis progression, when one or more nail plates are affected, without total involvement of the foot skin in the inflammatory process.
It is possible to cure nail fungus with folk remedies or with the help of drug therapy only with constant and regular procedures aimed at curing mycosis.
Toenail treatment options include:
- Using baths to soften nail plates.
- Local application of products with antiseptic properties.
- Application of active agents with fungistatic effect on the affected area.
- Applications with active substances.
It is necessary to understand that in order to quickly get rid of nail fungus, therapeutic or traditional methods are used at the first signs of mycosis, without waiting for the intermediate form of the lesion.
Popular recipes
Let's consider effective, from the users' point of view, recipes for mycoses that work perfectly in treating nail fungus.
Soap and water solution
- For baths that soften the nail plate and rough skin of the feet, use regular 72% laundry soap dissolved in boiled water.
- At a tolerable temperature, the feet are lowered into a basin with a solution and kept there for 15-20 minutes.
- After the procedure, the stratum corneum of the nail plate is removed with an abrasive file and the keratinized layer of the skin is removed from the foot. This will allow greater absorption of the active substances of the antifungal agents used later.
Lactic acid
- Lactic acid can be used for this purpose, but before soaking the feet in a solution of acid and water, the feet should be steamed in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Then lactic acid is diluted in water in a proportion of 10 g of 40% acid and 0. 5 l. water.
- Keep your feet in the solution for a maximum of 5 minutes, and before using it is recommended to apply the solution to your elbow to test sensitivity.
- If there are cracks between the fingers or other wounds, it is not recommended to use acid or limit it to 2 to 3 minutes.
Vinegar essence solution
The property of vinegar essence is to change the tissue environment to acidic, thus killing fungal spores.
- The solution should be used based on your individual sensitivity.
- Acid baths are used for the treatment and antiseptic treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies and drug therapy, before using pharmaceutical antiseptics.
ammonia solution
Ammonia, which has antibacterial, fungicidal and curative effects.
- Use is advisable in the initial phases of the fungus' emergence, otherwise the use can be classified as an antiseptic treatment.
- Ammonia is used for mycosis in the form of treating the affected area, the nail must be steamed and cleaned of the stratum corneum.
- The entire affected area and adjacent nails are treated with ammonia.
Oils
Eucalyptus oil has several properties:
- disinfects;
- cure;
- destroys bacteria, fungi.
Furthermore, it does not dry out the skin and relieves minor pain, itching and redness.
- Treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies based on oils is carried out mainly on the skin.
- Its use helps a lot with cracks in the skin between the fingers caused by fungi and relieves itching in the nail fold.
- Can be used directly on the nail.
Glycolic and boric acids
I use these acids in the treatment of fungus, treating the skin and the surface of the nail plate. But it is best to carry out this treatment without cracking the skin or other damage.
- As a rule, a 2-5% acid solution is used, which is applied to the steamed nail plate.
- The acids have an active fungicidal effect; They are used as peeling, that is, they destroy the upper layer of the dermis or stratum corneum of the nail.
- The application must be done carefully so as not to burn nearby tissues.
Manganese
If you use the concentrate, moisten a stick in water and apply dry powder, the product will cauterize the affected surface, killing all pathogenic flora.
Foot baths with a solution are usually used, in which they are kept for 15 minutes, after which sulfur or zinc oxide ointment is applied to the affected nails.
sulfur aldehyde
Highly toxic liquid gas that kills all flora:
- fungal;
- bacterial;
- lice;
- ticks.
Disinfects and disinfects surfaces.
How to treat fungi with sulfur dioxide?
- It is applied to steamed nails for 1 minute. It is advisable to use a gauze bandage and protect the skin of the feet with petroleum jelly.
- The procedure is repeated 3 times after 3 days.
Bleaching powder
- Dissolve 50 g of lemon in 1 liter. water and mix well, lower your legs for 2 minutes.
- Then we place our feet in a bath of water and soda for 15 minutes.
- We repeat the procedure twice a week.
- After using this product, treat the skin and nail tissue with essential oil.
Formaldehyde
- In its pure form, apply to the nail for 1 minute and then wash under running water.
- After using formaldehyde for nail fungus, it is necessary to apply a soft product - cream, oil - to the nails.
- Apply formaldehyde 3-5 times, once a week.
Before treating nail fungus with these products, do tolerance tests and take precautions with toxic substances. Before applying or processing nails, they must be steamed and the stratum corneum plate removed.
Conclusion
Folk remedies for mycosis are quite diverse, and with the right approach, it is possible to achieve a positive response to treatment. Combining medicines and folk practices is acceptable and is the most reasonable option. The use of local pharmaceutical ointments after traditional procedures may be the most effective therapeutic option.