For the treatment of onychomycosis, doctors prescribe serious local and systemic chemicals. May cause allergies and side effects. An alternative to pharmaceutical drugs are home recipes with antifungal effects. The effectiveness of traditional methods has not been clinically proven. The benefits of treatment with home-made products lie in their availability and positive experience with others.
When you can do without a doctor and chemistry
Dermatologists focus on patients - indifferent onychomycosis can be treated only under the supervision of a physician. Long-term complex therapy with the appointment of pills and foreign agents will be required. Self-medication is allowed only in the early stages of nail fungus development. Progressive mycosis can be distinguished from the onset by symptoms:
- color - after infection with a fungus, the plate at the end becomes indistinct, whitish or slightly yellowish, spots may appear; in advanced cases, the entire nail becomes 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 thickens, stratifies, loosens, disintegrates;
- condition of the surrounding skin - does not change at the beginning of the disease, in the later stages dryness, pain, cracks, wrinkles appear;
- Feelings - no, if the skin is damaged, itching, pain, general discomfort appear.
Home remedies can be used only in the early stages of onychomycosis. If more than 3 nails are not damaged, less than 2/3 of the area, if there is no severe hyperkeratosis and the skin is not involved in the pathological process, you can repair it yourself. With extensive changes in the nail plates, a course of complex therapy lasting from 3 to 12 months will be required.
There is no food that can kill fungi from the body. Homemade mixtures have a fungistatic effect - slow down the growth and reproduction of fungal microorganisms. They prevent the infection from spreading to the growing nail.
Why is home treatment better than pharmacies?
Traditional methods of treatment of onychomycosis are based on the use of:
- available foods (garlic, onions, honey);
- popular chemical compounds for household use (vinegar, soda);
- cheap 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 externally. However, there is a small risk of individual sensitivity. If you rub a small area of skin with a nail polish remover, it is easy to check for an allergic reaction. In case of itching, burning or swelling, you should stop using the mixture regularly.
Homemade natural remedies have another specific feature - they nourish the nail plate and accelerate its growth. This helps the nail to grow faster and remove the affected part.
The indisputable advantage of folk methods is their cheapness. Most products and ingredients are in every home. If they are not available, you can buy them in any store with a minimum financial investment.
The disadvantages of home remedies for onychomycosis are insignificant - an unpleasant odor, time spent on nail painting, preparation and processing of limbs. Given that at the end of treatment the patient will fully recover, the shortcomings of traditional methods can be tolerated.
How to choose an effective recipe
Common sense should be used when familiarizing yourself with the available treatments for nail fungus. No one applies completely negligible ingredients to horn plates, such as rice puree or pancakes. Of course, sour cream, milk and raw dough will 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, because they create unfavorable living conditions for the fungus, stimulate the erosion of the damaged part of the plate and accelerate the growth of nails.
Recommendations for the application of motor oil, formaldehyde, dilute aggressive acids to nails affected by fungus are the inventions of irresponsible "healers". Any methods that could damage healthy skin should be discarded immediately.
If the fungus 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 damage to the plaque does not reach the ½ area of each plate, you can choose herbal remedies. If about half of your nails are damaged, you can stick to recipes with soda, vinegar or antiseptics. With larger mycoses, you should see a doctor immediately. Excessive risk is fraught with onycholysis - the process of destroying and rejecting nails on all the fingers of a joint.
List of the best home remedies
The most effective are substances that can be harmful to fungi. These include vinegar. You can use ordinary table acid at home. For a softer effect, you should choose wine, apple juice, rice vinegar. Basic home use methods.
- Cotton wool pieces are impregnated with acid, applied to damaged nail plates, glued with plaster or wrapped with a bandage. Leave to move for 3 hours, repeat the procedure 2 times a day.
- The principle is the same as the first method, but the compress remains overnight. The method is only suitable if it is well tolerated and there is no irritation of the skin around the plate.
- Mix 9% table vinegar with glycerin in equal proportions and apply to nails with cotton swabs for 15 minutes. Processing is repeated three times a day.
- Pour a glass of table vinegar into a basin filled with boiling water up to the ankles. The feet fly for 15 minutes, after which simply wipe off the moisture with a towel. Repeat the procedure 3 times a week.
Baking soda can be used as a paste or foot bath. Solutions with it effectively prepare the nail plate for exposure to other drugs.
- Dilute the required amount of finely ground soda 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. Wait 15 minutes. Then wash with water, wipe the nails with a towel. Processing 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 iodine solution. Feet fly for 20 minutes, rinse with clean running water and wipe dry. The procedure is repeated every day, twice a day.
- Tar-soda bath is prepared as follows: heat 3 liters of water, 3 tablespoons soda, 3 tablespoons iodine solution, 3 tablespoons tar soap crushed in a grater. The solution is shaken until foam is formed. Dip one foot into warm running water, pausing between layers to allow them to cool. Processing is carried out 3 times a week.
You should carefully monitor the reaction of the skin using these methods. When burning, redness, swelling, dryness, itching appear, the treatment of onychomycosis should be replaced by a milder method.
Food
Some vegetables, juices and root vegetables have antifungal properties. They are most often pronounced in essential oils - with a strong pronounced aroma, specific taste. Proven treatments for onychomycosis include regular application of vegetable oatmeal or juices.
- Garlic is pressed until a homogeneous substance is obtained. The same amount of common salt is added. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until the crystals are completely dissolved. Apply the product to cotton swabs, apply to damaged nails, leave under the bandage overnight.
- Mix equal amounts of garlic juice, water and glycerin. The solution is stored in the refrigerator and used for regular nail treatment 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 of horseradish root, rubbed into a homogeneous gruel, is attached to the nails. Before grinding, the roots are peeled from the skin.
Using natural remedies reduces the likelihood of allergies or irritation. Redness, burning, itching - reasons to halve the time of exposure to compresses, wash off the remnants of the solution 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 are components with a broad-spectrum antifungal effect. Wax, honey, bee bread, propolis, pollen - all the products of 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 the finished product at the pharmacy. To prepare the extract at home, you need to pour 10 g of crushed propolis in a frying pan with 100 ml of vodka or alcohol. After 14 days of infusion, the product is filtered into a bottle for storage. Tincture is used 3 times a day to treat nails damaged by fungus. To increase the effect, the product is applied in 3 layers.
- Propolis ointment. Any oil (100 g) is heated in a water bath. Propolis (10 g) is frozen and ground into a fine powder with a rolling pin. It is added to the heated oil and actively mixed until a homogeneous substance is obtained. Refrigerate until the mixture is completely thickened. The ointment is applied to the nails twice a day. It is recommended to wear cotton socks after application.
- Mix equal amounts of honey and onion juice until smooth. The tool is used to lubricate nails 3 times a day.
You can use the gifts of bees on one condition - if they are well tolerated. If you are allergic to honey, it is better to choose other methods of treatment of onychomycosis.
Medicinal plants
The most popular among herbal remedies are plant raw materials that contain tannins and essential oils. In the treatment of onychomycosis, the use of pure essential oils is allowed only if it is applied to the nail plates.
- 50 crushed calendula flowers are brewed in a large glass of boiling water. After complete cooling, the product is filtered in a bowl of warm water (3 liters). Feet fly for 10-15 minutes.
- Pour 6 tablespoons oak bark 1, 5 liters of boiling water. Put on 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 warm water. Soak your feet in the mixture for 20 minutes. After that, the legs are wrapped in a towel for 10 minutes. The procedure is performed every day.
- Tea tree oil is mixed with a little boiling water. The resulting mixture is impregnated with a cotton swab, tied to the affected nail plate for an hour. The manipulation is repeated twice a day.
When using herbal remedies, do not expect a quick effect. However, regular use of these recipes not only gets rid of fungus, but also strengthens nails, improves local blood circulation, heals the skin of the feet.
Chemical compounds
It is recommended to use laundry soap (brown, 72% inscription, odorless) for the treatment of fungi. Wet feet foam well with nails. The stick can be used to walk directly on the nail plates so that the foam enters the area under the rolls and under the free edge of the nail. Leave on for 20 minutes in a soapy state. After that, the foam is washed thoroughly with a stiff brush. Processing is daily.
Damaged nails can be treated with a pure alcohol solution of 5% iodine. The disadvantage of this therapy is that the tiles are painted brown.
Antifungal nail compresses are prepared twice a day using a solution of pure hydrogen peroxide. Cotton swabs soaked in hydrogen peroxide are applied to pre-steamed nails. After 15-40 minutes, the compress is removed.
Evaluating the effectiveness of alternative treatments is very simple - if a healthy nail grows at the base and the damaged surface shrinks after each pedicure, then the method helps. If the situation worsens. And the nail turns yellow, thickens - this indicates that the tool is ineffective. For folk remedies to work better, you should cut the damaged area of the nail every week and treat the shoes with antifungal agents.