To treat onychomycosis, doctors prescribe serious local and systemic chemicals. They can cause allergies and side effects. An alternative to pharmacy drugs is homemade formulations with an antifungal effect. The effectiveness of traditional methods has not been clinically confirmed. The advantages of treatment with homemade products lie in their availability and positive experiences with others.
When you can do without a doctor and chemistry
Dermatologists draw patients' attention - neglected onychomycosis can only be treated under medical supervision. Long-term complex therapy with the appointment of pills and external means is required. Self-medication is allowed only in the early stages of the development of the nail fungus. It is possible to distinguish progressive mycosis from the one that has just started by the symptoms:
- Color - after a fungal infection, in the end the plate becomes unclear, whitish or slightly yellowish, spots may appear; in advanced cases, the entire nail turns gray-yellow, greenish or brown;
- structure - in the first stages of onychomycosis, the structure of the nail plate does not change significantly, as the nail progresses, it thickens strongly, layers, becomes loose, crumbles;
- the condition of the skin around - at the onset of the disease does not change, in the later stages there is dryness, pain, cracks, burrs;
- Sensations - absent, if the skin is damaged, there is itching, pain, general discomfort.
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, there is no severe hyperkeratosis in less than 2/3 of the area, and the skin is not involved in the pathological process. With extensive changes in the nail plates, complex therapy is required, which lasts from 3 to 12 months.
There is no food that can kill fungi in 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 pharmacies
Traditional methods of treating onychomycosis are based on the use of:
- available food (garlic, onion, honey);
- popular chemical compounds for household use (vinegar, soda);
- cheap local antiseptics from the pharmacy (peroxide, iodine, alcohol);
- Herbal extracts (infusions, essential oils).
All of these substances have a high level of safety and are well tolerated when used externally. However, there remains a small risk of individual sensitivity. The presence of an allergic reaction is easy to check if you smear a small area of skin with a preparation prepared for nails. If you experience itching, burning or swelling, you should stop using the mixture regularly.
Homemade natural remedies have another specific property - they nourish the nail plate and accelerate its growth. This will help the nail regrowth faster and remove the affected part.
The undeniable advantage of folk methods is their cheapness. Most products and substances can be found in every household. If they aren't there, you can buy them at any store with minimal financial outlay.
The disadvantages of homemade drugs for onychomycosis are insignificant - an unpleasant smell, discoloration of the nails, time spent preparing and processing limbs. Since the patient will fully recover at the end of treatment, the imperfections of traditional methods can be endured.
How to choose an effective recipe
Common sense needs to be used when familiarizing yourself with existing treatments for nail fungus. Nobody puts completely indifferent substances on the horn plates, like rice porridge or pancakes. Of course, sour cream, milk, raw dough are also completely ineffective. Traditional medicine recommends mixtures that affect the acidity of the environment (soda, vinegar), vitamin and essential oil products. Such preparations can be really useful, as they create adverse living conditions for the fungus, stimulate the peeling of the damaged part of the plate and accelerate the growth of the nails.
Recommendations for applying motor oil, formaldehyde, diluted aggressive acids to fungus-infested nails are inventions of irresponsible "healers". All methods that could damage healthy skin should be discarded immediately.
If the fungus only affects a small part of the nail, products rich in vitamins and minerals are sufficient. If several nails are affected at the same time, but the damaged area of the plate does not reach half the area of each plate, you can choose herbal medicines. When your nails are about halfway damaged, you can stop using recipes that include baking soda, vinegar, or antiseptics. In the case of more extensive mycoses, you should consult a doctor immediately. Excessive risk is fraught with onycholysis - the process of destruction and rejection of nails on all fingers of a limb.
List of the best home remedies
The most effective are substances that can adversely affect the fungus. That includes vinegar. You can use regular table acid at home. For a gentler effect, you should opt for wine, apple cider, rice vinegar. Basic methods for home use.
- Cotton swabs are impregnated with acid, applied to damaged nail plates, glued with a plaster or wrapped with a bandage. Leave on for 3 hours, repeat the process 2 times a day.
- The principle is the same as the first method, but the compress is left on overnight. The method is only suitable if it is well tolerated and no skin irritation occurs around the plate.
- 9% table vinegar in equal proportions is mixed with glycerin and applied to the nails with cotton swabs for 15 minutes. The processing is repeated three times a day.
- A glass of table vinegar is poured into a basin filled to the ankles with hot water. The legs float for 15 minutes, after which they simply wipe off the moisture with a towel. Repeat the process 3 times a week.
The 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 the nail plates by applying the paste in a thick layer. Cover with a plaster or bandage. Stand for 15 minutes. Then they are washed off with water, the nails are wiped with a washcloth. Processing takes place daily, up to 3 times a day.
- To prepare a medicinal soda bath for the feet, you need to heat 3 liters of water, add 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of iodinol solution. Float feet for 20 minutes, rinse with clean running water and wipe dry. The procedure is repeated 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 shaken until a foam forms. Dip and hold your feet until the water cools completely. Processing takes place 3 times a week.
With these methods, you should carefully monitor the reaction of the skin. If there is burning, redness, swelling, dryness and itching, it is necessary to replace the method of treatment for onychomycosis with a gentler one.
Food
Certain vegetables, juices, and root vegetables have antifungal properties. They are most pronounced in essential oil plants - with a strongly pronounced aroma, specific taste. Proven treatments for onychomycosis involve using vegetable puree or juicing on a regular basis.
- The garlic is pressed through a press until it becomes a homogeneous substance. The same amount of table salt is added. Mix the composition thoroughly until the crystals are completely dissolved. Apply product on cotton swabs, apply to damaged nails, leave under a bandage overnight.
- Garlic juice, water and glycerin are mixed in equal parts. The solution is kept 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 three times a day.
- At night, a compress of horseradish root, rubbed into a homogeneous paste, is tied to the nails. Before grinding, the roots are peeled from the skin.
Using natural remedies will reduce the chance of allergies or irritation. Redness, burning, itching - reasons to halve the application time of compresses, to wash off residues of solutions from the nails 2 hours after treatment.
Beekeeping products
Bee gifts have always been considered a storehouse for minerals, vitamins and biologically active substances. These include components with a wide range of antifungal effects. Wax, honey, bee bread, propolis, pollen - all beekeeping products can improve health when used internally and externally. To treat fungal nail diseases, they must be used according to special recipes.
- Propolis is used as a tincture. You can buy finished products in the pharmacy. To prepare the extract at home, you need to pour 10 g of propolis, crushed on a grater, with 100 ml of vodka or alcohol. After 14 days of infusion, the product is filtered into a bottle for storage. Tincture is used three times a day to treat nails damaged by the fungus. To increase the effect, the product is applied in 3 layers.
- Propolis ointment. Any fat (100 g) is heated in a water bath. Propolis (10 g) is frozen, pounded to a fine powder with a rolling pin. It is placed in heated oil and actively stirred until a homogeneous substance is obtained. Put the mixture in the refrigerator until it is completely set. The ointment is rubbed into the nails 2 times a day. After application, it is recommended that you wear cotton socks.
- Equal amounts of honey and onion juice are mixed together smoothly. The tool is used to lubricate the nails 3 times a day.
You can use the bees' 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 marigold 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). Legs levitate for 10-15 minutes.
- 6 tablespoons of oak bark pour 1, 5 liters of boiling water. They make a slow fire, simmer for half an hour. After cooling down completely, 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 oil are diluted 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 carried out daily.
- Tea tree oil is mixed with a little hot water. The resulting mixture is impregnated with a cotton swab and tied to the affected nail plate for an hour. The manipulation is repeated twice a day.
One should not expect quick effects when using herbal remedies. However, regular use of these recipes not only gets rid of the fungus, but also strengthens the nails, improves local blood circulation and heals the skin on the feet.
Chemical components
To treat the fungus, people recommend using laundry soap (brown, with a mark of 72%, no fragrance). Wet feet together with nails are well lathered. The rod can be used to go directly over the nail plates so that the foam gets into the area under the rollers and under the free edge of the nail. Let stand in the soapy state for 20 minutes. After that, the foam is washed off thoroughly with a stiff brush. Processing takes place on a daily basis.
Damaged nails can be treated with a pure alcohol solution of 5% iodine. The disadvantage of this therapy is that the plates are colored brown.
With a pure hydrogen peroxide solution, antifungal nail compresses are made twice a day. Cotton swabs soaked with hydrogen peroxide are applied to the pre-steamed nails. After 15-40 minutes, the compress is removed.
It is very easy to assess the effectiveness of alternative treatment methods - if a healthy nail is growing at the base, and the damaged surface is decreasing after each pedicure, the method will help. When the condition worsens. And the nail turns yellowish, thickens - which means that the tool is ineffective. In order for folk drugs to work better, every week you should cut off the damaged area of the nail and treat shoes with antifungal drugs.