Fungal diseases of the toenails or fingernails are treated with pharmaceutical products: antiseptics, creams and tablets. In addition, there is also treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies, let's take a closer look at the most effective ones.
About the infection
Fungi on the legs, feet or nails bring many unpleasant moments, from the inability to wear open shoes to itching and burning in the areas of infection.
Reasons for this discomfort:
- endocrine diseases that reduce immunity;
- immune system diseases, including HIV infection;
- obesity;
- profuse sweating;
- the shoes are out of season, remain unopened for a long period of time;
- neglect of personal hygiene;
- endemic factor;
- specific working conditions.
The main causes of mycosis are reduced immunity for one reason or another, lack of personal hygiene and the introduction of a fungal infection from the outside.
When conditions are suitable for fungal infection, the infection progresses rapidly, causing symptoms characteristic of infection of certain areas:
- skin;
- nail plates;
- internal organs;
- joints.
Fungus on the toenails in the initial stage of development may have mild symptoms characteristic of hypovitaminosis or dermatitis: slight peeling of the skin of the feet, slight itching.
Signs appearing
After the time it takes for the infection to develop, the signs of foot mycosis become more characteristic:
- increased skin itching;
- slight swelling of the tissues around the affected area;
- qualitative change in the nail plate - color change, deformation;
- crumbling of nails;
- thickening of the nail plate, subungual tissue;
- roughening of the skin of 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 plaque;
- gradual detachment from bed.
The appearance of these symptoms indicates the progression of the infection which, if left untreated, involves the adjacent skin and nails in a fungal infection.
Treatment of toenail fungus is not as simple as it seems at first glance, the problem is that the nails are almost constantly covered in a closed state - shoes, hosiery; For men, treatment of nail mycosis is especially difficult due to increased sweating and wearing closed shoes at any time of the year.
How to get rid of toenail fungus? Some use medications: they take pills and use topical nail treatments. Some resort to folk remedies to treat mycosis. What is preferable: medical practice or alternative therapeutic methods?
Mycosis therapy
Therapy for nail mycosis is a targeted and sequential suppression of the fungal environment using local antiseptics and drugs with fungicidal or fungistatic effects.
The essence of treatment with drugs is disinfection of the affected surface with antiseptic agents, followed by application of creams or agents that inhibit the growth and reproduction of fungi.
Drugs are selected based on the type of fungus causing the infection, which is determined during diagnosis in the office of a doctor, dermatologist or mycologist.
If the pathogen is not diagnosed, the treatment of mycosis can last a long time and turn into an acute chronic form, the therapy of which will give results only with the use of systemic antifungals, but only on the basis of the diagnosis.
Consequences of incorrect treatment of nail fungus:
- the appearance of symptoms of severe mycosis;
- development of dependence on the drugs used, which cancels therapy;
- damage to nearby tissues: skin, nearby nails;
- autoinfection leading to infection of fingernails, intestinal dysbiosis;
- decrease in the body's defenses;
- the onset 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 therapeutic methods used are different: drugs, properties of chemicals, herbs, oils.
Home treatment
Folk remedies for toenail fungus have one essence: changing the alkaline environment of the affected area to acid, which leads to the death of fungal spores, inhibiting their reproduction.
For this purpose, traditional folk medicine uses:
- soap or detergent to soften fabrics;
- oils for antiseptic treatments, disinfection of affected areas of the skin, nails;
- acid solutions, chemical compounds for therapeutic baths;
- medicinal preparations for applications.
Among the various ways to eliminate nail plate fungus, we will highlight the most effective ones.
Treatments for nail fungus:
- An aqueous solution of laundry soap.
- A solution of water and 9% edible vinegar.
- Aqueous manganese solution.
- Ammonia solution.
- Tea tree oil.
- Lactic acid.
- Glycolic acid.
- Boric acid for nail fungus.
- Ammonium persulfate.
- Potassium dichromate.
- Ammonia.
- Bleaching powder.
- Formaldehyde.
- Alihydride.
These substances treat nail plate fungi, however it is necessary to comply with the rules of application, dosage of the substance and use respiratory protection.
The success of treatment depends not only on the correct choice of drug for therapy and diagnosis. After passing all the necessary tests and purchasing drugs, there is always room for an unsatisfactory result of treatment.
Three components of competent treatment:
- Correct diagnosis of the disease.
- Correctly selected drugs, 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 mycosis of the toenails using folk remedies if the fungal infection has not progressed to a mild or moderate form. That is, the treatment will be successful at the initial stage of the progression of mycosis, when one or more nail plates are affected, without the complete involvement of the skin of the foot in the inflammatory process.
It is possible to cure toenail fungus with folk remedies or with the help of drug therapy only with constant and regular procedures aimed at curing mycosis.
Treatment options for toenails include:
- Using baths to soften nails.
- 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 to quickly eliminate toenail fungus, therapeutic or traditional methods are used at the first signs of mycosis, without waiting for the average form of the lesion.
Popular recipes
We consider effective, from the point of view of users, recipes for mycosis that work perfectly in the treatment of nail fungus.
Soap and water solution
- For baths that soften the nail plate and rough skin of the feet, use ordinary 72% laundry soap dissolved in boiled water.
- At a tolerable temperature, the feet are immersed in a basin with the solution and kept for 15-20 minutes.
- After the procedure, the horny layer of the nail plate is removed using an abrasive file, and the keratinized skin layer is removed from the foot. This will allow greater absorption of the active ingredients of the antifungal agents used subsequently.
Lactic acid
- Lactic acid can be used for this purpose, but before soaking your feet in a solution of acid and water, you need to steam your feet in plain hot water for 10-15 minutes.
- Subsequently the lactic acid is diluted with water in a ratio of 10 g of 40% acid to 0. 5 l. waterfall.
- Keep your feet in the solution for no more than 5 minutes and before use it is recommended to apply the solution on the elbow to test the sensitivity.
- If there are cracks between the fingers or other wounds, it is not recommended to use the acid or limit it to 2-3 minutes.
Vinegar essence solution
The property of vinegar essence is to transform the tissue environment into acid, thus killing fungal spores.
- The solution should be used according to individual sensitivity.
- Acid baths are used for the treatment and antiseptic treatment of toenail fungus with folk remedies and drug therapy, before the use of pharmaceutical antiseptics.
Ammonia solution
Ammonia, which has antibacterial, fungicidal and healing effects.
- Use is advisable in the initial stages of the appearance of the fungus, otherwise the use can be classified as an antiseptic treatment.
- Ammonia is used for mycosis in the form of treatment of 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 many properties:
- disinfects;
- heals;
- destroys bacteria, fungi.
Furthermore, it does not dry the skin, relieves minor pain, itching and redness.
- Treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies using oils is carried out mainly on the skin.
- Its use helps a lot in case of cracking of the skin between the fingers due to fungi and relieves itching of the periungual fold.
- It can be used directly on the nail.
Glycolic and boric acids
I use these acids in the treatment of fungi, treating the skin and the surface of the nail plate. But it is better to carry out such treatment without cracks on the skin or other damage.
- As a rule, a 2-5% solution of acids is used, which is applied to the steamed nail plate.
- Acids have an active fungicidal effect; they are used as peelings, e. g. 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 the surrounding tissues.
Manganese
If you use the concentrate, moisten an ear 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.
Sulfurous aldehyde
Highly toxic liquid gas that kills all flora:
- fungal;
- bacterial;
- lice;
- ticks.
Disinfect and disinfect surfaces.
How to treat mushrooms with sulfur dioxide?
- It is applied to steamed nails for 1 minute, it is recommended to wear a gauze bandage and protect the skin of the feet with Vaseline.
- The procedure is repeated 3 times after 3 days.
Bleaching powder
- Dissolve 50 g of lime in 1 liter. water and mix well, lower your legs for 2 minutes.
- Then we soak our feet in a tub of water and soda for 15 minutes.
- We repeat the procedure 2 times a week.
- After using this product, treat your skin and nail tissue with essential oil.
Formaldehyde
- In its pure form, apply to the nail for 1 minute, after which it is washed off with running water.
- After using formaldehyde for nail mycosis, you need to apply a soft product to the nails - cream, oil.
- Apply formaldehyde 3-5 times, 1 time a week.
Before treating toenail fungus with these products, perform tolerance tests and follow precautions with toxic substances. Before applying or processing nails, you need to steam them and remove the stratum corneum of plaque.
Conclusion
Folk remedies for mycosis are quite diverse, and with the right approach it is possible to achieve a positive response to treatment. The combination of medications 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 treatment option.