Fungal diseases of toenails or hands 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 of them.
About the infection
Fungi on the legs, feet or nail plates 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;
- diseases of the immune system, including HIV infection;
- obesity;
- profuse sweating;
- shoes are out of season, they stay in closed shoes for a long 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 the conditions are suitable for a fungal infection, the infection progresses rapidly, causing symptoms characteristic of the infection of certain areas:
- skin;
- Nail plates;
- internal organs;
- joints.
Toenail fungus in the initial stage of development may have mild symptoms characteristic of hypovitaminosis or dermatitis - slight peeling of the skin on the feet, mild itching.
Signs that appear
After some time required for the infection to develop, the signs of foot fungus become more characteristic:
- increased itching of the skin;
- slight swelling of the tissue around the affected area;
- qualitative change of the nail plate - color change, deformation;
- crumbling nails;
- thickening of the nail plate, subungual tissue;
- roughness of the skin on fingers and toes;
- the formation of cracks between the fingers;
- separation of the nail from the bed on the side of the plate;
- keratinization of the stratum corneum of the nail plate;
- deformation of the nail, acquiring a brown shade on the plate;
- gradual separation from the bed.
The appearance of these symptoms indicates the progression of the infection, which, if left untreated, affects the skin and adjacent nail plates into a fungal infection.
Treatment of nail fungus is not as simple as it seems at first glance, the problem is that the nail plates are almost always covered in a closed state - with shoes, socks. For men, the treatment of mycosis of the nail plates 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 medication - they take pills and use topical nail treatments. Some resort to folk remedies to treat mycosis. What is better - medical practice or alternative methods of therapy?
Mycosis therapy
Treatment of nail plate mycosis is targeted, sequential suppression of the fungal environment using local antiseptics and drugs with fungicidal or fungistatic action.
The essence of drug treatment is the disinfection of the affected surface with antiseptic agents, followed by the application of creams or agents that inhibit the growth and reproduction of fungi.
Medicines are chosen depending on the type of fungus that causes the infection, which is determined during diagnosis in the office of a doctor, dermatologist or mycologist.
If the causative agent is not diagnosed, then the treatment of mycosis can be prolonged 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 improper treatment of nail fungus:
- appearance of symptoms of severe mycosis;
- the development of addiction to the drugs used, which invalidates the therapy;
- damage to nearby tissues - skin, adjacent nails;
- self-infection leading to infection of fingernail plates, intestinal dysbiosis;
- reduction of the body's defense forces;
- occurrence of accompanying 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 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 an acidic one, which leads to the death of fungal spores, inhibiting their reproduction.
For this purpose, traditional folk medicine uses:
- soap or fabric softener detergent;
- oils for antiseptic treatment, disinfection of affected skin areas, nail plate;
- acid solutions, chemical compounds for therapeutic baths;
- medicinal preparations for application.
Among the various ways to get rid of the fungus on the nail plate, we will single out the most effective.
Nail mycosis is treated by:
- Aqueous solution of laundry soap.
- A solution of water and 9% food grade vinegar.
- Aqueous solution of manganese.
- Ammonia solution.
- Tea tree oil.
- Lactic acid.
- Glycolic acid.
- Boric acid for nail fungus.
- Ammonium persulfate.
- Potassium dichromate.
- Ammonia.
- Bleaching powder.
- Formaldehyde.
- Alhydride.
These substances treat the fungus of the nail plate, however, the rules of application, dosage of substances and use of respiratory protection should be followed.
Successful treatment does not depend only on the correct choice of drug for therapy and diagnosis. After passing all the necessary tests and purchased medicines, there is always room for an unsatisfactory outcome of the treatment.
Three components of competent treatment:
- Accurate diagnosis of the disease.
- Correctly selected drugs, taking into account age, individual characteristics and contraindications.
- Correct application of recommendations and application of products according to instructions.
During therapy, it is necessary to monitor personal hygiene and limit the consumption of simple carbohydrates and sugar.
ethnoscience
Mycosis of the toenails can be cured with folk remedies if the fungal infection has not progressed to a mild or moderate form. That is, the treatment will be successful in the initial stage of the progression of mycosis, when one or more nail plates are affected, without the complete involvement of the foot skin in the inflammatory process.
Toenail fungus can be cured 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 the nail plates.
- Local application of products with antiseptic properties.
- Application of active substances with fungistatic action to the affected area.
- Applications with active substances.
You must understand that in order to quickly get rid of toenail fungus, they use therapeutic or traditional methods at the first signs of mycosis, without waiting for the intermediate form of the lesion.
Folk recipes
Let's look at effective, from the user's point of view, recipes for mycosis that work flawlessly in the treatment of nail fungus.
A solution of soap and water
- 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 lowered into the basin with the solution and kept for 15-20 minutes.
- After the procedure, the horny layer of the nail plate is removed with an abrasive file, and the keratinized skin layer is removed from the foot. This will enable greater absorption of the active substances of the antifungal agents used afterwards.
Lactic acid
- Lactic acid can be used for this purpose, but before immersing the feet in the acid and water solution, the feet must be steamed in plain hot water for 10-15 minutes.
- Then the lactic acid is diluted with water in the ratio of 10 g of 40% acid and 0. 5 l. water.
- Keep your feet in the solution for no longer than 5 minutes, and before use 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 2-3 minutes.
Solution of vinegar essence
The property of the vinegar essence is to change the tissue environment to an acidic one, which kills the fungal spores.
- The solution should be used based on their individual sensitivity.
- Acid baths are used for the treatment and antiseptic treatment of toenail fungus with folk remedies and medical therapy, before the use of pharmaceutical antiseptics.
Ammonia solution
Ammonia, which has antibacterial, fungicidal, medicinal effects.
- The use is recommended in the initial stages of the appearance of fungi, 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 scalded and cleaned of the stratum corneum.
- The entire affected area and adjacent nails are treated with ammonia.
Oils
Eucalyptus oil has a whole range of properties:
- disinfects;
- heals;
- destroys bacteria, fungi.
In addition, it does not dry out the skin, relieves minor pain, itching and redness.
- Treatment of nail fungus with folk remedies using oil is mainly carried out on the skin.
- Its use greatly helps with cracks in the skin between the fingers due to fungi, and relieves the 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 existing skin cracks or other damage.
- As a rule, a 2-5% acid solution is used, which is applied to the steamed nail plate.
- Acids have an active fungicidal effect, they are used as exfoliants, i. e. they destroy the upper layer of the dermis or stratum corneum of the nail.
- The application should be done carefully so as not to burn nearby tissues.
Manganese
If you use a concentrate, moisten an ear swab in water and apply dry powder to it, the product will ignite the affected area, killing all pathogenic flora.
Foot baths with the solution are usually used, in which they are kept for 15 minutes, after which sulfur ointment or zinc oxide is applied to the affected nails.
Sulfur aldehyde
A 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 the steamed nails for 1 minute, it is preferable to wear a gauze bandage and protect the skin of the feet with petroleum jelly.
- The procedure is repeated 3 times after 3 days.
Bleaching powder
- Dissolving 50 g of lime in 1 liter. of water and mix well, put your feet down for 2 minutes.
- Then we lower our feet into a bath of water and soda for 15 minutes.
- We repeat the procedure 2 times 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, after which it is washed off with running water.
- After using formaldehyde for nail mycosis, it is necessary to apply a soft product on the nails - cream, oil.
- Apply formaldehyde 3-5 times, once a week.
Before treating toenail fungus with these products, perform tolerance tests and observe precautions with toxic substances. Before applying or processing the nails, it is necessary to burn them and remove the stratum corneum plates.
Conclusion
Folk remedies for mycosis are quite diverse, and with the right approach you can achieve a positive response to treatment. A combination of medicines and folk practices is acceptable and the most reasonable option. The use of topical pharmaceutical ointments after traditional procedures may be the most effective therapy option.