Fungal diseases of the toenails or fingernails are treated using 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 nail plates brings a lot of unpleasant moments - from the inability to wear open shoes to itching and burning in 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, staying in closed shoes 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 the infection of certain areas:
- skin;
- nail plates;
- internal organs;
- joints.
Fungus on the toenails in the initial phase 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, the signs of foot fungus become more characteristic:
- increased skin itching;
- slight swelling of the tissues around the affected area;
- qualitative change in the nail plate - color change, deformation;
- nail crumbling;
- thickening of the nail plate, subungual tissue;
- roughening of the skin on the fingers and toes;
- formation of cracks between the toes;
- 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 to the plate;
- gradual detachment from the bed.
The occurrence of these symptoms indicates the progression of the infection, which, if untreated, involves the skin and adjacent nail plates in a fungal infection.
Treatment of toenail fungus is not as simple as it seems at first glance; the problem is that the nail plates are almost constantly covered in a closed state - by shoes, hosiery. For men, treatment of mycosis of the nail plates is especially difficult due to greater sweating and wearing closed shoes at any time of the year.
How to get rid of toenail fungus? Some use medications - taking pills and using topical nail treatments. Some resort to folk remedies for treating mycosis. What is preferable – medication practice or alternative methods of therapy?
Mycosis therapy
Therapy for mycosis of the nail plates is a targeted, sequential suppression of the fungal environment using local antiseptics and drugs with fungicidal or fungistatic effects.
The essence of treatment with medications is to disinfect the affected surface with antiseptic agents, followed by the application of creams or agents that inhibit the growth and reproduction of fungi.
Medications are selected 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 pathogen is not diagnosed, then the treatment of mycosis can drag on for a long period 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 diagnosis.
Consequences of incorrect treatment of nail fungus:
- the occurrence of symptoms of severe mycosis;
- development of addiction to the drugs used, which nullifies therapy;
- damage to nearby tissues - skin, neighboring nails;
- self-infection 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 - medications, properties of chemicals, herbs, oils.
Home treatment
Folk remedies for toenail 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.
For this purpose, traditional folk medicine uses:
- soap or detergent to soften fabrics;
- oils for antiseptic treatment, disinfection of affected areas of the skin, nail plates;
- solutions of acids, 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.
Nail mycosis treats:
- A water solution of laundry soap.
- A solution of water and 9% food 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 nail plate fungus, however, you should adhere to the rules of application, dosage of the substance and use respiratory protection.
Successful treatment depends not only on the correct choice of drug for therapy and diagnosis. Having passed all the necessary tests and purchased medications, there is always room for an unsatisfactory treatment outcome.
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, you need to monitor personal hygiene and limit the consumption of simple carbohydrates and sugars.
ethnoscience
It is possible to cure mycosis of the toenails using folk remedies if the fungal infection has not progressed to a moderate or moderate form. That is, treatment will be successful at the initial stage of mycosis progression, when one or more nail plates are affected, without 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 nail plates.
- Local application of products with antiseptic properties.
- Application of active agents with a fungistatic effect to the affected area.
- Applications with active substances.
You need to understand that in order to get rid of toenail fungus quickly, they use therapeutic or traditional methods at the first signs of mycosis, without waiting for the middle form of the lesion.
Folk recipes
Let's consider effective, from the users' point of view, recipes for mycosis that work flawlessly 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 lowered into a basin with the solution and kept for 15-20 minutes.
- After the procedure, the stratum corneum of the nail plate is removed using an abrasive file, and the keratinized layer of skin is removed from the foot. This will allow for greater absorption of the active substances of the antifungal agents used afterward.
Lactic acid
- Lactic acid can be used for this purpose, but before immersing the feet in a solution of acid and water, the feet must be steamed in plain hot water for 10-15 minutes.
- Afterwards, lactic acid is diluted with water in a ratio of 10 g of 40% acid and 0. 5 l. water.
- Keep your feet in the solution for no more 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.
Vinegar essence solution
The property of vinegar essence is to change the tissue environment to acidic, thereby killing 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 drug therapy, before using pharmaceutical antiseptics.
Ammonia solution
Ammonia, which has antibacterial, fungicidal, healing effects.
- The use is advisable in the initial stages of the emergence of fungus, 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 from the stratum corneum.
- The entire affected area and adjacent nails are treated with ammonia.
Oils
Eucalyptus oil has a whole bunch of properties:
- disinfects;
- heals;
- destroys bacteria, fungi.
In addition, 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 with cracks in the skin between the fingers due to fungus, and relieves itching of the periungual 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 better to carry out such treatment without existing cracks in 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 peeling, i. e. they destroy the top layer of the dermis or stratum corneum of the nail.
- Application should be carried out carefully so as not to burn nearby tissues.
Manganese
If you use the concentrate, moisten an ear stick in water and apply dry powder to it, the product will cauterize the affected surface, killing all pathogenic flora.
Usually, foot baths with a solution are used, in which they are kept for 15 minutes, after which sulfur ointment or zinc oxide is applied to the affected nails.
Sulfurous aldehyde
Highly toxic liquid gas that kills all flora:
- fungal;
- bacterial;
- lice;
- ticks.
Disinfects and disinfects surfaces.
How to treat fungus with sulfur dioxide?
- It is applied to steamed nails for 1 minute, it is advisable 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
- Dissolving 50 g of lime in 1 liter. water and mix it well, lower your legs 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 in running water.
- After using formaldehyde for mycosis of the nails, you need to apply a soft product - cream, oil - to the nails.
- Apply formaldehyde 3-5 times, 1 time per week.
Before treating toenail fungus with these products, perform tolerance tests and follow precautions with toxic substances. Before applying or processing nails, they must be steamed and the stratum corneum of the plate must be removed.
Conclusion
Folk remedies for mycosis are quite diverse, and with the right approach, you can achieve a positive response to treatment. Combining medication and folk practices is acceptable and is the most reasonable option. Using local pharmaceutical ointments after traditional procedures may be the most effective therapy option.