The defeat of the toenails with a fungal infection is associated not only with an external infection, but also with the state of the microflora inside the human body.
As you know, fungi of various species (there are thousands of them) successfully live inside the human body, being opportunistic organisms. This means that they are not dangerous as long as the population is kept at an acceptable level. If there are too many, then they show their toxic properties and have a negative impact on health.
Onychomycosis (fungal infection of the nails) indicates that the body is unable to resist fungal infection, maintaining the necessary acid-base balance of the skin and internal environments (pH).
The appropriate comprehensive treatment will include both external agents and adherence to a specific nutritional protocol that will help reduce the activity of the infection.
Effective treatments
- Drug therapy.
- Radical methods with softening and gradual removal of the nail plate.
- Conservative methods that do not require nail removal: ointments, lotions, compresses, baths.
Antifungal diet
During the duration of the treatment, it is recommended to reject all types of products containing fungal cultures:
- baked goods and bread on yeast dough (you can use flatbread or pita bread without yeast);
- almost all types of cheese except Adyghe cheese, mozzarella, feta cheese and burrata;
- fermented dairy products (kefir, yogurts).
You should also limit ortemporarily exclude sugar and sweets from the diet, as well as sweet fruits and starchy vegetables (potatoes, beets).
These supportive measures will enhance the effect of external medications and treatment will be faster.
Important! If the patient treats anemia and takes iron supplements, it should be remembered that iron strengthens the protective membrane of fungi.
It is best to discontinue these medications during antifungal therapy.
Medicines or home remedies
If the infection is neglected and has already led to deformation of the nail plates, drug therapy will be more appropriate, as they can suppress the activity of the fungal colony.
For minor initial symptoms, you can try home remedies with home remedies.
Many experts are of the opinion that it is quite dangerous to affect fungi with drug therapy as it elicits a powerful response from microorganisms, leading to resistance. The stronger the attempts to eliminate the fungal infection, the stronger the resistance and resistance to chemical attack. When a doctor selects a drug treatment, he tries periodically to change the drugs so as not to cause addiction.
Toenail fungus treatment at home
Treating a yeast infection at home will be beneficial with good hygiene and good practices, but you may need to be patient.
Andriasyan's method
Usually the infection becomes noticeable after the nail color or shape changes. In fact, the fungus grows in the bed below the nail plate, where it enters through the infected sole or penetrates below the edge of the nail.
That is why Dr. Andriasyan's method aims to remove the nail plate and its subsequent treatment.
The affected nail is gradually dissolved with a pharmacy agent, which is a powder of 15 parts of barium sulfide and 85 parts of talc.
- The powder is mixed with water, applied to the nail in the form of a mush for 30-40 minutes, moistening it all the time with a pipette. You can make a small depression in the 5mm layer of the paste and drip water into it every 3 minutes so that the medicine works continuously.
- The gruel is washed off, the softened layer of the nail is removed with a scalpel, trying not to damage the nail bed, then onycholysin is applied again. In 2-3 applications, you can remove the entire plaque, this is important, since the fungus affects the entire nail tissue.
- The exposed surface is treated with a 5% iodine solution.
- Paste on a Vaseline base is applied to the nail bed. It is prepared from salicylic, lactic (or benzoic) acid and resorcinol, each ingredient will need 15 g, they should be mixed with 55 g of petroleum jelly. You can make the paste yourself, all preparations are available at the pharmacy.
On the paste, apply 2-3 layers of gauze and compress paper, the bandage lasts 48 hours. In 3 applications, the affected surface is completely cleansed of the keratinized layers of the affected skin and tissues. - Salicylic petroleum jelly is applied to the bed for another 48 hours under the bandage.
- The nail bed is treated with tincture of iodine 1-2 times a day until the nail is restored.
Quick and effective alternative recipes for the treatment of mycosis
Using herbal fungicides and simple home remedies can help fight yeast infections.
It is important to wash your feet thoroughly before all wellness procedures, trim nails in a timely manner, and get rid of epithelium, to the extent that skin condition allows.
Table vinegar
Vinegar has a pronounced antifungal effect, since the acidic environment has a destructive effect on the reproductive capacity of the fungus.
For home procedures, you can use apple cider, wine and ordinary vinegar, it is only important to remember the concentration of the substance.
Vinegar essence contains about 70-80% of the substance, it should be diluted with water so as not to burn with chemicals.
Example of 70% vinegar essence:
- to obtain a 3% concentrate, the ratio is 1: 20 (1 part vinegar and 20 parts water);
- 6% acetic acid is diluted 1: 11;
- The 9% solution is diluted 1: 7.
It is recommended to start treatment with acetic acid at low concentrations, gradually increasing it to 9%.
Trays.Before using this method, you should wash your feet thoroughly, trim your nails, and remove as much of the keratinized epithelium as possible.
In the treatment process, the hardened skin will soften, gradually it will be possible to completely remove it.
For 3 liters of hot water, you will need 1 liter of apple cider vinegar or a glass of 3% vinegar essence. Soak clean feet in the bathtub for 15-20 minutes until the solution cools. After bathing, do not rinse the solution off the skin, let it dry.
A few drops of iodine, manganese crystals or tea tree oil can be added to the bath to enhance the antifungal effect.
Baths can be taken for a long time, it is important to monitor the state of health and the dynamics of recovery.
A slight burning sensation on the skin surface is acceptable, but pain should not be tolerated. If the pain syndrome is severe, it is recommended to reduce the concentration of vinegar or temporarily abandon the baths and use other means.
People with serious violations of the integrity of the skin of the foot (cracks, ulcers) are shown careful use of vinegar baths.
Lotions and compresses.Wet gauze dressings soaked in vinegar solution are applied to the affected surface for 3 hours until dry. It is important not to create a greenhouse effect by covering the dressings with plastic wrap, ventilation is necessary.
First solution:
- 100 ml of water.
- a few drops of iodine.
- a teaspoon of vinegar.
Second solution:
- 2 tablespoons of water.
- tablespoon of glycerin.
- 2 tablespoons of 3% vinegar.
The course of treatment will last from 2 months to a year.
If the use of vinegar causes irritation and an allergic reaction, discontinue the treatment.
Tea tree oil
The tea tree has a powerful fungicidal effect, it contains around one hundred fractions of terpenes, substances that have a toxic effect on fungi and microorganisms.
It is more effective to use 100% crude oil, instead of cosmetics, it contains 40-50% tea tree oil in half with other vegetable oils.
Undiluted oil is rubbed on the nail plates and the rough skin around them. No need to rinse or clean the product, it dries partially, partially penetrates fabrics. Use the medicine twice a day for 2 months or more.
A refreshing bath with lukewarm water and a few drops of tea tree oil can be used to soothe and deodorize the skin.
Hydrogen peroxide
Most of the time, a standard 3% hydrogen peroxide solution is used in therapy, it is sold in a pharmacy in a ready-made form. Peroxide is known as an antiseptic, hemostatic, and deodorant agent, and its antimicrobial and antifungal effects are also known.
Peroxide treatments.
Baths: Add 2-3 ml of peroxide to 3 liters of warm water, keep feet in the solution for 10-15 minutes, then dry without cleaning.
You can buy hydrogen peroxide in powder or tablet form, add a little water to the substance to make it a suspension. This porridge is gently applied with a cotton swab on the affected nail for no more than 5 minutes and then washed off.
Propolis
Propolis is a sticky, rubbery substance produced by bees from pollen that uses its own enzymes. Thanks to its unique chemical composition, it successfully fights fungal infections.
Propolis tincture pharmaceutical preparation can be used as follows:
The trays are prepared at the rate of 1 teaspoon of the product per 1 liter of hot water. It should be tolerable, but warm, keep your feet in the liquid for 20 minutes. It is important not to rinse the solution off your feet.
Lotions are made with a cotton swab soaked in dye, which is bandaged for several hours (preferably overnight).
An ointment can be prepared from pure, untreated propolis: mix 50 grams of the substance with 100 grams of petroleum jelly. The ointment is generously applied to the affected nail and gradually absorbed, residues can be blotted with a paper towel or wait until completely absorbed.
All propolis products are applied daily for 2 months and longer as needed.
Tincture of iodine
The complex use of iodine has already been observed in the composition of several products. Iodine has the ability to coagulate (adhere) proteins: fungi, which consist of protein compounds, stick together and die.
Even if the patient does not have any other medications on hand, they can begin treatment using only the alcoholic tincture of iodine from the pharmacy.
Iodine lotions. The therapy is very simple:
It is necessary to soak a cotton ball with dye and fix it on the affected nail for an hour, trying to prevent the substance from coming into contact with the skin. For the skin, iodine is not safe, it can cause chemical burns, also avoid contact with mucous membranes.
A slight burning sensation is appropriate. The procedure can be performed every day for 1, 5-2 months.
Celandine
Since celandine is a very toxic herb, a tolerance test should be performed. To do this, a small amount of the product with celandine is applied to the skin of the doll and a reaction is expected. In case of intolerance, the skin will react with redness, rashes and itching, a few minutes will be enough.
With good tolerance, celandine can be used in the form of juice, decoction, oil or tincture.
You can make your ownjuiceby collecting fresh grass and rubbing it well with rubber gloves. This juice cannot be stored for long, it is better to prepare each serving separately. Pure juice is applied to the affected nails for 10-20 minutes, then washed off. You can repeat the procedure every day, but this is only available in summer.
Celandine oil is sold in a pharmacy and is used to rub on the nail plate twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. From the product, the nails may turn yellow, this is normal.
trayswith decoction of celandine are prepared from dry pharmaceutical raw materials and water.
To start, add 7 tablespoons of dried herb to 2 liters of boiling water, the composition is kept in a water bath for 15 minutes.
It is then filtered and used for bathing, filling with hot water if necessary. The duration of the procedure is 20 minutes, it is not necessary to wash off the broth.
Celandine tincture can be bought at the pharmacy or made yourself. It is used to treat affected nails, lubricating 2 times a day.
Potatoes
Potato tubers contain substances that can help fight fungal infections, but they are not powerful. Against the fungus, use raw potatoes or potato broth.
It is necessary to grate the raw potatoes on a fine grater, apply the resulting porridge on the sore nails and bandage for an hour. Rinse with water.
For convenience, you can replace the porridge with thinly sliced potatoes.
Option: squeeze the juice from the porridge, soak cotton pads and apply it to the nails.
Potato broth is used in the form of foot baths after partial cooling. Potato procedures should be done every day for 2 months.
The most effective drugs
Pharmaceuticals are essential for the complex treatment of complex advanced infections.
Inside are prescribedtablets or capsules.
Topically applied:
- ointments and creams;
- varnishes;
- solutions;
- natural preparations.
If home remedies can be used relatively calmly, a doctor should prescribe drug therapy, based on test data and symptoms. Don't self-medicate or prescribe pills yourself.
The best treatments for nail fungus
If you are a literate reader, you start reading from the end. So, especially for you, the main useful takeaways:
- When treating onychomycosis, it is necessary to understand that the fungus always affects the body as a whole and not a particular part of the body, therefore complex therapy is needed.
- No remedy can be considered a panacea for yeast infections. You will need drug therapy, simple daily hygiene procedures, and adherence to a nutritional protocol.
- Many treatment regimens for onychomycosis are designed for up to 2 months, during which time the nail plate has time to completely renew itself. It is important not to leave therapy early.
- Mycoses are difficult to cure, it is impossible to completely eliminate fungal infections in the human body, but it can significantly reduce the pathogenic effect of fungi and maintain a healthy level of immunity.
Stay healthy!