Tinea is a fungal skin infection that can occur in different forms and affect different parts of your body. Certain topical herbs and herbal creams or ointments might help to get rid of tinea infections. Don’t begin using any herbal treatment for tinea before first consulting your doctor about the proper application and potential health risks.
Description
Commonly called ringworm, tinea are a microscopic fungi that live on your skin. You can get ringworm from contact with infected people, pets and objects, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Tinea causes red circular patches on your skin that turn lighter in color or clear in the center, hence the name ringworm. You might have ringworm of your: scalp called tinea capitis, hands called tinea manus, feet called tinea pedis or athlete’s foot, groin called tinea cruris or jock itch, nails called tinea unguium, face called tinea faciei, or body called tinea corporis.
Herbs
The herbs that are most commonly recommended for treating tinea are tea tree oil and garlic, according to the University of Michigan Health System. You might try other herbal treatments for ringworm infections, such as snakeroot, sosa and other topical herbals. Ozonized vegetable oils could also help to treat tinea, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Other possible tinea treatments include the essential oils of bitter orange, peppermint and eucalyptus could provide some benefits. Talk with your physician before using any herbal treatment for tinea.
Function
Garlic contains ajoene, a constituent that has antifungal actions. Tea tree oil contains volatile oils with antimicrobial actions that fight various fungal and bacterial infections, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Sosa, ozonized vegetable oil and snakeroot all appear to have potential similar actions as common conventional ointments and creams used to treat tinea. Peppermint, eucalyptus and bitter orange essential oils also display antifungal activities.
Medical Research
A 1992 clinical trial published in the Australia Journal of Dermatology found that tea tree oil might help treat tinea pedis, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, MSKC. After just two weeks of using a garlic-derived ajoene cream, study participants experienced complete clearing of athlete’s foot, according to a 1996 clinical trial published in the journal Mycoses. Another study found that a cream containing 1 percent ajoene was equally effective as conventional terbinafine ointment in clearing up athlete’s foot, says the University of Michigan Health System. A one-month-long, double-blind study reported in Planta Medica in 2003 found that applying a cream made from sosa or Solanum chrysotrichum extract was equally effective as the conventional ketoconazole cream in treating athlete’s foot. Another study reported in the same publication in 2006 discovered that topical snakeroot or Ageratina pichinchensis helped to treat tinea, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A 2002 study published in Mycoses discovered that ozonized sunflower oil was just as effective as ketoconazole cream.
Warnings
Tea tree oil and other essential or volatile oils can be toxic if you ingest them, so you should use them only topically, advises MSKC. Herbal creams have the potential to cause allergic skin reactions like contact dermatitis. Other possible side effects and health dangers might exist for some people, so you should talk with a healthcare professional bout these risks before using these herbal remedies.
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