It takes time to treat toenail fungus. Over the counter and prescription medications usually take time to work, and often do not work for many patients. If you cannot successfully treat the fungus using over the counter meds, your doctor may prescribe an anti-fungal medication, but even prescribed treatments often fail to clear up the infection. In fact, the author of "Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs: 13 Vital Herbs You Need to Disease-Proof Your Body, Boost Your Energy, Lengthen Your Life" says that nail fungus it is hard to control and most doctors fail at treating the condition. Patients usually have no other viable choice but to treat the infected toe naturally or try a combination of remedies until the infection clears up.
Step 1
Include garlic in your diet. Garlic is a potent remedy for treating a variety of infections because of its anti-fungal properties. Add garlic to spice up your foods or eat a clove of garlic daily until your infection clears up.
Step 2
Take 2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar a day. Apple cider vinegar has cleansing properties, and contains good bacteria that feed on the bad bacteria. If the vinegar is too strong for your tastes or you avoid acidic foods because of acid reflux or other conditions, dilute the vinegar with water.
Step 3
Trim and file nails. Use a coarse nail file for trimming and filing nails. Avoid using cuticle cutters as long as the fungus remains on the toenail. If the clippers puncture the skin, the fungus can enter the new opening and further infect the toe. File away any dead skin cells around the toe, as fungus can hide behind trapped layers of dead skin, waiting to invade again. Clean the tools after each use with alcohol.
Step 4
Prepare a foot bath using fresh garlic cloves. Crush the garlic cloves and place into a bucket or basin of warm water. Add the juice of one lemon into the foot bath and soak the affected foot for 15 minutes.
Step 5
Wash your foot with soap and water twice a day, and apply tea tree oil after bathing. Use an antibacterial soap or soap that contains tea tree oil.
Step 6
Apply 2 drops of Eucalyptus oil each day after bathing. According to an article published in the "Internet Journal of Microbiology" in 2009, eucalyptus oil has antimicrobial properties that inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Things You'll Need
- 10 garlic cloves
- Coarse nail file
- Apple cider vinegar
- Antibacterial soap
- Eucalyptus oil
References
- "Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs 13 Vital Herbs You Need to Disease-Proof Your Body, Boost Your Energy, Lengthen Your Life"; James A. Duke PhD; 2000
- "The Internet Journal of Microbiology": Antimicrobial Activity of Eucalyptus Major and Eucalyptus Baileyana Methanolic Extracts
Member Comments