The fungus on the legs (feet) is one of the most common mycoses. According to statistics, every fifth person is a carrier of the causative agent of this disease. To combat the fungal microflora on the foot, antifungal drugs are prescribed, intended for external and internal use. At the initial stage of the development of the disease, it is appropriate to use alternative methods of treatment.
Why does fungus appear?
A fungus is an infection that enters the skin/nails through common household ways: using common personal care products, visiting swimming pools, saunas, beauty salons.
If the virus gets on the skin, it is likely that the disease will not get into the subcutaneous cells, since a healthy body has strong resistance to such microbes.
There are a number of factors that promote the development of fungi on the skin or nails:
- Profuse sweating of the feet due to uncomfortable inferior shoes;
- Mechanical damage to the legs (scratches, wounds on the feet, barbs);
- Weakened immunity from bad habits, serious diseases: AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis, neuroses, flu.
Perhaps the tastiest place to be attacked by the fungus is the feet. The main reason is that it is the foot that affects the shoes the most and has hundreds of micro-cracks.
There are different types of tinea infections that parasitize the toenails, the space between the toes, or the feet.
The method of counteracting the fungus, whether it is drug intervention or traditional medicine, depends entirely on the location of the infection.
According to statistics, more than 60% of the population has experienced the problem of ringworm, and the main reason is that this virus is incredibly resistant to external influences and quickly "jumps" from one infected body to another.
Without proper dry cleaning of shoes/clothes, flex can live in them for up to 5 years and be an active infection.
Family members who already have an infected person are particularly vulnerable to the disease. In this case, daily wet cleaning with intensive cleaners and chlorine is simply indispensable.
How do you recognize a mushroom?
In the first stages of infection, it is almost impossible to detect flexibly. Barely noticeable white spots of small size appear on the skin / nails, which do not cause discomfort.
During evolution, the virus grows and causes the following symptoms:
- unbearable itching and burning;
- The nail plate becomes rougher and sloppy;
- fragility and delamination of nails;
- Cracks appear on the feet caused by dry skin;
- A white coating appears on itchy spots/nails;
- An unpleasant pungent odor emanates from the feet.
Why is mycosis dangerous?
It seems that mycosis is a fairly harmless infection that does not pose a threat to human life.
Undoubtedly, the fungus between the toes can not be deadly, but it leads to negative adjustments in the immune system, psychological and social condition of a person, and can also cause a number of serious diseases.
So, the following factors can be attributed to the negative consequences of mycosis:
- Social - a ban on visiting swimming pools, baths, saunas and other places where sanitary examination is required;
- Psychological - itching causes self-doubt, distorted skin / nails do not allow wearing open shoes, a strong smell from the feet does not allow removing shoes outside the house;
- Physiological - general depletion of immunity, which provokes infection with viral colds and the appearance of allergies.
Treatment of the fungus: folk remedies or medicines?
Modern medicine has an impressive arsenal of drugs for treating athlete's foot, but do not forget about the current methods of traditional medicine, treated by several generations of ancestors.
The choice of treatment for this disease depends entirely on the stage of its neglect: if we talk about the manifestation of all the symptoms described above, then it is more appropriate to pay attention to medical interventions, since their effect will become clearer in a short time.
If the disease has recently parasitized the skin, and the virus has not had time to spread through the legs, folk recipes for the fungus will be very useful.
Fortunately, treating athlete's foot with folk remedies is absolutely affordable measures, and the ingredients for the drug can be found in a first-aid kit or refrigerator.
The fungus between the toes can be cured with the following remedies from the first aid kit:
- Potassium permanganate (it is necessary to steam the legs, and then wrap the infected area with a bandage soaked in potassium permanganate solution. For greater efficiency, put on a warm sock and walk around with a compress for 5-7 hours or do the procedure before bedtime).
- 5% iodine solution (treat infected areas 2-3 times a day).
- Boric acid (take a hot shower, dry your feet, spray sore spots with boric acid, wrap yourself in warm socks. If you repeat the procedure every day for 10 days, you have a real chance to get rid of an annoying disease. Important! Feet must be dry, since itotherwise chemical burns will occur).
- Ammonia (dilute in the ratio 1 tbsp to 1 cup, moisten the bandage, wrap your legs overnight).
- Iodine, glycerin, vinegar (mix the ingredients in equal parts, dilute with 2 parts water. Wash fungal areas with this tincture daily before bedtime).
Simple means from the first-aid kit will help to eradicate the fungus within 10-20 days with systematic use.
Also, the pleasant moment is that the above means are quite cheap, you can buy them at any pharmacy and they will not burden your budget.
Folk ways to deal with dermatomycosis
It has already been mentioned that the fungus is one of the most common diseases, but there are also many measures to influence it in the knowledge base of traditional medicine. For example, foods that you find in your fridge every day can have an intense effect on the virus.
Effective fight against mycoses provide such products:
- Lemon;
- Onion;
- Garlic;
- apple and wine vinegar;
- Egg;
- Coffee
- Baking powder;
- rowan leaves / nettle.
Let's take a closer look at each option, how to cure a fungus on the feet with folk recipes in the shortest possible time.
- Lemon.Cut citrus into not very thin slices, attach to infected areas, wrap with cellophane wrap. Hold the compress for 30 minutes and repeat the process for 10 days. A noticeable advantage of this method is that the lemon not only destroys mitosis, but also saturates the nail plate with vitamins, removes white streaks and blocks unpleasant odor from the feet.
- Onion.Prepare the onion gruel, squeeze the juice into a separate vessel. Apply a thick layer of porridge to the affected area, wrap with a film and leave for 10-15 minutes. With mechanical damage to the skin, add petroleum jelly to the pulp in a 1: 1 ratio. After 15 minutes, wash the compress with hot water, wipe with a towel, apply onion juice and wait for it to absorb into the skin. Rinse your feet after the juice is not required.
- Garlic.There are 2 options for the compress: cut the clove into 2 parts, roll in table salt, rub foci of mushrooms; Prepare a gruel, add butter in equal parts and apply to the skin. In any case, it is not recommended to keep garlic on your feet for more than a quarter of an hour, since its juice can cause burns. Wash off the compresses with warm water, repeat the procedure at intervals of at least 8 hours.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. 4 tbsp. Mix tablespoons of vinegar with 150 grams of sea salt (possibly with additives) and pour 5 liters of hot water. Wait for the water to cool down a bit and take a foot bath.
- wine vinegar.Perhaps the simplest folk treatment for a fungus: lubricate diseased skin with undiluted wine vinegar. It is necessary to wait until the vinegar is completely absorbed, you do not need to rinse your feet, and you can repeat these actions 4 times a day.
- Egg.To prepare the ointment you need to: pour a raw egg with vinegar, cover with cling film and a plastic lid and put in a cool dark place. Wait for the eggshell to completely dissolve, add 1 teaspoon of butter to the jar and gently pour until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Apply the ointment to dry, clean skin, wrap with foil/sachet and keep warm for an hour. After removing the compress, the feet should be washed with warm water.
- Coffee.One of the best and most fragrant remedies for athlete's foot. Coffee can be used as an exfoliant or as the main ingredient in a foot bath. If you are used to brewing natural black coffee, use the remaining sediment as a scrub. Apply precipitation to the inflamed areas, rub coffee residues into the skin. The second option is to brew coffee and pour it into the bath at a ratio of 2 coffee: 1 water. The second option is financially more expensive. The advantages of coffee are that after such procedures, rough skin peels off, and the new one acquires a healthy color, softness and tenderness.
- Baking powder.A universal remedy suitable for poultices and baths. Prepare a porridge with the addition of soda and water in equal proportions and apply to the nails / feet / the space between the fingers, wrapped in cellophane for 20 minutes. After the specified time, rinse with warm water and sprinkle with talcum powder. In addition, you can prepare baths with the addition of sea salt, soda and cedar oil / eucalyptus / menthol or propolis.
- Rowan.Rowan, like nettle, has antibacterial properties, so it is recommended to combat athlete's foot. Plant leaves must be collected from ecologically clean areas and only young growth should be selected. Rub the leaves to a mushy state and apply to the area of inflammation. The compress must be left overnight.
Phytotherapy - a method of combating fungi
Effective folk remedies for athlete's foot are reflected in herbal medicine guides.
Despite the fact that representatives of science do not particularly approve of the methods of alternative medicine, herbal medicine deserves some attention and respect, since they clearly indicate their safety and effectiveness.
We will tell you how to get rid of athlete's foot using folk remedies with herbs.
Folk remedies for fungus between the toes are made from decoctions of such plants as celandine, calendula, mint, burdock, sage, wormwood, St. John's wort and dozens of other herbs.
- celandine.Decoction with 4 tbsp. Spoons of dry celandine and 1 liter of water, boil for 5 minutes, leave for 30 minutes. Bathe before bed every day for at least 21 days.
- Mugwort.Wormwood is also used for baths, but there is a more effective remedy: a decoction of wormwood, plantain, burdock and yarrow is infused for 9 hours and drunk 3 times a day before meals. In just a week you can get rid of the obvious signs of the fungus.
- marigold.Pour a pack of calendula flowers (usually 250 grams) with boiling water and leave for 1 hour. Lubricate the inflamed skin with herbal extract 3-4 times a day for a month.
- Burdock.The compress is made from fresh burdock leaves. It is necessary to act mechanically on the leaf so that it releases the juice (beat it off with a hammer / make small cuts) and wrap the legs, put a bandage, put on warm socks. Leave the lotion on overnight.
- Mint, nettle, sage.In this treatment with folk remedies, dry herbs are mixed and poured into a warm sock. It is necessary to wear a dry mixture during the day and repeat the complex as soon as possible, but at least 3 times a week.
The above folk remedies against the fungus are sold in any pharmacy, both in the form of dried herbs and in the form of essential oils. It is recommended to buy several essential oils and take foot baths with fragrant elixirs.
Folk remedies for athlete's foot are effective measures, but they require a fairly long application, so their variety should be combined and alternated.
Treatment with folk remedies is the safest, albeit long-term method that does not cause allergic and inflammatory reactions.
Shoe care against fungus
The answer to the question: "How to treat a fungus? "should not only provide a set of recipes for effective folk remedies, but also remind you to process all your shoes.
To disinfect shoes from fungal infection, a 25% vinegar solution / 30% formalin is used. It is necessary to moisten a cotton swab with a solution and wipe the shoes from the inside.
Important! Be sure to wipe down all the shoes you put on: from flip flops to boots. The shoes you wear all the time need to be treated at least once a week.