3 Nail Fungus Home Remedies To Try Before Visiting The Doctor

Posted on: 4 February 2015

Toenail fungus is about as much fun as it sounds. It is a common condition that can lead to discomfort in your toes and toenails, thickened and yellowed toenails, and even broken nails as well. Onychomycosis affects up to 32 million people in America alone, and it can be a very tough condition to beat. Since the fungus is actually down in the nail bed, many over-the-counter treatments are simply ineffective at rooting out the fungus entirely—many people will see improvement but never see complete eradication of the fungus. While there are prescription medications that can help get to the root of the problem, not everyone wishes to take a pill to cure nail fungus. If you are wishing to avoid taking a prescription, try some of these anti-fungal home remedies that may be able to help.

Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil (yes, the stuff you cook with) has been proven to have exceptional anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Research even shows that olive oil may be effective in slowing down the growth of certain superbugs, including Staph.

Virgin olive oil can be painted onto your nails with the fungus at night, and you need to wrap a bandage or some other covering over the nail so the oil will stay in place. Repeat this process for several weeks, and you should see a reduction in your nail fungus symptoms.

Tea Tree Oil

An oil made from the tea tree in Australia, this very highly touted product is also an exceptional anti-fungal and anti-microbial. Tea tree oil is widely available, and can be applied to the affected nails in the same manner as olive oil. Additionally, tea tree oil can also be used to help bacterial acne and other types of infection.

With the tea tree oil, carefully wash the nail and remove any dead skin. Roughen the surface of the nail slightly with a file (this helps the nail absorb the oil more deeply), and then paint the tea tree oil on. Add a bandage or covering to keep the oil in place. Do this for a period of several weeks, and you should see marked improvement.

Bleach

Household bleach can also kill the fungus on your nails. Experts recommend soaking the nails in a weak bleach and water mix (100 parts water, 1 part bleach), then swabbing a stronger 1:10 solution directly on the nail. Cover and reapply nightly for several weeks to see improvement.

If you still do not see improvement with any of these home remedies after three months, it may be time to visit your doctor, one like Oregon Foot Clinic.

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Welcome to Sara's Site

Hi there! My name is Sara Jerba. I'm no doctor, but I'm very familiar with them due to experience. You could say I was a sickly child. Between various allergies and a few other conditions, I got to be very good friends with my doctors and nurses. Although I hate staying overnight in the hospital, I do feel quite at home there. Now, don't feel sorry for me. Most of my conditions have eased or even abated entirely as I've grown up. And none of them were ever life-threatening--just inconvenient. It's actually been very positive in the long run; it's brought a lot of wonderful people and important knowledge into my life that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

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