Fungal infections on the body are always an unpleasant occurrence. Medication and folk methods help to eliminate it! Not so long ago, vinegar began to be used for this purpose. It has a pronounced antiseptic effect and paralyzes the activity of parasitic microorganisms for a short time.
How does vinegar affect mycosis?
When treating nail fungus with vinegar, it is most often taken in low concentration (9%). For these purposes, you can also take apple essence. For severe fungal infections of the nail plates, even the appropriate essence is used.
Nail fungus does not like an acidic environment.Therefore, vinegar is effective against fungus, since its environment is acidic. Regular use of the corresponding acid for medicinal purposes leads to the death of fungal microorganisms by stopping their ability to reproduce. The key to successful treatment is the presence in the table product of such characteristics as:
- fungistatic;
- antiseptic;
- disinfectants;
- antimicrobial.
Treatment of nail fungus with apple cider vinegar must be a course of treatment, otherwise the disease may return. In this case, it is recommended to simultaneously visit a dermatologist and use additional medications prescribed by him. This treatment will give more effective results.
What vinegar is effective against nail fungus?
Vinegar for fungus should be used carefully, strictly following the recipe for preparing homemade medicine. You should be especially careful with the essence, as it can cause chemical burns on the skin.
For onychomycosis, it is allowed to use any form of table vinegar, the concentration of which does not exceed 9%. If you have a higher concentration of acid on hand, it should first be diluted with water.
Treatment of nail fungus with vinegar will be effective when the recipe for preparing the medicine used is followed correctly. It is advisable to use the described folk remedy from the early stages of damage to the nail plates, since in this case recovery will occur much earlier.
Nail preparation
Treatment of toenail fungus with folk remedies should be carried out after preliminary preparation. This will allow the medicine to penetrate inside more effectively and neutralize even deep-lying mushroom threads. Preparing nails for the procedure consists of the following steps:
Washing affected areas
Use soap or another detergent to thoroughly wash infected nails. It is recommended to clean each nail in turn with a special brush, which will help remove particles of dirt from the base of the nail plates.
Steaming
Clean nails should be placed in hot water (as far as the skin can tolerate) for 20 minutes. This will soften the layers of the epithelium and increase the conductivity of the skin and nail to the applied product. You can add a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the water, which will first neutralize the fungal spores on the surface of the nail plate.
Removing infected areas
Using sharp scissors and a nail file, you should get rid of the infected parts of the nail that can peel off painlessly. If the fungus has spread from the nail to the epithelium, it is necessary to remove the rough layer of skin from the feet.
After the described preparation, you can begin the actual treatment! Vinegar-based remedies to treat this ailment should be used if the body does not have allergic reactions to its composition. Otherwise, you can seriously harm your skin, causing irritation.
How to treat toenail fungus with vinegar?
The use of vinegar for toenail fungus should be done after first consulting a dermatologist. This will help avoid dangerous and unpleasant consequences for the body. Today, many effective ways to use this folk remedy in the fight against foot fungus have been created. When using any of them, it is recommended to observe personal hygiene standards, as well as the recipe for preparing "homemade medicines".
Treatment with vinegar should be a course course, since the infection described is characterized by deep penetration into the nail. If the procedures are not done regularly, then fungal spores can occupy the areas of the nail plate freed from them in a short time, which will lead to re-progression of the pathology.
Vinegar baths are effective against nail fungus. Dissolve a glass of apple product in a liter of warm water and dip the affected parts of the body into the resulting solution. The procedure should be carried out for no more than 20 minutes, after which the feet should be rinsed with warm, clean water and wiped dry. After such steaming, you can rub the medication prescribed by the doctor into the base of the nail, which will increase the rate of penetration of the medicine to the source of infection.
Foot baths with vinegar may cause a slight burning sensation on the skin. This is a normal reaction of the body to an acidic environment. You should be patient for a while and then the skin will get used to the acid used. Treatment of fungus with vinegar should be carried out on clean nail plates, where there is no varnish or other decorative agent. After this procedure, covering your nails with varnish is also not recommended for several days.
For nail fungus, acetic acid can be used in the form of a banal application to the affected areas. This method is effective in the early stages of infection progression. It is recommended to lubricate the marigolds with table product after first steaming them in hot water. Thus, vinegar acts on the fungus much more effectively, which can be noticed after several procedures. When lubricating the nail plates with acetic acid, it is advisable to avoid contact with healthy areas of the nails and skin.
Glycerin and vinegar essence help against nail fungus. Mix essence (70%), glycerin and medical alcohol in a separate container with a ratio of 1: 1: 1. Moisten a cotton pad with the resulting product and apply for no more than 15 minutes. to a fungal nail plate. It is advisable to secure the cotton pad with an adhesive plaster on top and put on warm socks. By making such a compress every day for a week, you can significantly improve the condition of the parts of the body affected by the fungus.
For nail fungus, glycerin and vinegar can be used in another way: mix them together in equal volumes (2 tablespoons each) and apply the resulting composition to previously steamed diseased nails. Glycerin and vinegar against nail fungus are effective when used in the form of compresses secured with polyethylene. It is better to do this at night for two weeks. When treating with vinegar and glycerin, it is important that the body is not allergic to these drugs, otherwise there can be no talk of any recovery.
An egg in vinegar is also effective against nail fungus. A pre-washed raw egg, directly in its shell, is placed in a clean container so that the shell touches its walls. Add vinegar until it is completely covered and put it away in a dark closet for 3 days. After the required time, the shell will dissolve in the acid, and the contents of the egg are mixed with the resulting solution. Add a little softened butter to the resulting mass until a creamy consistency is obtained. The prepared ointment should be smeared on nails with fungus every day, and everything should be wrapped in cling film on top. Keep the described compress for no more than 8 hours. Treatment should be continued until the lesion disappears.
Vinegar and soda help against toenail fungus when used in the form of baths. To do this, add 3% hydrogen peroxide (50 ml), baking soda (100 g), table vinegar (50 ml) and table salt (100 g) to a liter of warm water. Mix everything thoroughly in water and immerse your feet in it for 15 minutes. The described treatment should be carried out twice a day throughout the entire calendar month.
Application at the initial and advanced stages
It is easier to cure nail fungus with vinegar in the early stages of disease progression. The usual wiping of the nail plates with it helps.
When the disease progresses to more severe forms and the nail begins to crumble, you should resort to using special medications in addition to vinegar. In such situations, it is even allowed to wipe darkened nails with vinegar essence, avoiding its penetration into healthy areas of the skin.
Use as a prophylaxis
With the help of vinegar, it is even possible to prevent skin and nail lesions. To do this, it is recommended to treat shoes and hosiery with the described product. Also, for preventive purposes, wet cleaning of rooms and furniture is carried out with a vinegar solution. At the same time, a glass of vinegar product is poured into a ten-liter bucket of warm water and a wet cleaning is done with a sponge soaked in it.
A previously performed foot bath with vinegar for fungus can become a source of infection for healthy household members. Therefore, for preventive purposes, it is recommended to treat the used container, bathtub and walls with antifungal compounds. This can be done with apple cider vinegar and soda, mixing them together in equal quantities and adding warm water to them.
Treating shoes with vinegar
When treating foot fungus, vinegar should also be used to disinfect shoes. In this case you need:
- wash your shoes with detergent and dry them thoroughly;
- treat the inner surface of the shoe with a cotton pad soaked in acetic acid;
- dry your shoes.
Vinegar also helps against toenail fungus when used on shoes. This must be done every day until the disease completely disappears. In addition to shoes, it is recommended to soak for 30 minutes. hosiery in appropriate essence. Then it is recommended to rinse them thoroughly.
Use in children, pregnant and lactating women
Vinegar foot baths against fungus are not recommended for all categories of citizens. Thus, this drug is contraindicated for the treatment of children under ten years of age. The reason for this is the high sensitivity of the skin to an acidic environment.
Also, the described product is not recommended for use for medicinal purposes by expectant and nursing mothers. Hormonal changes in the body in pregnant women cause increased sensitivity of their skin to any aggressors, which may be an acidic environment.
Contraindications and side effects
Treatment of foot fungus with vinegar is contraindicated for people suffering from individual intolerance to this remedy. It can be detected by simply applying acid to the skin.
It is necessary to stop using the product when the following is observed from its application:
- skin rash;
- swelling;
- burning.
In such a situation, safer alternative treatments should be preferred.
It is not recommended to be treated with this folk remedy when there are lesions and wounds on the skin. The components of the acid can increase the resulting irritation, which can aggravate the existing inflammation in the body. As a result, regeneration processes in the epithelium are greatly slowed down.
The fungus should not be treated with the described product if it progresses in the body:
- eczema;
- psoriasis;
- other dermatological diseases.
Among the side effects of using the described product are burning sensation, skin irritation and even hyperemia. When using large quantities of essence, burns may occur. To protect your own body from such dangerous manifestations, it is recommended to carry out medical procedures with a high degree of caution.
Treatment of fungus with folk remedies gives a positive result, but it takes a long course. It is advisable to start procedures from the first signs of pathology, as in the future this will help quickly rid the body of the disease and return the fingers to their former beauty.