Fungal nail infection is a common type of toenail condition that can affect everyone, especially adults. To treat it, many people turn to a fungal nail home remedy, believing that by doing so, fungi will go away on their own.
Fungal nail infections are caused by a fungus, either by yeasts, moulds, or dermatophytes. A person can get it by borrowing shoes from an infected person, walking barefooted in communal facilities and other warm and moist places.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Distorted nail shape
- Smelly feet
- Nail discolouration
- Thickened nails
- Brittle nails
Getting infected by a fungal nail infection is debilitating. It’s a blow to your self-confidence and the way you perform your daily tasks.
Understandably, many people will do anything to get rid of this infection, leaning on fungal nail home remedies, hoping that they will solve the problem.
But do any of the popular fungal nail home remedies work?
What Is True About Some of the Most Popular Fungal Nail Home Remedies?
Google can provide you with tonnes of information about the natural remedies you can try against nail fungus. But it doesn’t mean that all of them are effective against the infection. That’s why it will help your condition if you know what to expect.
Vinegar
Many people claim that vinegar is a natural remedy for nail fungus. The evidence supporting the efficacy of it against toenail fungus is unreliable. But if you’re looking for a safe home remedy to try at home, vinegar is one of the best choices as it does not have any side effects.
Vick’s Vaporub
Vicks is an ointment that is not meant to cure fungal infection. But because of its antifungal components: eucalyptus oil, menthol, thymol, and camphor, many people claim that it is effective.
A few studies claim that Vick’s Vapor Rub is effective against fungal infections. But these studies did not follow the protocols researchers would usually do for topical medication studies. One example was a study that did not include patients who were infected by dermatophytes fungus.
Because of this, most podiatrists are not convinced about Vick’s efficacy as a home remedy against toenail fungus.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is an antiseptic that isn’t meant for killing toenail fungus. This medication is for treating cuts, burns and scrapes. But according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), hydrogen peroxide can kill some types of fungi, such as yeasts and moulds.
However, hydrogen peroxide can only be effective in killing the fungi sitting on the surface of your nails. The infection will keep coming back because you cannot apply it to your nail’s unreachable areas. Because of this, hydrogen peroxide can only be effective against a mild infection.
Oil With Antifungal Properties (Oregano, peppermint, tea tree oil)
Because oils, such as oregano, peppermint, and tea tree, have antifungal properties, they can be an effective fungal nail home remedy. The problem is that these oils can cause an allergic reaction or irritation on the skin, especially if you mix them to kill the fungus more effectively.
Baking Soda
Although baking soda can help ease the overgrowth of fungal infections, it cannot help in eradicating the fungus. Baking soda can only wick the moisture away from the feet, which deprives the fungus of an ideal habitat.
Why Don’t Fungal Nail Home Remedies Always Work?
Most of the famous home remedies against fungal infections have antifungal properties. However, there is no clear evidence that they are 100% effective.
Fungi are hard to kill, especially if they have infected the nails. Fungi can spread into the unreachable areas of the nails where you cannot apply medications at all. Even if you think you have solved the issue in your nail’s exposed areas, the fungi will only keep coming back because they are still there, lurking on the nail bed.
With over-the-counter proven medications, the treatment takes a while and may last up to a year. For this reason, it is almost impossible to say that home remedies are 100% effective in treating fungal nail infections. You can try some of them as they won’t have any side effects, but podiatrists don’t recommend them.
Podiatrist Interventions and Treatment
If you want to know the proven ways to treat fungal nail infection effectively, visit a podiatrist. Podiatrists are foot specialists who can help you with your problem.
Podiatrists commonly recommend antifungal topical and oral medications and laser treatment. Between these options, the latter provides the fastest and the most effective cure against a fungal nail infection, as the laser can penetrate the unreachable areas of the nails, killing the fungi completely.
Get a laser treatment if you want to get a high chance of treatment success. Visit Footwork Clinic today, and let’s discuss what we can do to cure your fungal nail infection.
