Natural Remedies For Athlete's Foot

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Bonnie (Campton, Ky) on 07/17/2011
★★★★★

My feet had been giving me a great deal of pain for a long time. I used the ACV for about 2 months and my feet are no longer itching, cracking, bleeding and no more blisters. I have had it for about 20 years. I threw all of my old shoes away. I soak them for 30 min. a day in ACV that you can buy at the dollar store by the gallon. Also I use vaseline on my feet at night to keep them from being dry. I am so thankful for this site!!!!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Marian (Tasmania, Australia) on 10/28/2009
★★★★★

Hi all, I read on your site (I think) that bathing feet in cider vinegar for a minimum of 6 weeks would cure athletes foot. I have had this condition since a teenager, I'm now 58. Usually didn't notice it too much in winter when I was wearing shoes but each summer my heels would crack and give me grief. So I was constantly putting healing cream on with band-aids and this went on all summer. This year it started in the winter, and I noticed that my feet were peeling also. So I quite religiously rubbed organic cider vinegar on my feet each night, and dried them off in front of the fire, an evening ritual before bed. My feet are now completely clear of peeling and splitting and feel so good. I have yet to go through the summer so am hopeful that it continues, if not I will just keep on with the bathing each night. Also started oil pulling about the same time, seseme, sunflower and coconut, it really cleared my sinus problems and I am continuing every second day. Thanks for your great site, I love the empowering vibe, its so hopeful and comforting to see us reclaiming our health from the "sickness industry".
love marian

Frankincense Oil

Posted by Ethna (Dundalk, Co Louth. Ireland) on 09/01/2009
★★★★★

Massage a small amount of Frankinsense essential oil on your feet. There will be no foot odour for approximately 6 months.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Chuck (Lexington, KY) on 06/05/2009
★★★★★

I contracted a severe case of moccasin athlete's foot, which is especially hard to treat. It will spread to all parts of the feet and hands. The only recommended conventional treatment is with a pill that also runs serious risk of liver damage. needless to say not a great set of choices. I'd tried all the creams, etc. to no avail.

So I found this site and tried the remedy. I used a combination of approx. 60% "raw" apple cider vinegar, organic unfiltered with the mother, and probably about 40% hydrogen Peroxide. I soaked my affected areas for 30-40 minutes in the solution and let it air dry.

Seriously, after 2 days almost all the affected areas were visibly far better, and while it's too soon to declare it 100% cured, there is no doubt in my mind that this works. I plan on continuing treatment every couple of days at least for a week or so just to improve the odds of beating this thing, but I couldn't be happier if this cure came with a sack of money. Which, given the cost of medication, it effectively did come with a sack of money.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Chas (Denver, Co) on 11/28/2009

Warning: About using a dremel or other kind of power grinder or sander, such as a pet nail trimmer -- only do this when wearing a surgical mask and eye protection. Otherwise, the airborne pathogens can spread the problem to places where you truly do not want the issue, and where your physician may have a very difficult time helping you!

Coconut Oil

Posted by Desiree (Portland, OR) on 01/17/2009
★★★★☆

I have had athlete's foot for several decades: not usually cracked or peeling, but warm and itchy all the time. I thought this isn't going to do anything. I put coconut oil on my feet and within a half hour I felt a cooling sensation. What a surprise. The next morning I felt cool feet. I am amazed! I just rubbed it all over my feet, put on socks and climbed into bed. I am anxious to see how it works for me systemically. I have had itchy scalp for about 10 years. It isn't itchy at present, but I can't imagine treating the feet could cure it. I do know that the feet are like the tongue in that the organs of the body is mapped out on the tongue. We'll see.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Katrina (NYC) on 12/21/2008
★★★★★

Athletes Foot: I rented ice skates for 1-hr and next morning got an AF. I read all the solutions here and doing following:

ACV -- i soak my foot for 15 min
ACV+ wet clay -- I put it as a mask on my foot overnight-- improvements right away!!!
Oil of Oregano -- overnight-- great improvements!!!

Nu-Stock

Posted by Jean (Franklin, WI) on 02/22/2009
★★★★★

Just an update. The athlete's foot tried to return once. I applied nu-stock before bed, then again three days later. Athlete's foot hasn't returned. This is some powerful stuff. It didn't hurt the skin, and yet in that seven month period of time, I only had to use it about 6 times.

More important than that, I also had a problem with the NAIL FUNGUS ... you know the thing where your toenail gets discolored, dark and thick. THAT'S GONE TOO !!! :D Seven months after my first post about Nu-Stock, I have normal toenails. I love this stuff! :) If anyone is having trouble finding it, I got it on EBay...$7 for a large jar plus shipping.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Doris (Santa Ana, CA, USA) on 09/12/2008
★★★★★

Adding to my 04/28/08 entry. Pedicuring 82 yr old mom's Athl Feet, red chapped cracked heels she had thru my childhood years. Now her poorly cleaned large toenail had accumulated dead skin under nail with yucky dark fungus. I bought kitchen dishgloves dishpan scrubber-sponge hydrogen peroxide (HP). She couldn't reach to clean anymore. Athl Foot etc was up calves to her knees. In dishpan I mixed 4 cups comfy-hot water, 1 cup HP. Feet in pan, I scrub-sponged one leg. It didn't sting, Strongly tingled refreshingly like when your hand falls asleep. She didn't realize how numb Ath Ft made her feet sense of no feeling. Cleaned feet nerves felt like taking off thick socks for the first time. Dishwash gloves protected my hands while scrubbing. We both couldn't believe visual immediate result of no redness, and of powdery white dusty skin sloughing easily into water mixture. To do other leg, washed out dishpan, used new gloves, new sponge, fresh water-HP mix. Dust-size flakes came off her feet. Now with vigorous gentle sponge scrub, I could feel the difference between cleaned slick skin and slippery athl foot. Scrubbed 3 minutes foot-calf-knee per leg. CLEAN. Dumped water was thick with scaly powdery dead skin slough. Big point was Athl Ft numb feeling wasn't noticed till after cleaning. Last, I put aloe vera gel on each leg using 3rd pair kitchen latex gloves. Then used spray bottle of water-HP mix with paper towels to wipe dry, on her whole apartment especially shower stall, sink, commode, all chromework, doorknobs and sliding glass door-windows handles. Got her new shower flip flop sandals, sprayed them too. NOTE: Her bldg staff smelled vinegar-water wash I'd once used, which worked good enough, but staff said NO in case of doctor's meds conflict by skin absorption - go figure! HP has no smell. She does her own laundry, but now puts some HP in rinse cycle now. Thanks for this site. Years of Athl Ft - gone. It needs done 3X/year now.

EC: Doris, thank you so much for these detailed instructions!

Absorbine Jr.

Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 07/26/2026
★★★★★

ABSORBINE JR. for ATHLETE'S FOOT

At the turn of the 1900, athlete's foot was becoming an epidemic. Manufacturers of popular remedies gave ringworm of the foot the name ‘athlete's foot' and this was adopted by the public, but in medicine the infection was known as tinea pedis. It was seen as new disease, or in modern parlance an emerging infection, having been first described by Arthur Whitfield, a dermatologist at King's College Hospital, London in 1908. Nonetheless, it was in the United States, British Isles and England that tinea pedis became an epidemic, seemingly spread by modern lifestyles and hygiene practices, and encouraged by modern socks and shoes, which made infection liable to chronicity by keeping the feet moist and warm. It is perhaps surprising, given the unhygienic conditions of previous centuries and the ubiquity of ringworm of the scalp, that the feet of Europeans and Americans had been seemingly free of ringworm infection until the mid-twentieth century. Nonetheless, there was a clear understanding in the inter-war years that tinea pedis was new disease and one linked to modernity. One consequence of the growth of medical attention to tinea pedis was the stimulus it gave to the specialism of medical mycology, with investment in diagnostic services, research on the conditions in which mycoses spread and their treatment. In turn, this led to the creation of a cadre of medical mycologists, who identified more fungal infections in specific social groups and the general population.

Doctors prescribed a variety of remedies for tinea pedis (athlete's foot), but because of mixed results, their advice was mainly that prevention was better than cure. Thus, anyone visiting a swimming baths and showering in public facilities was told to disinfect their feet where possible, to avoid walking on floors in bare feet, to dry their feet and toes after bathing, never to share towels or clothing, and to wash socks at high temperatures. The main remedies were topical antifungal creams. The standbys were Whitfield's ointment (the active ingredients were 5% salicylic acid and 3% benzoic acid in petroleum jelly) and Castellani's carbol-fuchsin paint. However, the variable presentation of the condition and its tendency to chronicity encouraged innovations, both in combinations of remedies and new chemicals. There were many complaints of overtreatment.

Proprietary medical companies, which already had a significance market with topical antiseptic remedies, seized on the new epidemic, producing new products and re-branding older ones as having anti-fungal as well as anti-bacterial properties. The most prominently advertised remedy in newspapers and magazines was a derivative of a veterinary liniment – ‘Absorbine Jr.', marketed by W. F. Young, Inc. Infact, if you are as old is I am. Absorbine Jr. use to come in a slim glass bottle and the label stated it was good for athlete's foot. In 1955, Absorbine Jr. was tested against athlete's foot fungus and FOUND TO KILL 100% OF ALL FUNGI IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES.

HISTORY.

In 1892, Wilbur F. Young and Mary Young went to work on a liniment made of essential oils and herbs, Absorbine Veterinary Liniment proved highly effective at bringing relief to weary or lame work horses as a humane, natural herbal remedy to relieve overworked and lame horses. The liniment was soon widely used in farms nationwide for natural and quick animal pain relief. But farmers soon discovered that it relieved their own muscle and joint pain.

It's anti-septic properties were applied to horse and animals to helps prevent hoof and sole/foot fungal infections.

Hoof Disinfectant: The formula penetrates into the porous hoof sole and frog to disinfect. Apply once a week or more to help prevent bacterial and fungal infections. Use daily to treat hoof conditions such as abscesses, cracks, delamination, Thrush (Candida/Yeast) and White Line Disease (Fungal and bacterial invasion colonize and digest the inner hoof wall layers). This means it would be good for human feet and toe nail fungus as well.

Skin Infections: Absorbine Jr. kills germs on contact and stops the itch in seconds. Use to clean and treat bacterial and fungal skin infections like;

Rain Rot (Rain rot in horses is caused by the bacterium Dermatophilus congolensis, which activates when prolonged moisture and high humidity break down the skin's protective barrier),

Scratches,

Summer Itch (caused by an allergic reaction to the saliva of biting insects, primarily Culicoides midges. Other biting flies like black flies, stable flies, and mosquitoes can also trigger this seasonal skin reaction),

Tail Itch (A horse itching and rubbing its tail is usually caused by pinworms, sweet itch (insect allergies), or a dirty sheath or udder),

Apply to infected area three or more times a week.

SOURCE REF:

Fungal Disease in Britain and the United States 1850–2000: Mycoses and Modernity

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK169220/

Vintage Absorbine Jr. Bottles source: https://countrysideantiques.com/listing/1347642623/vintage-1939-absorbine-jr-box-bottle

Vintage 1955 Absorbine Jr. Athlete's foot cream advertisement source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/236720524152319821/

Absorbine Jr.

Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 07/28/2026

Direction on use (Taken for a 1940's Vintage ABSORBINE JR. Bottle with Paper Label With Box): Athlete's Foot, simple ringworm of the toes and feet – When cracks appear between the toes, drench them with Absorbine Jr. Apply it full strength freely morning and night. For supplementary treatment, place cotton, saturated with 1 part Absorbine Jr. and 2 parts water, between the toes or over affected part and lightly bandage.

Image Source: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5lQAAOSw--Bhic2T/s-l1600.jpg

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Shanee (Palestine, TX) on 01/10/2025
★★★★★

I have tried 3 over the counter creams and one spray for 3 weeks with no relief! Day 2 of cleansing my feet with alcohol and breaking a capsule of activated charcoal in between my toes and I'm not experiencing any itching at all! I have not worn socks and have only worn open toe sandles (even though it's In the 20's & 30's right now). I hope this helps someone else like it helped me, I am eternally grateful!!!

Compost Tea

Posted by I Need Help_SC (USA - South Carolina) on 12/20/2021
★★★★★

This is a testimony from a friend and former class instructor. He was teaching a permaculture class, and he taught on making compost tea for use in the garden. He said that a very easy method is to fill up a 5 gallon bucket ¾ full of rain water (or other non-chlorinated water), and put multiple fist-fulls of compost and some forest soil/humus in the water. Put your feet in the bucket, and kick them back and forth for 10 minutes. Viola, quick compost tea!

But...he said that he had chronic athlete's foot for 10 years. Nothing touched it, no medicines of any kind, nothing worked. The next day after kicking his feet around in the compost tea for 10 minutes, it was gone. He said that several years later he was in Haiti and got athletes foot from a public shower. Later that week, he made compost tea in the bucket with his bare feet for 10 minutes, and the next day his athlete's foot was gone.

I have ringworm/jock itch on my thighs, nothing on my feet, and I'm not sure how to submerge myself in compost tea, so I've not tried that yet (though I am going to try spraying it on myself or using some sort of towel or brush to apply to myself and let it soak/sit on the skin for 10-20 minutes). But, because I trust this guy, and it might work for someone else, I'm sharing it here.

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Jade (Indiana) on 05/12/2021
★★★★★

The essential oil "Tea Tree" also cures athlete's foot.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Charity (Faithville, Usa) on 08/29/2017

I am very familiar with yeast issues . what does your diet look like and have you also tried some supplements lately, what might they be ....? maybe garlic

Some foods flush it out of the body onto the skin and that is quite painful. When mine gets bad I go to walmart and buy vaginal yeast cream (miconazole)and coat my foot/hand before bed and put on a sock/cotton glove.

You may need some milk thistle to give your liver a break and some Molybedum to stop detox misery symptoms.

Aloe Vera

Posted by Sue (Europe) on 11/03/2017

I have had this condition all my life and have been struggling with it on and off. Went back to the doc because - yes - I suspect I have dyshidrotic excema as well! All the stuff you use to dry out or attack the 'fungus' is only going to agravate it even more. Got a referral to a dermatologist now, but I can't get an appointment until 3 or 4 weeks from now. Will definitely discuss this option with him.

To make things even more confusing, you can get dyshidrotic excema as an allergic reaction to a fungal infection. Anyway, keep this option in mind everybody. It's very common for people with hay fever, allergies and asthma (as myself).

Fresh Aloe Vera

Posted by Laurac (Us) on 03/21/2017
★★★★★

Fresh aloe vera for athletes foot.

I scratched my feet so horrible. I wounded them so bad. I wounded the palm of my feet so I could not walk. My feet were so raw exposed and burning. I bought a fresh aloe vera from my grocery store and cut the leaf then smeared it on my wounds. Instant stop to the burn and pain, and the goo forms a protective healing layer. Aloe vera has many properties. It's under rated for athletes foot. Unlike ACV and cayenne it heals without burning like hell! Thanks God for your marvelous plants.

Steam Your Floors

Posted by Rosie (United States) on 02/08/2017
★★★★☆

Athlete's fungus lives on surfaces virtually forever, so walking around barefoot in the house means you're spreading it on the floor surfaces in your home, resulting in you reinfecting yourself, & anyone else who is walking around barefoot in your house.

When you come home from work, wearing sandals is a much better option, or if it's colder a clean pair of sox & slippers.

Most fungi, including AF fungus, can be killed with 140* hot water, so if you've been running around barefoot in your home all your floors are infected, & you need to get a floor steamer (steam is created at 212*) & run it over every square inch of your floors to kill the AF fungus, so you're not reinfecting yourself, or anyone else.

Just wish it was this easy to kill the AF fungus on my feet.

Urine

Posted by Vsherry9 (Detroit, Mi) on 07/01/2016
★★★★★

I used my own urine to stop athlete's foot fungus, I also had a variety of fungus on the bottom & sides of my feet. I used my own urine in a bucket while sitting on the toilet every morning for about 5 days. I started using the urine in the morning, then at night used vapor rub at night with socks, then next day I used the urine in the morning, and the vapor rub at night without the socks (I have a hard time wearing socks at night). Each time I took a shower in the morning after soaking with urine, I would dry off & rub Peroxide all over my feet with a cotton ball until they dried naturally. I did this for a week & all gone. I've had this problem since 1998 & I am a real person from the Detroit area. Don't let anyone tell you this doesn't work, especially a doctor - because it does & I am proof. I've tried everything imaginable & was never able to get rid of it, until just recently. Doctors will tell you there is not enough Urea in the pee to cure it, but that is just down right false. What is it going to hurt to just try it & see for yourself. Good luck!!!

Coconut Oil

Posted by Serafin (Covina, Ca) on 02/04/2015
★★★★★

For athletes foot, the best treatment is apply Virgin Coconut Oil twice a day. That bad smell of their feet will just go away at no time at all.

Phythium Oligandrum

Posted by Sam (Miami, FL) on 06/22/2014
★★★★★

A friend of mine was unsuccessfully trying to cure some fungus on her feet for many years. She found Pythium oligandrum skin/nail fungus treatment (3 x 2 g) on shop.owndoc.com. It was a100% success.

Pythium oligandrum is a harmless fungus that eats harmful fungi, and then dies of starvation when all bad fungi have been eradicated. Pythium oligandrum is a parasite to other fungi such as Trichophyton, the dermatophyte fungus that causes various conditions knonw as Tinea - Athlete's foot, nail fungus, ringworm and jock itch

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Travis (Austin, Tx) on 11/02/2013
★★★★★

When I was a teenager I had a bad case of Athelete's Foot. I remember trying everything available at the store and nothing worked. I had heard that Tea Tree Oil cures it since it is antifungal and gave it a try by rubbing the oil (undiluted) on the foot on and around the infected area with a cotton ball. Then put on a sock so that the Tea Tree Oil does not rub off. It cured the problem in a couple of days.