Natural Nail Fungus Treatments: Effective Home Remedies

Vinegar soaks (two hours) for nail fungus : I tried soaking my toenails in vinegar and water 50:50 for fifteen minutes at a time after a shower and nothing seemed to be happening. One day while sitting at my computer I decided to soak then rather than take time to soak when I was ready for bed. Two hours went by before I remembered I was soaking my feet, and they were all "pruny". I did it for two hours again two more times in that week, but not on consecutive days, and never again. It has now been about three months, and I now have about 1/8 inch of normal nail growing in. If fifteen minute soaks aren't working, try two-hour soaks! I only did it those three days. Who knows? It may take only one two-hour soak! I don't think the kind of vinegar matters. It's the acid in vinegar that destroys the fungus and all store vinegar is about the same.

HI U KAREN,,,,,,,,,,, listerine is a weak sister compared to Dr Tichenor's liniment that he developed in the War Between the States. He treated all wounds with this. It is made in New Orleans and few stores carry it, so I now buy mine via the internet. It is too strong to be used directly and must be diluted. Here is the URL.

https://www.drtichenor.com

It will cure all the things you are addressing.

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Ailment: Nail Fungus infection

Condition: semi-advanced (bed nail of two of my toes is partially damaged)
Treatment stage: beginning (started 4 days ago)
Diet: I completely eliminated refined sugars and started eating more fruits and vegetables.
Remedy used: on the 1st day, I applied (every 2 hours) a mix of the following: apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil on cotton pads.
Noticed some slight improvement, but when I stepped out, there still was an annoying itch.
On the 2nd day, I added Vicks Vaporub and poured some urine on the infected area. Applying Vicks before wearing socks and shoes got rid of the itching.
On the 3rd day, I added honey (applied topically for 20 minutes) followed by washing the feet with antibacterial soap under very hot water (as hot as I could bear) followed by alternate applications of hydrogen peroxide (pharmacy only had 6% solution), lavender, cinnamon leaf and Eucalyptus essential oils (diluted with apple cider vinegar on cotton pads). I also started drinking 1 teaspoon of baking soda mixed in 1 cup of water (on an empty stomach last night before sleeping and this morning upon waking up).

I am glad to say the annoying itching is completely gone. The color of my two infected nails are yellowish. The only place still itching this morning was on the lower part of my toes (bottom part that touches the floor when I walk) - which is the only place I did not concentrate any treatment as it was much easier to keep the cotton pads on the top part of my foot when seating on the couch and watching tv than the bottom part. So what I did this morning was spread a generous amount of Thai Red Curry Paste on all the infected area and keep everything sealed with transparent plastic food wrap. It seems to be working great. The itching is completely gone.

Today, I will start applying virgin coconut oil (as well as eating 2 tea spoons daily) + peppermint and rosemary essential oils applied topically.
I will also start a detox program along with a gentle exercise program in order to strengthen my immune system.
I'll keep you guys updated on my progress :)

One of the main ingredients of Listerine is thyme oil, which is known to be anti fungal.

WARNING! I tried using the Dremel tool on my thick odd looking toe nail (didn't realize it was a fungus problem). In doing so I released the fungus in a cloud of dust while grinding away at the toe nail. Within a week I had the problem in every toe and in every finger nail! It's now been three years of trying all kinds of remedies without much success. I have learned that this is extremely contagious. It will jump from one finger/toe to another quickly. Do not use the same clippers, file, etc on more that one nail. Thanks for this site. I plan to try several new remedies that I have found here.

WARNING!

I agree with Richard. I was grinding my toenails down with a sanding drum on my Flexshaft several years ago, which caused the fungus to spread to more toenails and fingernails, but the really scary part was that I got the fungus in my lungs from breathing that dust. I was hospitalized for two weeks and could have died from the lung fungus. My doctor told me it was dangerous to even file the thickened nail down because that also causes the fungus to become airborn. The only thing you should use are nail clippers. He told me to dip the clippers in a 50/50 solution of bleach and water after clipping each nail to prevent the spread of the fungus. If the nails become painful because they are pinching in at the side, soak them in warm water with ACV or TTO twice a day to soften them. You can also cut out a notch at the curve to relieve the pressure. The nail surface will absorb any remedy you use, so there's really no need to file or grind them down.

I have one foot cured and the other almost done with this new approach. I dip my toes in scalding hot water (one at a time) long enough that I can't take the pain anymore. I dry them off with a hair dryer and then apply antifungal ointment. I trim the nails as short as possible. I have been doing this for two weeks at bedtime and in the morning. It's working for me so far. I make their home small, hot, and poisonous. If they still want to live there, they will be uncomfortable

Jill from Portland, have you considered a visit to a Homeopath. Fungal infections can be difficult to treat and stem from an underlying systemic or constitutional problem. Homeopathic medicine may be another approach to treating the presenting problem. Elizabeth

Have you ever heard of using urine? My husband had toenail fungus so bad he literally had no nails on both big toes! I heard about using urine and finally talked him into peeing into a shallow pan and soaking his feet for a few minutes. I could only get him to do it once as he thought I was crazy but after a few months, his nails started to grow back to normal! I still can't believe it worked after only one quick treatment.

PS, it's free😍

I tried many remedies, for my nail fungus (both thumbs and an index finger) but what actually worked was filing down the nails with fungus (about once a week) and then putting a layer of decolorized iodine on my nails followed by a bit of petroleum jelly to moisturize.

I did this every night before bed until the nails grew out a beautiful pink color. I'm so happy to get my nails back! And this remedy is do cheap!

This cure is based on a scientific study with good results (DOI: 10.7547/87507315-89-3-124) and made into DIY home remedy.

The study used a solution of 0.1% Benzalkonium chloride which is a common ingredient in non-alcohol based hand sanitizer. At 0.1% there is no risk of skin irritation unless you are allergic.

The other ingredient was allantoin which is a mild keratolytic and surfactant. This can be replaced with a crushed up aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), dissolved in approximately 100ml of solution. Mild body soap may also be added in a small amount however this isn't necessary but it may help.

The study applied the treatment to the infected nail and the base of the nail twice daily over 10 months.

RECIPE

• Benzalkonium chloride 0.1% (Non-alcohol based hand sanitizer or a concentrate diluted appropriately)

• 1 crushed aspirin, dissolved in 100ml of solution (optional, dilute further or omit if you experience a skin reaction)

• A small amount of gentle soap or bodywash (optional, omit if you experience a skin reaction)

METHOD

Cut away all excess infected nail with separate nail scissors or clippers so that you don't spread the infection to other nails.

Using a separate file, file back the nail on all surfaces well often. Ideally this should be repeated at least twice a week or more for best results.

Apply solution to infected nails once in the morning and once in the evening, ensuring that you cover underneath the nail where possible and where the base of the nail joins your finger or toe. Ensure that you apply the solution after showering and drying yourself for best results.

Continue until the infected nail has been removed and only uninfected nail remains.

DISCUSSION

This is a safe method of long-term treatment of nail fungus which has good results in controlled study environments.

Hand sanitizer can be applied regularly to the skin and left to dry and has very low risk of causing irritation.

I have personally been applying this solution regularly for about a month and a half and I can see a clear diagonal line of new, uninfected nail emerging from the base of my infected toe. I have often applied the solution more often than twice a day with no ill effects.

If you are a busy person or you have a disability which makes this sort of treatment regime difficult you can try applying the solution to a cotton ball or similar and attaching this to your infected nail using tape or a band-aid. The benefit of this is that you can re-wet the bandage for reapplication of the treatment, and as the solution remains in contact with the infected nail for a longer period this should result in a higher success rate. Ensure that you pay close attention to ensure that you are not causing irritation with the prolonged skin contact from this method.

My daughter had nail fungus on her toes. The doctors said they don't describe it on prescription anymore for children so it was nearly £20 for a small tiny bottle that would last a month and would need more each month for 7/8 months Dr said.

I came on here and choose to give Vicks a go and within a couple of weeks of putting Vicks on each day it has totally cleared up, so a big saving. thank you :)

HOLLY,,,,,,, you seal the sterile jar, so only your saliva is involved. That's the way my doctor does it.

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I have suffered from toenail fungus on a toe that got injured, years back, and I have erratically tried the medication from the drugstore, and a doctor prescribed some for me that can damage your liver, et cetera. I will not take anything like that that hurts my liver, so I had to find alternative ways to do it. For a while I soaked my feet in warm water and dish soap to soften the nails and then I purchased one of the battery operated nail files and filed the diseased nail down. Eventually I got rid of most of the unsightly nail, and change my socks twice a day. It was amazing how much the filing took care of it, and then air was able to get it the rest of the nail bed and the healthier nails. I have noticed that is a little tiny bit in the one corner that I don't want to encourage to go on so I purchased a heavy duty nail file and keep it filed down, and now I put a paste of baking soda on it and let it sit on it. It looks better! So I'm pretty excited about that. I'm thinking I'll also try the apple cider vinegar. Thank you for your great article I've been looking for this help for a long time. It's encouraging to know I'm not alone in this.

I've been reading this forum and using the curse to no avail. I realized that under my sink I now had tea tree oil, vicks, oregano oil, lugol's iodine, white iodine and coconut oil. I figured maybe if one didn't help I would bombard my nails until I used everything under my sink. I started with filing the nail down and whenever I got out of the shower I put a drop of iodine on the nail bed. Sure it turned my nail and ugly brown but I was tired of twenty yeas of fungus on each of my pinkie toenails. For the next three months, whenever I walked into the bathroom I applied and alternated between cures basting my nails up to five times a day. I also took a nail brush and used some coal tar dried scalp shampoo taking up space in my shower. Before I put on socks I applied either one of the several oils or vicks and changed my socks daily. Shock and Awe worked. I am fungus free for the first time. These natural solutions work but maybe you just haven't found the right combination.

I've tried many things for nail fungus and my toenails just kept getting thicker and didn't seem to be getting better. But just a couple of weeks of the vapor rub showed definite improvement. I think I will finally cure my toenail problem and finally enjoy healthy toes with no ugly fungus.

I was a bartender for many years and a common ailment is a fungus developing from handling and scooping ice on your fingernails and skin from the ice. My nails and skin around the nails looked grey-ish black all the time. A friend of mine who did nails suggested I soak my fingers in witch hazel and it worked!! A simple soaking in a bowl with the witch hazel every night for about 10 minutes did the trick. Also works for toenail fungus.

I discovered recently that I have Candida overgrowth, which resulted in a brown motteling of the skin on my arms which is spreading up my upper arms due to candida. I have had this for many years and doctors never knew or cared what it was. After researching, I discovered that it is caused by my candida overgrowth. I started applying witch hazel every day to my arms, followed by sunscreen and then alternating every day with different anti-fungal creams but always using witch hazel first. You have to use different anti-fungals to kill the little creatures because they get resistant if you don't switch up. The zinc in the sunscreen also helps. It's necessary to use a cream after witch hazel because it is drying. In about 3 days I noticed the "rash" getting lighter!! I am so happy that it is working. Mine was so brown and very embarrassing. Don't take pills to destroy fungus! Use witch Hazel!

Try using Povidone Iodine 10% from local market or drugstore/pharmacy. You can apply directly or add to a warm water foot-bath.

You will also need to do an internal Candida Cleanse which may also include other cleanses like heavy metal, parasite, gallbladder, and colon, as fungal infections are most times opportunistic meaning you have chronic immune suppression.

Check out Bill's book Killing So Sweetly here on E.C.

Apple Cider Vinegar for nail fungus. It worked for me! :)

Background:
I think I had an injury to my thumb nail that caused the nail to lift a little, and well that's when I got nail fungus. It started in the corner and at first was just kind of a dark spot, and then the following couple of days started turning into a white-yellow half circle and was growing. When I would touch the nail or skin around it, it was tender. I thought maybe it was an infection, but it sounded more like a fungus.

Remedy I used:

Apple Cider Vinegar
Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
Vapor rub
Antibiotic ointment

What I did:
Clipped my nail back a little just in the affected corner. Just enough to show a little bit of the underlying skin. I did this to relieve a little pressure, because the skin was a little inflamed and was hurting. Also, I thought it would be easier for the medicines to reach the area.

I mixed a cap full of apple cider vinegar & peroxide together. Dipped a q-tip in the mixture and rubbed it on, around, and under the affected area. It will fizz a little, but it does not hurt. You will get some pain relief with in a short time, if your fingernail was hurting before!

I rubbed this mixture on my finger nail 3 times a day.

During the day time, I would rub some antibiotic ointment on the area with NO bandaid. Of course, I had to re-apply frequently when my hands would get wet. At night I put Vick's vapor rub AND a bandaid on my thumb. I made sure the bandaid was not too tight, but also that it would not fall off.

I did all of this for 4 days.

On day two, I noticed that it seemed to start going away (shrinking), and by day 4 it looked like it was completely gone. Just keep applying everything until it is completely gone. I'm so happy it worked!!

"I rubbed this mixture on my finger nail 3 times a day."

Comment for everybody:

Please notice Floridagirl applied peroxide to a fingernail. Toenails are a whole different ball game. Many years ago I applied peroxide to a toenail. An ugly, thick nail came off painlessly. However, walking became a pain for many months. Toenails are a lot more sensitive than fingernails.

I started with grapefruit seed extract and take 10 drops internally 3 x day in water. I also rub it on my toenail 2-3 times a day. The next day the hard stuff behind my nail started to soften and I could remove some. Each day I am seeing improvement. It is just amazing.

On both of my feet, the second toe from the big toe were discolored, as well as the other three small toes on my left foot, and two of the other toes on my right foot. This has been very distressing! I tried tea tree oil by itself with no results. After seeing that some people had used hydrogen peroxide, I planned to get that. Since I was desperate to start immediately, I used my generic whitening mouthwash listerine, which has hydrogen peroxide as its second ingredient, because I already had that. I used a cotton ball and applied it liberally on all of my toes taking care to get as much as possible below the cuticle and under the toe nail. Then I applied tea tree oil. I did this twice a day (morning at night) and followed up with vicks vapo rub at night before putting on socks. I am one week into my routine and three of my darkest nails have gone from black to 95% normal! They are pink. I am so happy. I will continue until I have totally nice and fungus free toes. I also cut off as much of the dark toe nail as I can each night or every other night as well as any surrounding flaking skin that needed to go.

Thank you Ted, Earthclinic and all of the people who sat down and took the time to share your stories. I'd like to share so that I can help someone too.

I'm a 41 year old white female. I stay active and I'm a healthy ideal weight (5Ft - 108lbs) Approx. 65% of my diet is organic foods and I do my best to avoid processed foods. I don't drink soda or consume artificial sweeteners. I avoid foods that contain High Fructose Corn syrup and Hydrogenated oils. However, I have come to discover my healthy diet wasn't as healthy as I thought.

For the last 3 years I have had recurring scabs near the back/crown of my head, sometimes infected. Like a bad habit, I've picked them for years not knowing what they were exactly. This summer's heat triggered the worst ever of my smelly scalp problem which would subside and get bad again. I wash my hair every morning but in the past few months I would notice my head got stinky before lunchtime. I would be sitting in my chair at work and could smell my own head just sitting there. It's smelled like a dirty cheesy rotten sock. If I rubbed my fingers on my scalp they smelled bad. I just started dating this summer and would rush home to wash my hair before going out on dates. I began researching and discovered other people with the same exact story as me. I was shocked and saddened to read it was a fungus and how it was so hard to get rid of. I'm against taking oral drugs as I've read they hurt your liver and never seem to work anyway. I found EarthClinic and I fully believe in natural remedies and that food is medicine.

I've tried many different topical scalp approaches listed on EarthClinic. They made my hair look great and lessened the smell a bit but never cured it. I read a few posts where people said they were cured from cutting sugar completely out of their diet. I wasn't ready to go that extreme and kept trying various topical treatments. As months passed and my dating relationship failed due to my avoidance of my partner, I knew I had to do the extreme and starve the fungus from the inside out.

I have cut out sugar completely. No sugar/honey, no ketchup, or mustard, (nothing with vinegar in it) no salad dressings, no flour, no white potatoes, no wheat, no fruit, no dairy, *although I do allow myself 2 tablespoons of cream in my coffee with stevia extract powder. My diet consists mostly of fish, chicken, eggs, beans of all kinds, tahini, spinach, zucchini, veggies, olive oil, seasonings, lots of quinoa.. For dessert I mix almond butter cocoa powder coconut oil together, it's delicious. I bought Ted's Alkaline ebook and in the morning and evening I drink the formula of lemon juice, water and baking soda. I also take probiotics in pill form since I can't eat yogurt right now.

I have been washing my hair for 2 months using a mild non SLS tea tree botanical shampoo and conditioner found in a local health food grocery store.

At night, I apply a mixture of lemon juice and a drop of pure tea tree oil to my scalp using a cotton swab or sometimes I drizzle it on. A few days a week I do a borax rinse in the shower. I go about shaving and let it sit for a few minutes then rinse it out. These seem to be working along with my new diet.

NO SUGAR- Day 1 - the worst that happened was I had a mild headache all day. I was a bit emotional but not irritable.

Day 3 of No Sugar - my head did NOT smell by lunch time! It did have a faint odor in the evening but only because I was rubbing my scalp to see if any smell rubbed off. It has been easier than I thought possible to do this diet and I feel very good so far. I am amazed and finding it hard to believe my head doesn't stink! This is a first.

Day 5 - I felt kind of weak and had foot cramps that woke me. Overall, doing very well and not craving sugar at all. My tongue is actually pink, not the regular whitish. Oh and I've lost 4lbs so far but I'm never hungry because I eat as much as I want.

Day 7 - It's gone, the smell is gone. I am in the practice of washing my scalp morning and night to keep it clean and so the fungus have nothing to feed on.

Day 14 - which is today the day I'm writing this. I am certain No Sugar is the CURE for scalp fungus. I plan on staying on this diet for a full 21 days. I'm a little nervous about going off it. I dont want to scoop sugar in my coffee anymore and I don't plan on it. I feel like all those foods I gave up are just useless filler foods with no nutrients. It doesn't mean I don't want those delicious cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies I smell baking in the store but I'm certainly not going back to my old ways of eating. I feel brand new now. This is a wonderful thing.

P.S. I think because my diet was pretty healthy to begin with that I didn't suffer from a lot of the sugar withdrawal symptoms people encounter.

As a science teacher, I would STRONGLY urge you to avoid using any concentrations of Hydrgen Peroxide higher than 20%. At 30% concentrations, skin can be severely burned. Even something as common as hydrogen peroxide can be very dangerous if not used properly.

For nail fungus, smother it out with cold pressed castor oil (just protect your linens and clothes, it can turn them yellow. Very large bandaids work to sleep in.

I have used this for everything from lacerations, dog bites - dog to dog, dog to human, face discolorations, interal for immune boosting, cosmetic oil, etc. Palma Di Christi is another name for it. Bacteria and fungus cannot grow in it because it is so viscous. And it's soothing.