Alcohol for Athlete's Foot

5 star (3) 
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Brent (Oregon) on 11/06/2015:
5 out of 5 stars

I apologize for being long winded. But figured this information could prove useful to someone out there.

(TLDR version: I have moccasin type athletes foot.
Wipe with alcohol, cover area in iodine. Dremel off dead skin (Yes I said dremel) This should not hurt. (Don't peel, it will tear.) Soak freshly exposed layer in ACV daily for 30 mins. After soak use essential oils. If the area starts to get hard again. Repeat.)

Well, truth be told science IS nature. How did ACV cure your athlete's foot? Scientific processes. Science is the outcome of nature, which man tries to understand an then harnesses. It's a beautiful and inescapable fact of reality. So I have to laugh when people juxtapose 'nature' and 'science' as though they are mutually exclusive. A remedy is a remedy whether you're conscious of its scientific processes or not. While you may not be following a scientific process to PROVE it's effectiveness, science as reality still happens.

Glad to hear it worked for you. I'm in the process of using ACV. I've used every anti-fungal essential oil you can name, creams, powders, iodine tincture, hydrogen peroxide, etc... and it still clings on. It's a LOT better but I have been treating it daily for about 3 or more months now, and it's really only in two spots. A spot on the pad of my foot under my pinky toe and between my pinky toe. I think it may have started on my heel now, so I am going back to apple cider vinegar foot soaks. Which is what I started with as treatment months ago, but now with a twist.

I'm certain it's the moccasin type, that started inter-digitally about 6 months ago. If I had gotten to it when I first saw symptoms I think it would be gone by now.

The most effective thing I've done so far has been to wipe down the area with a cottonball soaked in isopropyl alcohol (do NOT soak your foot in alcohol). I then take tincture of iodine and cover the area. I also make sure to get outside the area where the visible fungus is because it usually exists outside the area as well. This dries it out very quickly and effectively. Then I dremel.

Since it's the moccasin type, the outer layer is already hard to begin with (moccasin-type athletes foot basically makes a shield with your skin) so after a few days of wiping with alcohol and applying iodine twice a day, the outer layer is ready to be dremeled. This should NOT hurt. I use a small electric dremel you plug into the wall with a relatively soft sandpaper like tip. I haven't had this hurt yet. If this hurts your foot, you're either dremeling soft tissue or your skin isn't dried out enough yet... or your dremel is too powerful/tip is too rough. Use common sense. Also, make sure to dremel in a location that's not going to likely spread the fungus to someone else. While the outer layer of skin is dead, and comes off in a fine powder, fungus could still potentially be living so just be cautious. The whole point of this is so that you can actually put your medicine of choice on your moccasin athletes foot and it be more effective... or effective at all. Personally, after the soft tissue is now exposed, I soak in ACV for 30 minutes. THIS WILL HURT. Then use oils.

Also, a word of advice, DO NOT PEEL your dead skin tags. The way that this specific fungus sheds your skin is like a hangnail. You'll get a tag of dead skin, want to pull it, but it will tear down into fresh tissue opening a wound for the fungus to dive right in. I made this mistake and it's lasted a lot longer than it should have, my foot was incredibly sore and treatments were EXCRUCIATING.

Side note: I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would use Hydrogen Peroxide with the type of athletes foot I have. Maybe mine is just really imbedded. The levels of pain I experienced from Hydrogen Peroxide were ridiculous. Literally ridiculous. I skipped all the normal reactions from pain and went straight into laughter. I don't know how you all do it. We're talking nerve pain. Hundreds of thousands of needles jabbing into your foot, pain. I'm a tough guy, and I don't cry, and I toughed out 30 min soaks a day or more for more than a week that didn't get rid of it. So no more. God bless you all who want to go that route.

Currently on my second foot soak with ACV after dremeling. Still stings just as bad as yesterday's soak. Crossing my fingers. I will also be applying essential oils all day. Currently I have Melaleuca, Lavender, Oregeno, Clove, Cassia, Fennel, Cumin, Lemongrass, Frankincense, Arborvitae, Helichrysum, Rosemary, and Bergamot essential oils at my disposal after my foot soaks. All of these apparently have anti-fungal properties which you can read more about at organicfacts.net.

Hot oils that will burn: Cassia, Oregeno, & Clove. Peppermint is so cooling it will feel hot around privates. Do not use any of these for jock itch unless you want to feel miserable. Peppermint being the least miserable.

All others are relatively mild and give a sense of mild cooling and relief, and should be ok to use should you have jock itch around sensitive areas as well. Cumin and Lemongrass are especially smelly. You will smell like lemongrass for about a day (sweet smell) and cumin (spicy smell kind of like BO) for about two days.
REPLY   8      

Southernarc (Durham, Nc, Usa) on 03/10/2012:
5 out of 5 stars

I've had success with the 70% Isopropyl Alcohol as alcohol is alcohol and at this concentration it works just fine on athlete's foot. The trick is to soak a cotton ball with the alcohol and to thoroughly rub it on the affected area for about a minute. After the application you may still feel a little itchy, but I've noticed that after just two treatments like this, within a day, all of the itching and redness from the athlete's foot is gone. This is a cheap and effective treatment rather than buying expensive antifungal foot powders and sprays.
REPLY   3      

Jay (Orlando, Fl) on 09/17/2011:
5 out of 5 stars

I FINALLY, after years of searching, found a cure for tinea pedis(Athletes foot). It is Isopropyl Alcohol 91% strength. I found it in the Pharmacy Section.

The 70% alcohol was ineffective and did nothing to kill the fungus.

I am so happy that I found something that actually works! For the disabled, one can purchase a spray nozzle and spray the alcohol on the feet from a distance without having to bend over.

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