Ok so I have to admit to something that is totally gross, and let me tell you all about it! I recently had fungus on my fingers. I did not even know I had it for quite a long time. My nails for a few weeks seemed to always be yellowish in the whites and I was constantly cleaning out this cream like junk from them. I thought they were just getting dirty a lot. They also were getting brittle and breaking even into the quick and often. I had never had this problem. I always had those thick nice nails that grew in super fast, even if they broke. At first I thought it was a side effect of giving birth. I had a few of those, so when I learned that it happened to women a lot after birth, I chalked it off to that. But later I began to notice my nails actually looked dirtier, as in filthy dirty black underneath the whites. It constantly looked like I was playing in the dirt, even a few hours after I had just cleaned them. Well within two days of this it began to appear black around the cuticle area and on top of the nail with this blackish crud. Then I knew something was wrong and I did some research only to find I had Black Fungus, one of the hardest fungi to rid yourself of. Luckily it was not under my nail yet, as in the bed of my nail, so I knew there was hope I could be rid of it quicker then normal, before it developed in the bed of my nail. So I started to think about how I got this, I think I am a fairly clean to a very clean person (Mimi taught me too well clean freak that she is). Also, I do not go to get my nails done at the salons, so how did I get this?
Well in my research I found that a lot of people get fungus by doing gardening without gloves. Now I am not a girl who is afraid to get a bit dirty getting something done, but I never knew that you could get something like this from gardening, so I very rarely wore gloves. Needless to say I just went out and bought myself a new pair! I also learned you can get this fungus from having candida fungal issues in your body; this is a battle I have had before and is one that I know all too well. I had this once when I was younger and won the battle with a drastic change in diet and healthy life style changes. I ironically am having similar challenges again and I’m working towards fixing these issues. I was taking poor care of myself because of the pressures of my previous business. (More to come on this subject with my future Candida Gone posts).
Well, now I new how I got it, now how to get rid of it. Throughout my readings I found a lot of ideas from fungal rid kits at nail stores, to Vaseline and Vicks Vapor Rub. The treatment that stood out to me as the best was the use of essential oils. The resistance of essential oils to fungus is well documented. The list is long of anti-fungal oils., however some stood out to me as perhaps working better than others.
Have you ever had a fungal battle? Do you have a natural remedy you recommend? Share with us below.
Until next time, enjoy the good life,
Woman on the Journey
My Mix
2 tbs of Fractionate Coconut Oil (as a Base)
10 drops each of:
Peppermint Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Lavender Oil
Oregano Oil
Clove Oil
Vitamin E (Edible)
5 drops:
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Why these you ask?
Peppermint:
World research shows that peppermint has fungicidal behaviors, as well as super tough on killing candida. It has been found that menthol is resistant to fungus. One study was even done by the US Air Force on menthol in vapor rub; all 18 participants noticed positive changes. Hmmmm… menthol isn’t that an ingredient in Vapor Rub… I am just sayin.’ (As well as eucalyptus, which also is a known anti-fungal).
Tea Tree:
Tea Tree is a natural disinfectant, recommended by a lot of doctors like Dr Andrew Weil M.D. He also mentions that although it is effective there is no quick cure for nail fungus it must grow out and could take upwards of a year to be cured. He also mentions the terrible effects drugs can have, and although some of the side effects are slim, why take the risk when there are natural products that work just as well if not better.
Besides being great for killing both fungus and bacteria, it also helps reduce allergic reaction through its chemical base. Tea Tree oil is often used as an antiseptic for cuts and abrasions, and has a long list that goes on forever of it’s capabilities. It is used for many different types of bacterial and fungal infection like athlete’s foot, and ear infections.
Lavender:
Lavender has the properties of being an anti-viral, anti-fungal, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory. So while working on killing the fungus it will help to keep you from getting sick from infection. Also, it can help with inflammation if your fungal infection is already far along, and it helps to boost the immune system. It helps to speed recovery, because it stimulates the circulatory process and also works as a mild sedative. There are again so many other wonderful aspects to this oil, that they could not be all mentioned for this article, just like all the others oils.
Oregano:
Like lavender oregano oil is an anti-viral, anti-fungal, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory. Although other oils work as a fungicide, oregano is one of the most powerful. Oregano has two ingredients that act as powerful antimicrobials, carvacrol and thymol. There is research stating that carvacrol has something that reacts with the water in your blood and dehydrates candida and kills it.
Clove:
Eugenol is a main ingredient to clove at about 60 to 90 percent, due to this ingredient, clove is a natural anti-fungal, anesthetic and antiseptic. This product is also found in oregano. The Ancient Chinese even used clove as an anti-fungal.
Clove is already fast becoming a favorite of mine, I recently used it for a antiseptic and anesthetic for a tooth that was hurting, it worked on the ache immediately and has also helped to eliminate the under lying problem. Clove is another well-known oil for candida.
Grapefruit Seed Extract:
Another product that Dr. Weil recommends for fungus is grapefruit seed extract. Grapefruit seed extract is also one of the most powerful antifungals that is used against candida.
Vitamin E:
It is a powerful antioxidant, and helps to regenerate, skin and nails. It will help grow out fungus faster and help to regenerate healthy new nails in the future.
How to use:
First using clean sterile nail clippers cut away the nail that is infected till there is only a small piece of nail left,following the natural curve of your nail bed leaving a small piece of nail white above the nail bed. Do not cut into your nail bed. I would personal do this to all nails (BUT WAIT, before you clip the nail that has fungus ,do all the others first, keeping them short will help to keep these clean and fungus free, after you cut infected nails clean off clippers with alcohol).
Be careful cleaning out fungus under remaining nail, as you may push more fungus under the bed of your nail if you press too hard. This is one of the reasons to cut nails down; you can easily get the oil mixture to the remaining area without pushing fungus deeper.
Put oils on two to three times a day just enough to coat and massage into finger tip and full nail using a Q-tip to get under the nail. Use especially after showering or washing dishes or anytime you leave your hands in the water for a long time, fungi feeds off of water. Anytime you can use gloves and make sure to dry your hands.
Extra tips for fungus on toenails: If the fungus is on your toenails dry then thoroughly before applying oils. Another tip is to put baking soda in your shoes to act as moisture absorbent. It will also take care of any odor the infection might be causing.
Another powerhouse helper is mixing Epsom salts with, apple cider vinegar (Helps inhibit bacterial growth) and water. This combo also helps with foot odor. Personally I would add some essential oils again for the smell of the vinegar is strong. Peppermint, Tea tree and lavender oil is a strong and smell good combo for fungus. Mix 1 part vinegar, 1 part Epsom salts and 2 parts warm water, then drop in 10 to 20 drops of your favorite fungi fighting oils and enjoy. This is a little well deserved spa foot treatment.
NOTICE:
I am not, nor have I claimed ever to be a doctor. You ALWAYS, should consult with a doctor before using anything new. For example, if you are on blood thinners you should not take clove oil; it acts as a blood thinner. I am not making any claims ever on my site that anything cures anything. I am instead providing evidence from research that has already been done on the benefits and possibilities to healing from natural remedies. Examples in my article are from my own personal experiences and those of family and clients.
References:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-peppermint-oil/
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03139/Nail-Fungus.html