With home remedies such as alcohol, tea tree oil or urine, nail fungus pathogens cannot be effectively combated. To really get rid of the fungal infection, special antifungal agents are necessary.
- Home remedies for nail fungus – such as vinegar and schnapps – are of little help and can even make the symptoms worse.
- © iStock.com/Roman Ivaschenko
Many patients with nail fungus hope home remediesto treat the stubborn fungal infection gently and cheaply. Toothpaste, apple cider vinegar, vinegar essence, tea tree oil or lavender oil are mentioned again and again in this context. Even adventurous miracle products and recipes with own urine, baking powder, garlic or high-proof alcohol occasionally make the rounds on Internet forums. However, all of these home remedies for treating nail fungus are neither advice nor effective.
Some herbal active ingredients actually slow down the nail fungus a bit in growth:
This is how it works sage antifungal and anti-inflammatory. For a bath of sage leaves, boil two tablespoons of sage leaves in half a liter of water.
Oak bark Sud has an anti-inflammatory effect on nail fungus. However, hands or feet change color in the bathroom.
Treat nail fungus properly
Lifeline / Wochit
To get rid of the infection in the long term, these substances are not suitable. Only antifungal drugs are recommended here. Such antifungals against nail fungus there is for example as Nail polish or cream in the pharmacy. They are brushed daily onto the affected nails for a long time. In severe cases, a dermatologist can also prescribe anti-fungal tablets.
Some home remedies cause allergies and irritation
The former LIFELINE expert Dr. Ulbricht: "None of the substances mentioned has a good fungicidal effect against the ten most common triggers onychomycosis (Fungal infection of the nail). On the contrary: allergic reactions can occur around the nail. "
Experiments should therefore leave nail fungus sufferers for the sake of their health. "Only antifungal substances should be used for treatment."
His successor, Dr. Oliver Mainusch agrees with him. He also issues Tea tree oil as a home remedy for nail infections, a rejection: "Unfortunately, tea tree oil is one in the treatment Nail fungal disease ineffective. Also, the scientific literature does not provide any clues or case descriptions of successful treatments with it. "
Nail fungus: the biggest myths
Vinegar does not kill the fungal spores
Even acidic solutions (vinegar essence, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice) can not get the mushroom. If the pH value on the nail is reduced by a vinegar bath, the filiform cells of the fungus, the hyphae, die. However, the fungus protects itself by reducing itself to its inactive and highly resistant form of spores.
Since a vinegar treatment also smells bad and strains the skin, it is usually broken off after a short time. The fungal spores reactivate and there is another outbreak.
Even high-proof alcohol is ineffective
In addition to vinegar essence, olive oil and toothpaste, other substances are often discussed by laypeople as supposed home remedies. A LIFELINE user reports in the nail fungus forum, for example: "I rub my nails twice a day with 54 percent rum." The high-proof drop may be good for disinfecting, but alcohol does nothing for nail fungus treatment,
In addition: some home remedies such as vinegar essence or baking soda can additionally stress the irritated nail and the nail bed, lead to further skin irritation and delay the already long treatment anyway.
