Home Remedies for Foot Fungus
Foot fungus, more commonly called athlete’s foot, is a burning, itching fungal infection that can cause the skin on the feet and between the toes to peel, crack and even blister. Home remedies for foot fungus address two issues – clearing up the current infection, and keeping it from coming back.
Soaking Home Remedies for Foot Fungus
Killing the foot fungus requires fairly strong remedies, so some of them do sting or burn when you apply them, but this is a good indication that they are working, so if you tolerate the short-term discomfort, you will be happy with the long-term results.
There are several soaks that are effective in treating foot fungus, but it is crucial that you dry your feet completely after every soak. This means being sure the areas between the toes are thoroughly dried, preferably with paper towels, and then dried some more with the low heat setting on a hair dryer. If you don’t dry the infected areas, you are leaving a moist breeding ground for it to come back.
Soaking your feet in Original Formula Listerine (the one that’s gold and tastes like medicine) is one quick home remedy for foot fungus. Simply soak your feet in full strength Listerine in the morning and evening for about twenty minutes each time. Dry the area as directed above.
Mixing two parts hydrogen peroxide with one part cool water will create a home remedy for foot fungus that fizzes and bubbles around the infected areas, particularly any cracked skin. This indicates that the germs are being “eaten away” by the peroxide. Do this each evening, then leave your dry feet uncovered at night so they can continue to heal.
Other very good soaks include combining one part vinegar to four parts water. You can soak your feet in this for a half hour or more, and it’s quite soothing as well as very antibacterial. Some people add a quarter cup of Epsom Salts and about three tablespoons of boric acid to the vinegar soak for another variation on today’s popular home remedies for foot fungus.
Other Home Remedies for Athlete’s Foot
If you have to wear shoes and socks during the day, you may need to apply some type of home remedy that will continue to work after you’ve soaked and dried your feet. In any of these cases, be sure you wear only clean, white, cotton socks so that your feet can breathe and won’t get irritated by dyes in your socks. At the end of each day, you should either wash your socks in the hottest water possible or throw them away so that they won’t spread the foot fungus to your other clothing. If you can, avoid wearing the same shoes every day so that they can dry out thoroughly between wearings. Also spray the inside of your shoes liberally with Lysol spray and allow to dry each night.
An old-fashioned home remedy for foot fungus that is again gaining popularity is to boil fennel in water for about twenty minutes. Let it cool to room temperature, then apply to your athlete’s foot liberally with a cotton ball three times daily.
Adding twenty to thirty drops of tea tree oil to warm water also makes a good remedy. Soak your feet in it for about ten minutes each morning and evening, and dust your feet generously with garlic powder before putting on shoes or socks. It may not smell great, but the garlic is a powerful treatment that will show results within the first few days.
Many home remedies use dissolved aspirin as a paste, but a particularly effective one is made by dissolving six regular aspirin in one half cup of rubbing alcohol, then applying to your foot fungus liberally three times a day.
To keep your skin dry and fresh smelling while battling foot fungus, dust your feet with corn starch or baking soda any time they will need to be covered. As much as possible, avoid wearing shoes or socks at all. Flop-flops or sandals are your best choice of footwear until the home remedies you’ve used for your foot fungus work to completely clear it up. And, of course, keep those sandals germ free with Lysol spray!
Once you develop athlete’s foot, you’ll find that it can be extremely difficult to get rid of, partly because it is so highly contagious. The fungus can take up residence in your shoes, socks and shower so that you keep re-infecting yourself.