Transform Toenail Fungus for Pretty Beach Feet!

YUCK

It's an acronym for the common symptoms of nail infections and also how we feel when we see our nails turning on us in front of our eyes!

Y Yellow discoloration of the nail bed


U Under the nail bed, a buildup of skin


C Cracking of the nail


K Keratinization, or thickening of the nail

What can we do at home to get rid of these symptoms or prevent them from happening?

Let's First Address the Entire Body as a System

If a fungus is on a toe, its highly likely that its present somewhere else inthe body. If you've ever had yeast infections, athletes feet, or jock itch for example, you will be apt to get fungal infections on the nails. Make sure the foods that you are eating are more alkaline to balance the body so the unwanted fungus can't take up residence. More alkaline foods are fruits and vegetables. Stay away from acid producing foods, such as sugar, refined carbohydrates, coffee and alcohol.

There are certain "anti-fungal" foods you can eat such as:

Avocado

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Cinnamon

Cloves

Collards

Lemon

Garlic

Kale

Onions

Coconut

and "anti-fungal" supplements:

Grapefruit seed extract

Oregano essential oil

Ginger

Pau d'arco herb and tea

For local application...sure, there are over the counter topical creams. Often they are full of chemicals you may want to shy away from. More natural topical applications would be oils: therapeutic essential oils, vitamin E oil, castor oil, and Vicks VapoRub.



Some ways to use these:

Castor Oil: "Horny" Toe Nail is a common problem especially in the elderly. It's a toenail that is large, angled, and difficult to trim. Soak feet in Epsom salts for 15 minutes every night, and then wrap toe in a castor oil soaked gauze. Put a sock on.



Therapeutic Essential Oils Use one of these directly on the affected toe:

Oregano - Melaleuca (Tea Tree)

Mix tea tree with lavender

Mix tea tree with mountain savory You can use about 5 drops of these oils. Use directly on the site, or dilute with Vitamin E oil. Use the Young Living Blends of Melrose, Thieves, and Purification.

Vicks VapoRub as a remedy? When Vicks hit the market decades ago, people were using it for everything, including fungal nail infections.

The magic of Vicks in the eucalyptus!

(But I say why use Vicks when we have our Young Living Oils!)

Vicks has essential oils in it. Essential oils are naturally anti-microbial and can get rid of any unwanted microbes in their environment, including fungus.

Now Make Them Pretty

Paint them anyway. But be sure to take off your nail polish regularly and reapply. It gives you the opportunity to follow its healing course. You have to pay more attention to your toenails when you are working on getting rid of a fungus. Cleaning, soaks, oil applications, and regularly taking off your polish and reapplying it will take time, stay with it, its worth it.





Reprinted with permission from "Home Spa Lady's Tips of the Week," a free weeky offeriing. Subscribe at http://www.homespalady.com/