Lavender for toenail fungus is a popular natural remedy. Toenail fungal infections can ruin your sandal season, by causing horrible foot odors and raised yellow nails. Doctor Oz, the celebrity doctor, once advocated using lavender to treat nail fungus, and many people wondered whether this actually works.
What is Lavender Oil
Lavender is extracted from particular species of lavender plants. Often, this essential oil is used for aromatherapy, due to the fact that it promotes relaxation and calmness. Also, when inhaled, lavender vapor is proven to ease mild headaches, and people who engage in outdoor pursuits are aware that lavender is a mosquito repellent.
While the concept of a lavender based home remedy for nail fungus is quite new, the antifungal characteristics of this oil have been investigated by researchers already. In Portugal, one study carried out at Coimbra University discovered that lavender prevents various kinds of fungi from growing. This includes candida, as well as the dermatophytes that produce jock itch and athlete’s foot. It is thought that lavender harms the membranes of fungal cells, which ultimately kills them off. This article on the Natural News website explains more about lavender oil’s medical benefits, as they relate to fungal infections:
Using Lavender for Toenail Fungus
It is fairly simple to treat nail fungal infections with lavender oil. The most important aspect of applying this natural medicine is ensuring that you obtain authentic lavender essential oil. If you do not take care, you might wind up with a bottle of lavender flavored mineral oil, because lavender is used in perfume as well. Organic food shops are a sensible place to search for genuine lavender oil. If there are no suitable shops in your locale, the world wide web is an excellent resource for locating what you require.
How to Use Lavender Oil For Toenail Fungus
Start clipping your toenails, after washing your feet. The aim is to get rid of the maximum amount of affected toenails. Wash your toenails, then let them dry in the air.
Use an eyedropper to put a single drop of lavender onto each infected nail, then rub it in. Wait roughly five minutes, then put some footwear on. Do this two times each day, on a daily basis — once on a morning and once in the evening.
Each week, cut your infected toenail(s). Make sure that you disinfect and wash every instrument used on the fungus. This stops the disease from spreading to other toenails on your feet, and the feet of other people. Always remember to rinse your hands, after you have touched your infected nail(s). Other skin conditions, like ringworm, can be caused by dermatophytes in the nail fungus. Keep repeating the above steps until your nail(s) are entirely cleared.
To boost your chance of success, take heed of this additional advice:
Keep your feet as dry as possible. Walk around in sandals or barefoot whenever you can. In footwear that absorbs surplus moisture, utilize medicated foot powders.
Never share personal attire, such as shoes or socks, with anyone else. Doing this runs the risk of spreading the infection to other people. Alternatively, you might recatch the infection yourself.
After you use community areas like public showers, use an antifungal agent to spray your feet. Nail fungus proliferates in damp, warm areas. An antifungal agent will destroy any dermatophytes that could infect your feet.
Exercise frequently. This will improve your circulation, allowing valuable nutrients, water and oxygen to be sent to the infected areas. This helps the immune system combat the condition.
Other Nail Fungus Remedies
For moderate to serious infections, lavender oil is not an effective treatment for fungal nail conditions. Moreover, even in mild cases, it can be time consuming waiting for lavender to produce acceptable results. Another possibility is to purchase over the counter products filled with natural antifungal ingredients. These products can rapidly destroy fungus and facilitate the healthy growth of nails.
Still another option is laser treatment for toenail fungus. This is a painless, safe and effective method to eliminate fungus inside and beneath the nails. Therefore, if lavender for toenail fungus does not give you a noticeable improvement, laser treatment will have you wearing sandals again before you know it.
