Healing Herbs for Athlete’s Foot
Like microscopic banditos, the tiny fungi responsible for athlete’s foot discomfort hide out in some unsavory, hard-to-reach locales – the warm, moist layers of skin on your feet, your nails, and even your scalp.
Once they have moved in, these fungal bad guys raise a ruckus in the form of itching, peeling, cracking skin. Evicting them can be a though job – over the counter and even prescription medicins can have a hard time penetrating to their dead skin headquarters. Herbal remedies, hoever, are able to penetrate to the underworld where fungal infections hide out.
Relief in Five Days or Less
According to naturopathic wisdom, fungal infections may be a sign that your immune system isn’t working all that well - a red flag that you should be looking deeper. Adding some immune enhancing herbs for anyone with Athletes Foot is always a good idea. To help stop the itching right away try fungus stoppers. If your rash gets worse, see a dermatologist. What you thought was fungus may actually be an allergy.
Fending off fungus with tea tree oil.
Mix an anti fungal soak by diluting 5 to 7 drops of tea tree essential oil in 4 ounces of warm water in a tub large enough to accommodate your feet. Double the recipe if you need more water to cover the affected area. Soak once a day for 20 minutes. The fungus should be gone in 5 days. If you have a very stubborn fungal infection, you can soak up to three times a day.
After each soak, dry the affected area well with a clean towel. Then put that towel in the laundry immediately. Do not reuse. Put on clean cotton socks. Your feet need to breathe and stay dry. Fungi love damp. You want to discourage them.
For nail fungus, follow the same routine or try using undiluted tea tree oil directed on the affected nails. Dip a cotton swab in the oil and apply to the top of the nail, than cover with a bandage.
A traditional remedy, tea tree has been shown by researchers to be as effective as an over the counter fungal remedy for toenails infected with athlete’s foot fungus. Anyone with sensitive skin should dilute the oil.
Garlic to the rescue.
For more fungus fighting power, add 4 to 6 drops of garlic essential oil to the tea tree and water mixture. Garlic is a traditional anti fungal remedy, and its fungus fighting abilities have been backed by laboratory tests.
Or you can concoct a simple garlic foot bath. Puree 6 garlic cloves in a blender of food processor. Fill a small tub with enough comfortable hot water to cover your feet, add the garlic mash (you can add it with the tea tree oil) and soak for 15 minutes.
Calendula for new skin growth.
After using, an anti fungal soak for three days, add calendula to your routine. Research suggests that calendula petals, used traditionally to heal wounds, help promote the growth of new skin cells.
After soaking and drying your feet, apply a light calendula cream or salve or rinse your feet with warm calendula tea. Make a calendula foot wash by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried calendula flowers to a cup of boiling water, then steep for 10 to 15 minutes and cool. Use the rinse up to three times a day. This is for the stage when the fungus has died off but you still have cracked skin and find it is slow to heal.
Staying dry with Lavender.
You can fend off fungus all day by sprinkling on some lavender to help discourage fungus growth. Grind 1/4 cup of lavender flowers in a coffee grinder or food processor, then mix with 1/2 cup of powdered bentonite clay. Sprinkle it onto your clean, dry feet or into your clean cotton socks. The clay will help keep your feet dry and the lavender works as a mild antifungal agent. Not to mention it will smell nice.
