Do people move away from you, putting their hands to their noses in a delicate manner, whenever you remove your footwear? If the answer is in the affirmative, it means that your feet smell! The region between the toes could be looking ugly too, with the skin all cracked, red, scaly or thick in appearance.
Even the toenails may look discoloured. Left untreated, blisters may begin making an appearance along with an irritating itch and/or sensation of burning/stinging. In short, you are suffering from Tinea Pedis or Athlete’s Foot.
However, What Could Have Led To Your Falling Victim To This Condition?
It could be that the area between your toes always remains damp, thanks to the usage of wet shoes/socks. You might have habituated to walking barefoot on wet floors. Sharing things and places with ‘infected’ people, can also lead to the spread of Athlete’s Foot.
Public showers, common towels, swimming pools etc. are the favourite residences of the fungus, Trichophyton rubrum. It loves to settle down in damp or wet places. You are more vulnerable if you have a weak immune system.
The good thing is that there are all manner of home remedies that you may try in order to rid of athlete’s foot.
1. Garlic
Yes, we can hear you going, “Yech! My feet already stink!” However, it is possible to beat a bad smell with another strong smell. Garlic contains Allicin and Ajoene, two highly active compounds. They refuse to let the fungus grow or develop. Therefore, you should find your inflammation improving within a week or so.
Method
- Take a large basin of warm or reasonably hot water
- Crush around three to four cloves of garlic
- Drop the crushed garlic into the warm/hot water
- Place your feet in the basin and relax for half-an-hour
- Remove and wipe the feet clean
- Repeat the process once more during the day.
Alternative Methods
- Another way of using garlic is to place the crushed garlic directly between the toes.
- Alternatively, you may take fresh garlic and chop the cloves into small slices. Place these slices between the toes.
There is another way to use garlic. You may go in for an overnight poultice.
- Peel some garlic cloves
- Grind them such that you obtain half-a-cup of garlic powder
- Pour in two tablespoons of olive oil
- Blend the ingredients well
- Now spread the mixture all over your feet
- Wrap up your feet in large strips of cotton cloth
- You may even don socks, such that the oil and powder do not spread everywhere
- When you wake up in the morning, your feet should look and feel significantly better
- You may repeat the process the next night too, if the infestation is heavy.
Finally, do include garlic in your menus or consume garlic supplements.
2. Essential Oils
You may use essential oils such as clove, tea tree, thyme, oregano, geranium or lavender for treating your Athlete’s Foot. They possess anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. However, do not make the mistake of using them in their concentrated forms directly on your skin.
Please remember that they are strong and may prove irritating or painful specifically on broken/damaged skin. Therefore, use them with carrier oil always. One such oil is coconut oil. In this case, coconut oil will award the double benefit of destroying fungal growth via its anti-fungal properties. Of course, you may consult a qualified aroma therapist if you still feel confused.
Outlined below are the ingredients that go into making a perfect salve.
- Clove oil – 12 drops
- Oregano oil – 12 drops
- Tea tree oil – 40 drops
- Lavender oil – 20 drops
- Almond/Olive oil – 2 cups
- Pastilles of beeswax – ¼ cup
Method
- At the outset, take a double boiler
- Pour the almond/olive oil and beeswax into it
- Heat the double boiler until all the beeswax has melted and mixed with the carrier oil
- Remove from the stove and pour other essential oils such as 12 drops of Clove oil, 12 drops of Oregano oil, 40 drops of Tea tree oil and 20 drops Lavender oil into this mixture and stir well
- Store the salve in an airtight glass jar, an airtight small tin, or a lip chap tube
- Spread it over the infected areas, whenever needed.
Alternatively, you may use oregano oil (use oregano leaves to get the effect of oregano oil) or tea tree oil for healing your condition.
- Pour four ounces of fresh oregano leaves into a bowl of water
- Boil the mixture in order to prepare oregano tea
- Ensure that you have sufficient tea to cover both your feet completely
- Now soak your feet in this tea for some time
- Repeat the process twice or thrice each day until your Athlete’s Foot is cured
- It would be best to make ‘fresh’ tea each day.
With Regard To Tea Tree Oil
- Pour 40 drops of the essential oil to a footbath
- A footbath refers to a bathtub that is used for disinfecting, warming or washing the feet
- After soaking your feet in the solution for 10 minutes or so, remove and dry the feet
- In case, your condition is very bad, you may dilute a few drops of the essential oil in water and apply directly over these infested regions
- Then again, you may fill a small spray bottle with a solution of water and tea tree oil. Ensure that the ratio is 1:1. Use the spray as often as you want, throughout the day. Rinsing is unnecessary.
Peppermint Oil is another option. The menthol present in it suffices to get rid of pain and inflammation. The oil also possesses anti-fungal properties that are ideal for destroying Tinea pedis.