Athlete’s Foot is Irritating, but There are Natural Options for Remedy

What is athlete’s foot?

Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection of the skin. Like all fungi, it thrives in warm moist conditions. Therefore, it is commonly found between toes and on other places on the foot. It can also spread to hands and fingers and other moist areas of the body that are clothed. While it is not life-threatening, it can be itchy, painful, and result in cracks and bleeding. Some individuals just seem to be more prone to this fungus than others, and it can be lifelong irritant. As well, the same fungus can get under toenails and cause damage to toenails, resulting in their ultimate removal.

You have natural herbal options for athlete’s foot

Doctors prescribe a variety of chemically-produced salves and ointments for the treatment of athlete’s foot, as well as oral anti-fungal drugs, but these are not natural substances. Before using these, a sufferer would be well advised to try some of the natural options for athlete’s foot, especially natural herbal remedies.

Tea Tree Oil is a widely used herbal remedy for many things

Tea tree oil has been used for a variety of skin infections and even for the eradication of head lice. Many people avoid it because of its strong odor; however, the benefits far outweigh the smell. Several clinical studies have shown that a solution of fifty per cent tea tree oil works as well as a physician-prescribed topical ointment. Many frequent sufferers now use tea tree oil exclusively as a natural option for athlete’s foot.

Sosa is another effective herbal remedy

Sosa is an herb native to Mexico and has been used for skin conditions for centuries. Today, Mexicans and other Central and South Americans use it exclusively for all bacterial, viral and fungus infections of the skin. It seems to have both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Clinical studies in the United States on this natural option for athlete’s foot are now underway and are showing promising results.

Natural options for the treatment of the symptoms

Anti-fungals treat the cause of athlete’s foot; there are, however, a number of natural remedies which will provide relief of symptoms and assist in the healing of cracked and bleeding skin. Before purchasing and using pharmaceutically-developed chemicals, sufferers would do well to check out the effectiveness of natural remedies. Black walnut, in cream or tea form, can be applied directly to the infection site to assist healing of oozing skin.

Calendula cream is a great topical natural option. Calendula comes from the petals of many plants in the daisy family and has been used for centuries as a salve for skin conditions. When used for athlete’s foot, it is very effective in assisting in topical healing.

Aloe serum, taken directly from the aloe plant leaf, has amazing ability to heal all types of skin eruptions, wounds, burns and rashes. Athlete’s foot sufferers often use this natural healer.

Goldenseal has both antibacterial and anti fungal properties. It comes from the buttercup family of flowers and has been used for centuries for both internal and external bacterial and fungal infections.

Olive leaf extract can be taken internally or as a paste and is a known effective treatment for microbial infections.

Thyme oil is a great natural remedy for athlete’s foot, because it has the dual properties of soothing symptoms and assisting with healing, and being a strong anti fungal as well as a powerful anti-staph protection. This additional benefit is important, because staph skin infections often develop in open wounds and the staph germs are rampant in the locker room areas which athletes use daily.

Spread of fungal infection to toenails areas

One of the difficulties of the athlete’s foot fungus is that it can spread under toenails. Once imbedded in this area, it is difficult to treat. Pharmaceutical companies have developed an oral anti-fungal tablet, but there are side effects that may be quite negative. While the topical natural options for athlete’s foot cannot be easily put under toenails, the sufferer should use those herbal remedies which are taken internally. Another more recent treatment which has proved promising is to soak the feet in beer. Evidently, there are great anti-fungal properties in the natural ingredients of this beverage.