You may have often seen your physician observing your nails, finger and toe nails during routine physical examination. Yes, nails can help you to know your general physical condition, and whether you are having any nutritional deficiencies. Black toenail discoloration is one such condition.
What Causes Black Toenail Fungus?
One of the common reasons is due to fungus infection of toenails.
Black toenail due to fungal infection can be due to many causes, such as wearing shoes and shocks for too long, filled with sweat. Or cutting the toe nails too short, as the fungus gets entry very easily through the tissue of the toes. Working constantly in water, or not drying your feet after bathing or exercising can create a good environment for the fungus to grow. Imbalance in the pH level of skin and low immunity are other reasons for black toenail fungus infection.
The black toenail due to fungus has tendency to crack and split as they become brittle.
Black Toenail Fungus Home Remedies
Home remedies for black toenail fungus include:
- Wear clean socks free of perspiration.
- Wear proper fitting shoes, they should not be too tight fitting in the front.
- Avoid walking bare foot in public places such as swimming pools, wash rooms, saunas etc, as they are more prone to fungus infection.
- Keep your feet and nails dry after bathing, washing etc.
- Rub tea tree oil every night on your black toenail. Tea tree oil has natural antifungal properties.
- You can mix tea tree oil and olive oil and dab it on your toenails.
- Apply paste prepared from basil leaves. It can treat black toenail fungus and help to grow new healthy nails.
Natural Cure For Toenail Fungus
- Aloe vera gel can be applied regularly at night for fungus infection of the nails. It has anti fungal properties.
- Applying oregano oil alternately with olive oil is effective way in treating black toenail fungus.
- Soak your feet in water containing apple cider vinegar. It is useful in treating black toenail caused due to fungus.
- If you are suffering from diabetes, control it. Fungus infection is more prone in diabetics.
- Raise your immunity level; eat proper food containing vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Treating fungus infection of nail will take considerable time. A person has to be patient when he is treated for this condition.