Apple Cider Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide
★★★★★
So I found this site and tried the remedy. I used a combination of approx. 60% "raw" apple cider vinegar, organic unfiltered with the mother, and probably about 40% hydrogen Peroxide. I soaked my affected areas for 30-40 minutes in the solution and let it air dry.
Seriously, after 2 days almost all the affected areas were visibly far better, and while it's too soon to declare it 100% cured, there is no doubt in my mind that this works. I plan on continuing treatment every couple of days at least for a week or so just to improve the odds of beating this thing, but I couldn't be happier if this cure came with a sack of money. Which, given the cost of medication, it effectively did come with a sack of money.
(Vancouver, BC)
06/07/2009
Chuck from Lexington, KY wrote in his post - "I used a combination of approx. 60% "raw" apple cider vinegar, organic unfiltered with the mother, and probably about 40% hydrogen Peroxide. I soaked my affected areas for 30-40 minutes in the solution and let it air dry."
Do you re-use the ACV/HP? If the full treatment took weeks or months, it could become quite costly to have to refill the bottom couple of inches of a basin every day. Is it possible for the ACV/HP to become polluted/infected/dirtied by contact with the fungus on the foot? Where I live, Br**g organic ACV and HP are not cheap.
Hopefully someone can shed some light on this. I am a poor student, and have put off undertaking this treatment because of the cost factor. If it's OK to re-use the ACV/HP, I will begin at once.
Thanks!
Heather
(California)
10/05/2021
Just a suggestion.....don't use a basin. Put your ACV in a plastic bag and put your foot in that. If you have a problem on both feet, use 2 plastic bags one at a time. You only need the liquid to cover your foot not a whole basin full. I would sit someplace with the basin in front of me and put the liquid the bags and insert my feet. some bags have handles on the sides like those heavy bags they give you at the market. it makes it easier to keep the bag upright. Also, if you don't have one with handles, you might want to tie a string around the top of the bag while you are soaking so you don't have to hold onto it. I used this method on a trip when I needed to soak my feet from too much walking. It worked beautifully.
(Batesville)
07/05/2015
Do not re-use. Cheap brands of Apple Cider Vinegar works great. Also, just use Apple Cider Vinegar & skip the peroxide..an earlier post said don't mix Apple Cider Vinegar with peroxide.. Damaging.
Hello Lily,
I'm replying to your post because when you combine Hydrogen Peroxide with ACV or vinegar, which both contain Acetic Acid in the 3% to 6 % range, you create Peracetic Acid/Peroxyacetic Acid. Peracetic Acid, while being a potent disinfectant is corrosive and harmful to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes of the respiratory tract! What you are recommending can be harmful or dangerous!
Peracetic acid is used as a commercial disinfectant by people trained in its use to disinfect hard surfaces while wearing protective gear. It is not meant to be applied to the skin!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220001/
https://www.analyticaltechnology.com/analyticaltechnology/gas-water-monitors/blog.aspx?ID=1343 - What Is Peracetic Acid and Is It Dangerous?
https://synergist.aiha.org/201612-peracetic-acid-uses-and-hazards
It may have worked for you, but it is generally dangerous to most people! It may be a good idea if you ask Earth Clinic to remove your post for the safety of others, please.
Art
Apple Cider Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar, Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic
★★★★☆
I researched alternative treatments and decided to give vinegar and garlic a try. Distilled White Vinegar (4%) (DWV) was initially used because my local grocery store didn't carry any Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV).
Both feet were soaked (undiluted) for 5-15 minutes (10 minute average) twice a day and 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic were eaten twice a day. Having read that Moccasin cases are much more resistant to treatment, I thought garlic with its potent anti-fungal properties would promote faster recovery. I also started walking around in thongs only.
The DWV soaks alleviated the itching immediately. No significant improvement in appearance was seen until the morning of the 8th day. I switched to ACV (5%) soaks (undiluted) that evening to see how it would work. The ACV was less harsh than the DWV and left my skin feeling very soft. A little improvement was seen nearly every day thereafter.
The garlic seemed to help. While continuing soaking I discontinued the garlic for two days and my feet didn't show any improvement. I resumed the garlic and the next day my feet looked much better. It may not be necessary for everyone but in my resistant Moccasin case it seemed a benefit.
A little tip: Garlic is very harsh -- don't take it on an empty stomach! On two occasions I did and immediately threw it up. When taken with a good sized meal it wasn't a problem. To make it easier on my stomach in the second week I reduced my garlic to 1-2 cloves per day, which seemed adequate. Luckily I wasn't one of those people that develop an odor problem while consuming garlic.
Another tip: -- make sure during your soaks that you don't rest your feet on the bottom of the container. Doing so can press the toes together and keep the vinegar from contacting the recesses between the toes and the soles of the feet. The same vinegar was used for several soaks in a row, which didn't seem to hamper its effectiveness.
I think long soaks are unnecessary. Beyond 10-15 minutes they often just irritated the skin and didn't seem to hasten recovery. Shorter multiple daily soaks seemed more effective than longer less frequent ones. Yesterday I soaked my feet about 5 times and upped my garlic to 2 cloves twice a day. Today my feet appeared much better. It has been 15 days and my feet are about 90% improved. Most of the scaling on the soles and under the toes is gone.
I have a fungal infection in the toenail of one toe. Unfortunately, I have to report that there has been little improvement in appearance. I don't know if the nail has to grow out before the toenail looks better or if it is not working. Will have to wait and see.
If you elect to treat your Athlete's Foot with ACV and garlic be patient. Long standing and/or Moccasin cases may take weeks to completely heal. I will post again later to update my progress.
(Melbourne, Australia)
09/05/2011
Hiker, I had a fungal condition on my toe. I didn't use anything topically, only ingested ACV with honey and baking soda once or twice daily. It took three months for the toenail to fully grow out the fungus. I kept cutting the nail as it grew and the new nail had no fungus. It has been over a year and a half and my nails are still clear. It is a slow but worthwhile process.
(Vista, Ca/usa)
09/05/2011
Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic
★★★★★
(Vista, Ca, USA)
09/09/2012
I wanted to post an update to my original post. The Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) soaks completely cured my feet. They had rough spots and I thought they may have been residual fungus but I was wrong. My feet stayed the same for months. After about a year when it started getting warm again the fungus returned. I hadn't used the ACV soaks since my initial treatment and I ignored it until it started itching on the archs of both feet. It has been two treatments and my feet look and feel better already. This time I didn't take any garlic internally. I used full strength soaks for 30 minutes and have had no adverse reactions to them at all. ACV rocks!!!!!!!!
Bag Balm + Lotrimin
★★★★★
Baker's Yeast
★★★★★
After 1 week it was all gone, that was 40 years ago and never came back. I am not talking about the little dry yeast. This stuff is only available from bakeries and it comes in pound brick packed just like butter. Mix with water to have a tick goo, magic.
Baking Soda
★★★★★
Soak your feet for an hour in about a cup of baking soda only. Also in between soakings you need something to help kill the fungus as well. I would recommend making a dry mixture (basically a foot powder) of one part baking soda and three parts corn starch. Mix these two dry items in a mixing bowl and thoroughly combine. Afterwards find yourself a shaker container and pour the dry mixture into the shaker container. Apply this foot powder morning and night, wearing socks to help keep the mixture on while you sleep.
Bleach
★★★★★
http://www.pedsforparents.com/articles/2822.shtml
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131080893.html
http://antinailfungus.com/toenail-fungus/bleach-for-toenail-fungal-infection
Good Luck!
(Roanoke, Va, Us)
03/15/2012
★★★★★
Bleach works! Long story short, I suffered with this condition for nearly a year thinking that I simply had a really bad case of dry winter skin that started on my finger tips and toes. To my horror skin moisturizers exacerbated this to the point where the soles of both of my feet, my legs, hands and unmentionables were covered by this "plague" (athletes foot, ringworm, jock itch are all the same thing). Once diagnosed I tried most remedies mentioned here - some suggestions here helped to some degree but nothing cured it, it simply kept coming back stronger than ever.
This is the method I used. Start by filling a spray bottle with a 1/10* (bleach/water) ratio.
*IMPORTANT: If you have cracked/peeling/inflamed skin you may need to start with a lower bleach to water ratio and work your way up otherwise you can chemically burn your skin! Once my skin fissures healed up I was able to use a higher ratio all the way to full strength. But this was me, everyones different - use common sense please.
Once a day (twice is even better) while in the shower and after having thoroughly saturated yourself with water (I felt that saturating my skin with water kept any absorption of the harsh chemicals marginalized). Once soaked, just spray the infected areas and gently rub it in, let it sit just a minute or so and then rinse VERY well with warm water. If you have peeling flaking skin, use a round (egg shaped) pumice stone and gently rub the dead skin off being careful not to hurt any live skin. Dry THOROUGHLY and then apply some virgin coconut oil to moisturize.
Note, I felt that the pumice stone was crucial, especially if you have thick calloused skin like I did. My hands were especially stubborn to clear up, the fungi sends tendrils or roots into the deeper layers of skin, these in turn usually allow the fungi to make a comeback if you let your guard down even for a day. Keep this up until your skin returns to its normal soft and supple state. If your skin toughenshardensthickensreddens whatsoever its not gone and you will need to spray and rub some more- persistence pays!
Borax
★★★★★
after moving to a humid climate I suffered with itching feet in the summer. I tried many natural remedies without much luck. After wading in a big lake one day my foot fungus got 10 times worse, and I had white protrusions on my feet which wouldn't come off, and it was red in a moccasin-type pattern. In desperation I searched the web and found a remedy that worked very well. This is what you'll need: 1) a small glass or plastic bottle with cap (I used a 4 oz plastic bottle with cap) 2) drugstore hydrogen peroxide 3) borax (such as Mule Team) 4) cotton balls or cosmetic pads Mix equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and water in your plastic bottle, leaving about a half inch at top.
Add a tablespoon of borax to the hydrogen peroxide mix. (I used 1 tablespoon to 4 oz mixture). Allow the borax to fully dissolve. When some of the borax sinks to the bottom of the bottle, it's okay to use, and in fact, the borax will *not* fully dissolve. Saturate a cotton pad or ball with the solution and wipe your feet with it. It will not sting, and the sensation will be pleasant. The solution dries quickly.
Do this twice a day at least. After doing this for just a few days, my feet began to clear up. Now only a couple of weeks later, my feet are like new. I keep up with the solution daily, however, as I like to walk barefoot at home and there's no way to get rid of all bacteria and fungus from surfaces on which you walk. So, the best solution is this solution!
You can also sprinkle plain borax in your tennis shoes.
(NY)
07/20/2024
★★★★★
This was a life saver. I'm not through the end yet but this borax and hydrogen peroxide solution changed everything. It honestly has stopped at least the unbelievable itching that the Lotramine ultra could only stave away for a little.
I combined it with salicylic acid washes before and turbinafine after . I've seen some relief
I thought I had gotten rid of it once, as everyone says don't stop short even when u can't feel it continue treating it.
I tried vinegar soaks, borax soaks, bleach, anti-fungal soaps and it kept coming back. Thai really assisted the most
Borax
★★★★★
(Kentucky)
07/28/2022
★★★★★
They were simply remedies for sweaty feet furnished by soldiers and Allies. An Irishman said that his remedy was the best. Bathe the feet in a dish pan with one teaspoonful of borax added. Soak for 20 minutes. Then dry them and add rub spirits of camphor.
From the book, The Officer's Responsibility for His Men Published 1898 page 34.
Borax
★★★★★
About a year ago I started giving him borax in his water for another health issue. The recommended 1/4 teaspoon of borax in a liter of water was too much for him, even though he is a big guy. It caused digestive distress. So, I put small amounts of borax in his water jars that he took to work each day. (I didn't measure, it was probably 1/16 of a teaspoon spread over about 6 cups of water.) I probably did this for an average of 4 days a week.
Last night I realized the skin on his feet is soft and smooth. He hasn't done anything for athlete's foot in months. I realized it must be that the borax slowly healed him from the inside out.
While sometimes there are quick solutions to problems that have gone on a long time, often "slow and steady wins the race" with problems that have been going on for years (or decades, in the case of my husband.)
~Mama to Many~
(Manchester, Uk)
01/10/2017
Hi Mama,
Thanks you for your post above, that is very interesting. I have a case of athletes foot now which has lingered for 2 months despite me using the usual topical creams (daktarin, lamisil, caneston). So now I am looking for alternatives. I have just ordered the Borax. I plan to put some in shoes/socks, but also to take tiny amounts with water like you suggest. Do you have any specific tips on this? For example how many weeks did you do this for with your husband? And is it safe?
Thanks in advance
VJ.
Borax
★★★★★
I have not read this one on the site, so thought I would share.
I sprinkle a liberal amount of borax powder, like the 20 Mule Team brand, over inside-out socks, then flip again to get them right side out. I wear them during the workday and after 2-3 days, all crusty feet are gone and I am left with, by comparison, baby-smooth skin on my feet. Amazing cure and much simpler than soaking your feet in ACV, etc.
Typically, I follow up with this every 3-4 months, or when I start noticing any rough skin between my toes, and a few days of this will stop it.
Be advised, if you have severe athlete's foot, you may lose a significant amount of dead/diseased skin on your feet the first day, which can be alarming. I recommended this treatment to a family member who had a very bad case and he was a bit disturbed by the amount of skin coming off his feet the first day. He decided to do borax soaks in a foot bath instead, so the reaction would be slower and less alarming, which it was. It was a complete cure for him in about a week, and he does the 3-4 month powder in the socks follow up as needed.
Other thoughts: Something about the heat, pressure, and moisture on your feet of a normal day's work seems to make this work better, as I have tried follow-up treatments on the weekend with just socks and does not seem as effective.
Also, more powder seems to work better than less, which can feel a bit odd as it seems you are walking with fine sand in your socks, but the sensation is unnoticeable to me in a few hours. I would estimate the quantity per sock at about 1-2 tablespoons. I have tried follow-ups with just a small sprinkling and that does not seem to work as quickly as the 1-2 tablespoon amounts.
Borax
★★★★★
