The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Borax
Posted by Micklee (Memphis, Tennessee) on 02/13/2012
★★★★★
Athlete's Foot
Get some 20 mule team borax at freds dollar store in the washing powders section, really powerful ati fungal, lather up a rag with soap then pour about 3-4 table spoons of borax on the rag and scrub it with that, must leave on for over 3 mins to kill all colonies, but I wouldnt leaveon for more than like 6 - 10 mins.... You can also take the Apple Cider Vinegar and pour into a jar and dissolve the borax in that and use it to scrub, both together are stronger I think.
Borax
Posted by Gord (Markham, Ontario, Canada) on 04/15/2011
★★★★★
buy a box of borax powder. (available in your local grocer detergent aisle). Pour it in a bowl large enough for your foot. Wash and thoroughly dry your foot and bury your foot in the borax.... While you watch tv etc... For at least an hour a day, replacing the borax daily. Wash a dry your feet after soak, you can also sprinkle some borax in your socks, slipper etc... To help absorb sweat... Did wonders for me when a specialist and his "magic steroid cremes" did nothing.
Borax
Posted by Dianna (Austin, Tx) on 02/04/2010
★★★★★
borax for athletes foot
after trying everything else you could buy at the store for his pretty much life long athletes foot problem - and not having results my boyfriend finally decided to try the remedy i kept telling him to try... borax - which he thought was poison him instantly but he 'trusted' the OTC stuff at the store!!! LOL
he wet his feet and then took a handful and rubbed it all over his feet.
he said they stopped itching immediately! he was stunned.
a few weeks later i asked him how his athletes foot was and he said: oh wow! it hasn't come back! that stuff totally cured it!!!
now he tells all his friends about borax ;)
Boric Acid
Posted by Dallas (Hayesville, NC) on 04/05/2008
★★★★★
I had athletes foot for several years that I could not get rid of from any of the high priced medications. I had heard from someone tha Boric Acid powder in your socks and in your shoes would cure it. Sure enough, after about a week the fungus was completely gone.
Calcium
Posted by Jess (Victoria, British Columbia) on 02/09/2007
★☆☆☆☆
I had athletes foot, I never had it before so I used different creams from the drug store. THEN I got an itch on my hand and the skin started getting very red and pealing off there! I went to the drug store and they gave me a different athlete's foot cream to apply to both the foot and the hand. I did this and it got rid of athletes foot from my toes but only helped a little bit with my hand. It didn't go away on my hand, it stayed the same size on one part of my hand and grew BIGGER on another part and was spreading up my thumb. I had tried a few home remedies from your site, none worked too well: Cider Vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, Borax etc. Over four week later it was still the same, itching and very red and getting bigger and spreading to other parts of my hand! I was about to go to the doctor when 'that little voice inside' said take Coral Calcium. I did and after taking a double and sometimes TRIPLE dose within 3 days the itchy circle began to subside. The skin one week later is still a little pink from healing and the center is normal skin color but there's NO itch or flaking skin left anymore. Will continue with the Coral Calcium for another two weeks and ingest cider vinegar on a regular daily basis for the rest of my life.
Castor Oil and Liquid Paraffin
Posted by Mandandi (Gaborone) on 05/09/2016
★★★★★
After cleaning systemic candida, I found that I had recurring athlete's foot- due to not cleaning my shoes and socks enough with other remedies.
I then used mix of castor oil (which was excellent on its own but requires deep massaging in), and liquid paraffin. The mixture works faster and is more efficiently, killing new infections before they even show up. I only see dry skin before I see the inflammation.
Cayenne
Posted by Larry (Dumageute, Philippines) on 10/08/2008
★★★★★
I had chronic athletes foot, i could never get rid of it. Over the counter creams such as lamisil controlled the problem but did not get rid of it. I then tried not using the creams and only apple cider vinegar instead. The result was disaster, rampant athletes foot. I was almost about to give up but did a final search and found postings on both Salt and Cayanne, so I decided to try an experiment. I made up a mixture of half salt and half cayenne pepper. I then Put a little bit of Lamasil cream on the infected area. Then while my finger still was sticky from the cream i dipped my finger in the salt/cayenne mixture and worked the powder into the infected area. The result was incredible. Noticible improvement after 24 hours. After two weeks, once a day, for the first time in years i am athletes foot free. I have no idea if it was the salt, the cayenne or the combination. I don't know if the Lamisil did anything more than provide a sticky base. But my feeling is don't change success. This combination worked fantastic for me.
Cayenne
Posted by Melvin (Garner, North Carolina) on 07/19/2007
★★★★★
This website has been a major blessing to me and my family!
From 1989 to about 1994 I suffered from athlete's foot on both of my feet. I tried several OTC (over the counter) drugs that eased the pain and itching somewhat, but never cured it, in spite of what the avertisements claimed.
A friend of mine told me about the benifits of applying cayenne pepper to cuts and acratches to stop the bleeding. Out of desperation one night, I applied cayene pepper to the affected areas between my toes. I was amazed at the almost immediate sense of relief I experienced. I applied it every morning after showering and at night after washing my feet. Within a day or two the pain & itching was gone. Within a week the fungus had dried up and skin had hardened. Within two weeks I could peel the dead skin away and by the third week the AF was gone and the cracked skin began to heal. By the fourth or fifth week there was no evidence of the AF- AFTER FIVE, LONG YEARS. I had forgotten what it felt like not to have AF.
The key for me was to wash and dry my feet daily before putting a dash of cayenne between my toes. No more over-the-counter treatments for me. I keep an ample supply of cayenne available, just in case.
Cayenne
Posted by Vince (Philadelphia, PA) on 09/21/2006
★★★★★
I had Athlete's Foot between 2 toes that sit against each other. I had it off and on for years. It was hard to dry them after a shower, and when in a rush, I don't think I did it that well, and then sitting against each other, I would probably really have to, and sweating probably cause it also. I only applied cayenne in salt water one time, and it has been gone for years. Usually it has to stay in place for a while on skin surfaces, so I soak the gauze on a bandaid, but since my toes touch, I didn't have to.
Replied by Beamslider
(Sf, Ca)
06/03/2012
★★★★★
Cheeseweed
Posted by Darlene (Kewaskum, Usa) on 09/28/2011
★★★★★
Regarding athlete's foot: try locating a weed, locally called cheeseweed and found on farmsteads [scientific name: malva neglecta; it looks like a low growing viney geranium with little blue or purple blossoms and round nutlike fruit that is edible], place a handful in water and bring to a boil; simmer for a while to extract nutrients; when cool enough to touch, dip a cloth into the 'juice', squeeze out, hold onto any location that is infected until cool; repeat this as often as possible until compote is cooled, you can repeat the process as often as you want. You can also place the foot or hand in the 'juice' until it has cooled; repeat as desired.
This 'juice' has been effective in drawing infection out of insect stings or slivers, clearing up athlete's foot, even drew blood poisioning out of my father's arm when it had nearly reached his shoulder. It is not a one time process; must be done repeatedly over days (you can reheat and reuse the original compote until it's really slimy) to achieve the end, but you should notice improvement after a few applications.
Chilblains Diagnosis
Posted by Clayton (Tulsa, OK) on 02/01/2024
★★★★★
Recently I discovered that what I thought was athlete's foot was actually chilblains. Chilblains occur when your feet (or sometimes hands) are very cold and are warmed up very rapidly, which can burst capillaries under the skin and result in redness, swelling, and lots of itchiness. For me, the tops of my toes were most affected (not so much in between, or anywhere else on the foot).
For the past week I'd been soaking my feet in various different things, and spraying a variety of herbal antidotes, to no avail: the itchiness and redness hardly went down at all, and I was getting worried I had some bad infection.
Deeper online searching revealed I had chilblains, from coming in from walking in the snow, and resting my feet near a space heater right after taking my boots off.
For better or worse, chilblains seems to improve on its own over time without treatment (unlike a fungal infection). Soaking in a diluted hydrogen peroxide or vinegar solution did help temporarily relieve itching.
I also read somewhere a man treated his chilblains with decent success applying minced onion mixed with salt. I've yet to try it.
I just wanted to let you know, if you are primarily experiencing redness and itchiness on top of your toes, and your toes have recently been very cold, you might check to see if instead of athletes foot you're experiencing chilblains.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Serafin (Covina, Ca) on 02/04/2015
★★★★★
For athletes foot, the best treatment is apply Virgin Coconut Oil twice a day. That bad smell of their feet will just go away at no time at all.
Replied by Anne
(London)
02/10/2016
★★★★★
Coconut Oil
Posted by Pbird (Everett, Wa, Usa) on 06/27/2013
★★★★★
Yes, coconut oil cures athlete's foot. It stops it for me in one application to the itchy spot. It also works for my husband who tends to get an occasional very bad case of it.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Desiree (Portland, OR) on 01/17/2009
★★★★☆
I have had athlete's foot for several decades: not usually cracked or peeling, but warm and itchy all the time. I thought this isn't going to do anything. I put coconut oil on my feet and within a half hour I felt a cooling sensation. What a surprise. The next morning I felt cool feet. I am amazed! I just rubbed it all over my feet, put on socks and climbed into bed. I am anxious to see how it works for me systemically. I have had itchy scalp for about 10 years. It isn't itchy at present, but I can't imagine treating the feet could cure it. I do know that the feet are like the tongue in that the organs of the body is mapped out on the tongue. We'll see.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Klaus-Christian (Osaka, Japan) on 05/03/2007
★★★★★
Coconut oil cured my 20! years long athlete's foot problem plus a lot of epidermic fungus, [j-itch, behind the ears, chin] constipation and digestive problems. 3 times a teaspoonful per os and external. see: health-science-spirit.com/candida.html
