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.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Bethany (Westminster, CA) on 02/20/2009
★★★★★
My husband had a severe case of athletes foot, and his skin would crack from how think and hard it was. We tried every cream, spray and powder out there, it helped with the smell but that was it. My sister told me about raw organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar and that it would kill the fungus. I figured we would give it a shot, and after the first night there was an improvement, and when he came home from work the smell was gone! So we kept on it soaking his feet in it for 15 mins a night after he got home from work and took a shower. after 2 weeks of this no more athletes foot, he now has soft normal skin on the bottom of his feet and they dont stink!!! give it a shot it is an amazing cure for athletes foot!!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lesley (Hervey Bay, Australia) on 01/21/2009
★★★★★
I have used ACV to successfully treat Athlete's Foot. Just soak cotton balls in the vinegar and apply often to the affected toes. Do this twice a day for 2 to 3 days and the problem will vanish. Try to keep your toes dry as reinfection is common with this ailment. I have also used ACV for itchiness in my ears. Just pour it in as best as you can and massage to let the vinegar get right down into the ear. This fully healed my ear itchiness that I had suffered for years.
Urine
Posted by Naturo (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) on 02/08/2010
★★★★★
Urine as a cure for athlete's foot is the most economical, safe, and timely remedy known to me. I tried tea tree oil, aloe, black soap, coconut oil, Burt's foot cream, all of the former offered little to no resolve. I had a serious case of athlete's foot known as "trench foot" which was a name gained from the soldiers of many wars where moisture would collect in the boot or shoe, creating the necessary conditions for bacterial growth. My condition was so bad that the epidermis was cracking and in areas of the foot - primarily the ball of the foot, there would be lesions that would bleed. The cure is simple, apply urine (fresh and warm) to the infected area allowing it a minute or so to absorb into the skin; this is best done prior to sleep. Repeat this day after day until you see desired results. Note, although the symptoms may subside i.e. itching and cracking, the actual bacterial infection may not be gone. Thus, one should continue daily treatment for at least 1 week beyond the epidermic symptoms remediation.
Tested and true.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Larry (Dumaguete, Philippines) on 10/08/2008
★☆☆☆☆
I had chronic athletes foot for years, 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, so this is a definite NAY, but amazingly I did find something that finally worked after many years! And it involves Cayenne pepper and salt, see my additional comment below under Cayenne.
Nu-Stock
Posted by Jean (Franklin, WI) on 02/22/2009
★★★★★
Just an update. The athlete's foot tried to return once. I applied nu-stock before bed, then again three days later. Athlete's foot hasn't returned. This is some powerful stuff. It didn't hurt the skin, and yet in that seven month period of time, I only had to use it about 6 times.
More important than that, I also had a problem with the NAIL FUNGUS ... you know the thing where your toenail gets discolored, dark and thick. THAT'S GONE TOO !!! :D Seven months after my first post about Nu-Stock, I have normal toenails. I love this stuff! :) If anyone is having trouble finding it, I got it on EBay...$7 for a large jar plus shipping.
Nu-Stock
Posted by Teresa (Dallas, Tx) on 03/06/2024
★★★★★BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
I tried it on my different parts of my neck and it was so strong it dried those parts of my neck it left my skin very wrinkly. I was afraid I'd damaged my skin. I did try it on some areas of my feet and only two areas seem like I have to be more aggressive with the treatment whichever it is I decide to do. Nustock is great so far on the feet but not on tender skin areas it cracks and dries up the skin really bad. Also it does have a high sulfur content and I read somewhere on here on the ringworm thread that a homeopath mentioned not to take sulfur (internally as pellets) because one could end up with high levels of sulfur. I'm not sure how much sulfur our bodies absorb from the cream. So I'll just say try at your own risk. I did develop dark spots on my arm and chest but I'm unsure if sulfur had anything to do with it.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Doris (Santa Ana, CA USA) on 04/28/2008
★★★★★
Equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water in foot-bath bowl. Set feet in, and gently scrub with sponge. Good time to do it is after shower or bath and before bed. For worst cases, cotton swab damply all over affected foot skin. Immediately cleaned, no more co$$$tly stores remedies in very tiny tubes and bottles. Then, keep clean your barefoot walking or standing areas (shower, tub, etc). The immediate clean look and clean feel will be dramatic.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Doris (Santa Ana, CA, USA) on 09/12/2008
★★★★★
Adding to my 04/28/08 entry. Pedicuring 82 yr old mom's Athl Feet, red chapped cracked heels she had thru my childhood years. Now her poorly cleaned large toenail had accumulated dead skin under nail with yucky dark fungus. I bought kitchen dishgloves dishpan scrubber-sponge hydrogen peroxide (HP). She couldn't reach to clean anymore. Athl Foot etc was up calves to her knees. In dishpan I mixed 4 cups comfy-hot water, 1 cup HP. Feet in pan, I scrub-sponged one leg. It didn't sting, Strongly tingled refreshingly like when your hand falls asleep. She didn't realize how numb Ath Ft made her feet sense of no feeling. Cleaned feet nerves felt like taking off thick socks for the first time. Dishwash gloves protected my hands while scrubbing. We both couldn't believe visual immediate result of no redness, and of powdery white dusty skin sloughing easily into water mixture. To do other leg, washed out dishpan, used new gloves, new sponge, fresh water-HP mix. Dust-size flakes came off her feet. Now with vigorous gentle sponge scrub, I could feel the difference between cleaned slick skin and slippery athl foot. Scrubbed 3 minutes foot-calf-knee per leg. CLEAN. Dumped water was thick with scaly powdery dead skin slough. Big point was Athl Ft numb feeling wasn't noticed till after cleaning. Last, I put aloe vera gel on each leg using 3rd pair kitchen latex gloves. Then used spray bottle of water-HP mix with paper towels to wipe dry, on her whole apartment especially shower stall, sink, commode, all chromework, doorknobs and sliding glass door-windows handles. Got her new shower flip flop sandals, sprayed them too. NOTE: Her bldg staff smelled vinegar-water wash I'd once used, which worked good enough, but staff said NO in case of doctor's meds conflict by skin absorption - go figure! HP has no smell. She does her own laundry, but now puts some HP in rinse cycle now. Thanks for this site. Years of Athl Ft - gone. It needs done 3X/year now.
EC: Doris, thank you so much for these detailed instructions!
White Vinegar
Posted by Kathleen (San Antonio, Tx) on 02/06/2008
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar is wonderful to clean out my German Shepherd's ears, when his ears are bothering him. He will shake his head, and I just put an apple cider and water solution on a cotton ball, and clean out his ears, and in ten minutes he stops fussing and lays down and finally can rest. My husband takes white vinegar and soaks his feet in it, and no more athelets foot! It is wonderful for killing any kind of fungus or bacterial infections. Thanks so much for the advice!
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
White Vinegar
Posted by Barbara (Wellington, New Zealand) on 09/26/2011
★★★★★
I started getting athletes foot years ago, just a bit between my pinky toe and the next toe. I ignored it and now it's spread inbetween all my toes on both feet. I just started soaking in white vinegar (undiluted, no water added). Found a container that fit both feet, added white vinegar just to cover my toes and sat for 30 minutes. I already see improvement after only 1 soak! Am planning on doing once a day for a week and maybe once a week thereafter.
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.
Cayenne
Posted by Beamslider (Sf, Ca) on 06/03/2012
★★★★★
Used it two days in a row between toes and the Cayenne has made drastic improvements. Seems to work.
Ketoderm, Black Walnut Oil
Posted by Catherine (Tahiti)
★★★★★
I tried doctors prescription of ketoderm, ciclopiroxolamine, econazole and numerous other things. I also tried the ACV and garlic oil rubbed on the skin. Lime rubbed on skin and left for 20 minutes. Also vera gel, colloidal silver, black walnut oil and iodine. I believe that the ketoderm works but my problem is that from all the drying products my skin would look worse so the aloe vera gel counteracted that and I've used the black walnut oil three times and it is working rapidly. I used the paragone liquid that I use to kill internal parasites on my skin topically. It has red clover and some other stuff in it but works great. I've been to three doctors and have had this for 3 months. It does go away with convectional medicine but will return the minute you stop treatment. I looked for every type of holistic cure and I think the problem with some like ACV is that they would make little wounds on my skin that would burn when I applied it. the doctors prescribed medicine did the same. I also eat raw garlic and drink a little bit of ACV each day. I also take noni which is a tahitian drink they sell at Costco. I stopped eating cheese and cut down on starch. I was using coconut oil last week but it didn't seem to do anything.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Dena L. (New Orleans, Louisiana ) on 06/04/2022
★★★★☆
My feet had a fungus. I sprayed my shoes with Lysol spray and washed my feet with peppermint castle soap which is by opengate. It's similar to Dr. Bonner soap. I took baths in hydrogen peroxide and soak my feet in it daily. I applied tea tree oil daily. I noticed my feet nails got lighter and my feet felt better. You have to do this daily and constantly to see results. Spray all your shoes to avoid reinfection.
Vicks
Posted by Old Hippie Chick (Florida) on 04/29/2020
★★★★★
I had a mildly painful, annoying athlete's foot problem on a couple of my toes. First I tried Terabine Antifungal. It did not work. Then I tried Apple Cider Vinegar. It burned. Perhaps it killed some fungus; I do not know. Then I tried Vicks Vapo Rub (generic substitute). ChaChing! The improvement was rapid and my skin healed beautifully. I would recommend slathering it for a week or so (twice a day). Also wear sandals if you can to give your foot air.
Panoxyl 5 Cream
Posted by Joe (Nairobi) on 12/19/2017
★★★★★
Re: Treating Athlete's Foot
I remember I once used Panoxyl 5 cream when way back in the 90s. I haven't gotten it nowadays. Worked perfect. Caution! It will bleach your bed linen so sleep with socks.. share of it works for you.
Urine
Posted by Vsherry9 (Detroit, Mi) on 07/01/2016
★★★★★
I used my own urine to stop athlete's foot fungus, I also had a variety of fungus on the bottom & sides of my feet. I used my own urine in a bucket while sitting on the toilet every morning for about 5 days. I started using the urine in the morning, then at night used vapor rub at night with socks, then next day I used the urine in the morning, and the vapor rub at night without the socks (I have a hard time wearing socks at night). Each time I took a shower in the morning after soaking with urine, I would dry off & rub Peroxide all over my feet with a cotton ball until they dried naturally. I did this for a week & all gone. I've had this problem since 1998 & I am a real person from the Detroit area. Don't let anyone tell you this doesn't work, especially a doctor - because it does & I am proof. I've tried everything imaginable & was never able to get rid of it, until just recently. Doctors will tell you there is not enough Urea in the pee to cure it, but that is just down right false. What is it going to hurt to just try it & see for yourself. Good luck!!!
Phythium Oligandrum
Posted by I Need Help_SC (USA - South Carolina) on 01/05/2022
★★★★★
On the owndoc.com website, they have a PDF about the Phythium oligandrum parasitic fungus, and they describe how to use to treat fungal infections of the skin. I found one part really useful to consider, so I'm highlighting it here:
Soak a paper towel in the solution, spread it out over the infected area, then use plastic wrap to thoroughly wrap it around your body. This keeps the liquid-soaked paper towel wet and in place. They say to go to bed with this.
I find this mode of delivery of the solution to the infection helpful to consider for other treatments beyond phythium oligandrum - could use paper towel and plastic wrap with Raw ACV, borax solution, on and on the possible liquid treatments that the paper towel + plastic wrap could be used for!
Fresh Aloe Vera
Posted by Lady Mars (Lithia, Fl) on 03/08/2014
★★★★★
Had a persistent fungus infection (athlete's foot) which I get rarely, but have always treated successfully. This time, standard OTC and home remedies weren't working very well. Would calm the drive-me-out-of-my-little-mind itching for a while, but not really getting rid of the fungus. I grow aloe to treat fire ant bites (rub leaf goo on bite and prevents blistering and cools stinging. Works on mosquitoes also.)
Aloe worked better on athlete's foot than anything I ever tried before, including prescription stuff or 'female' creams. Did it once yesterday morning, goo dried or soaked into skin, not sure which. This morning swelling all gone and redness almost gone. Had NO itch for 24 hours since using once. Did once more today and I think that will take care of it.
No clue if aloe gel or cream would work as well, but my best guess would be probably not. Don't see how any gel could have more of the good aloe stuff than the plant. Aloe is so useful, I'd recommend that anyone with a sunny windowsill grow a couple plants. They will not tolerate a hard freeze, but will be happy outside in any temp. above freezing. Easy to divide, get more, give some away. They're a tough plant, but grow faster with decent soil and enough water.
The aloe drinks they sell everywhere now are also really good for upset stomach. My husband has severe gouty athritis among other problems and takes too many meds. For him, he thinks the aloe drinks help reduce the pain a little in his joints. I sometimes make him an aloe smoothie with a couple leaves and whatever I have on hand.
Aloe vera is one of my favorite natural remedies, powerful, safe and cheap. What's not to like?
Garlic
Posted by Green (Canada) on 12/06/2013
★★★★★
Hi There, I ha Athletes foot for 2 months until I discovered garlic. Tried ACV and drugstore foot sprays & powders to no avail. I finally made a paste by crushing and mushing up garlic cloves, adding s little olive, and mushing some more to make a nice paste. I rub it into my feet well 2-3 times a day and put clean socks over top each day. I make up enough for one or two days at a time --usually 2 to 3 medium/large garlic cloves per day. I rub it in well to all areas of my foot. This method is finally working; after 3 days, it is so much better. Good luck.
Green Tea Leaves
Posted by Astre (Sweden) on 08/08/2013
★★★★★
Green tea leaves for athlete's foot (vesicular tinea pedis)
I have the vesicular infection, with small blisters that itch and burn. The blister fluid is infectious so one must not scratch the infection. Skin becomes red, itchy and scaly when blisters become engorged and burst. I have tried mutiple tubes of anti fungal cortisol creams in childhood and it treated but never completely cure it. Then I discovered green tea leaves as a remedy!
This is what I do: Chew up a few leaves (dried and not brewed) with front teeth, with minimal saliva so it becomes a thick leafy paste. Spit out carefully on index finger and apply as a layer on the infected skin. I apply thick enough to cover and often slightly larger area than the infected skin, just to make sure I got it covered! I tape over with 3M Micropore tape, it is impt for the infected skin to breathe!
The itch and burn is soothed immediately. Change paste (which dries up to little leaf bits) and tape at least everyday, or more often )when it starts to itch-burn again).
If this treatment is done promptly on day 1, it takes a few days to eradicate. For chronic infection, it took me a week or so in childhood (can't really remember, but I know I used cortisol creams for months! ) to heal completely. I applied the leaf paste for another day or two even after symptoms have completely disappeared, just to be sure... Chronic infections take a long time to treat and can bite back with a vengeance if not eradicated completely!
Not sure if tea leaf freshness and quality matter, but I always some good whole-leaf green tea in my kitchen, kept fresh in an air-tight jar. In childhood I used whole green tea leaves that had been around for over 10 years (in air tight container neverthless) and it worked. I say, try this with any whole green tea leaves, will probably work!
If you try some from a tea bag, let me know! Also, if you try other types of tea leaves, leave a msg!
