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.
Light Bulb Cure for Ringworm
Posted by Mel (New York, New York) on 07/15/2008
★★★★☆
Ok, this is my second visit to your site, first one was when i was desperately searching for a cure.
I tried almost everything.
1. clotrimazole.
2. tolnaftate cream and spray.
3. Apple cider Vinegar.
4. Witch Hazel.
5. Rubbing Alcohol.
6. Bleech.
7. Hydrogen Peroxide.
8. Tooth paste.
9. Salicylic acid.
10. Vicks.
11. Mouth wash.
12. Hand-sanitizer(alcohol)
13. Anti-bacterial liquid soap.
14. Icy hot
I tried all the above mentioned items, plus a combination of some of them together as a foot soaking agent.
The moment when i completely lost it, came when I saw a second ringworm right next to the original one. ARRRRRR
I poured a little less then half a cup of bleech, half cup of rubbing alcohol, half a cup of witch hazel, half cup of ACV, and then as soon as i poured half a cup of hydrogen peroxide I heard a whooshing sound and saw bubbles and some somke :-) grin, I thought to myself this would kill the fungus once for all. I then poured cold water, just enough so that I could soak my foot fully into the small plastic bucket. I then rubbed the two ringworms with my fingers under the solution, and kept my foot under water for atleast 10 minutes. The skin peeled off from the ringworms, and the itching stopped. I went to class, and then after few hours, Itching came back. I came home, and I was furious, at the drug agencies and the FDA for creating creams that only stop the growth of the ringworm instead of killing it. (thats how you make money).
I then took a small night lamp in my room, with .10 WATT bulb, and turned it on. Once the bulb got hot, I started cooking :-) It hurt really bad when I started to roll the bulb on the ringworms, but the feeling of killing that nasty bugger overcame my own pain. I really burned the suckers good, the skin turned red, and the bulb was covered in some sort of mildue. Ringworms started flaking, and I kept going, until I knew that the ringworms were dead and were now burning in hell. The itching had stopped. It has been 3 or more hours since this experiment, and the itching had not returned.
The skin of course was red due to minor skin burns, and may even leave a mark, but I will accept it open heartedly because it is just on my foot, and it will be just another battle scar to my body collection.
Arrrrrrggghhh 142nd Pirates for life.
(Do not tell me that it cannot be killed; if it is living, then I will find a way)
Menthol and Wormwood Oil
Posted by Christine (Chaparral , New Mexico) on 07/10/2008
My cat had ring worm soon me and my kids had it. Gentian Violet cured all within a week and there was no burning. apply daily. It is messy. No odor and will stain. BUT as a rancher I use it on my animals as well as my kids. and THERE IS NO PAIN. follow up with coritizone or anti itch and that should take care of it. Tip a q tip in and rub on it and then get a new one to rub the violet around it.
Garlic
Posted by Okarel (Houston, Texas) on 06/25/2008
★★★★★
Garlic works for ringworm. It smells bad, but it works. You should buy a cheese grater and then grate the garlic. Once the garlic is grated, get a cotton boll or a clean napkin and apply in the area. It's going to burn but it helps do this at least 3 times a day: once in the morning and one time during the day and last but not least, during the night. But make sure you clean your face first with warm water then dry with a clean towel.. =] good luck=]
Remedies That Didn't Work
Posted by Kevin (LA, US) on 05/20/2008
★☆☆☆☆
ringworm -- what has not worked for me: hydrogen peroxide, garlic, lamasil, vinegar, ashes. 5 failures
Nail Polish
Posted by Travis (Tallahassee, Florida) on 04/09/2008
★★★★★
put 2-3 coats of nailpolish on the ringworm, it will suffocate it and it will dissapear in less than a week. Try It!
Remedies That Didn't Work
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) 392 posts
A ringworm won't die. Their weakness is a saturated solution of borax and 1% hydrogen peroxide. It is a strong form of fungus. An alkaline form is more effective in the long run. If you want to really kill there is also another way, available at your local aquarium retail outlets everywhere. The anti algae bottle to control algae in fish tanks are often a solution of copper sulfate or a buffered form of copper chloride. Those are applied two or three time to the area and repeated weekly application should be more than enough. They outperform all doctor's med on fungus treatment and for less than 1/20th of the price. Fungus and ringworms major weakness are borax, and copper. There are others, but this would be best tested so far. A borax and copper solution is another possibility. Basically you will add saturated borax to the anti-algae bottle, (often it is light transparent blue in color, usually it is copper sulfate - but they don't label as such, but this is usually the case). The apply this solution to the feet or areas where there is ringworm for external application only. As far as I know this has worked better than any doctors med for topical ringworm applications.
Remedies That Didn't Work
Posted by Ship (Wilmington, OH) on 12/15/2006
★☆☆☆☆
i have had ringworm since march of 2006 when i was crawling around a manure spreader for some photography shots. i first tried cutting it off and placing bleach on it at the recommendation of a wrestler. THAT HURT!! and it went away...for the summer. i suppose there were traces on my boots or something because in the fall it came right back, and it was spreading - three on each leg!. >so i steeped thyme and used the "tea paste" 2x a day, but that merely left it stagnant. it didn't grow but it didn't go away. i moved on to ginger, and instead of brewing it, i cut slices and taped it with duct tape to the spots. that was good until i went jogging and started sweating. o no! now i have ringworm and some crazy rash all around it caused by duct tape and sweat. i think i will try the cider vinegar solution and disinfect my boots and all my socks and pants. the end, or is it?
Fig Tree Sap
Posted by Dallas (Dallas, TX) on 04/27/2007
★★★★★
For ringworm or any other fungal infection of the skin, I've always used the milk from a figleaf. You usually only have to do it once or twice. This is good for humans or pets.
Nizoral Dandruff Shampoo
Posted by Saura (Mooresville, NC) on 02/03/2007
★★★★★
The first time I got ringworm, I went to my doctor, who also happens to be a tropical diseases specialist. She told me to use Nizoral dandruff shampoo several times daily on the rash and it will soon dry up and disappear. She was absolutely right. My rashes disappeared within days.
Nail Polish
Posted by Sandra (Port Richey, FL) on 11/25/2006
★★★★★
My friend's son had ringworm for 6 months. No creams or meds worked. The nurse said to use clear fingernail poilish as her brothers got ringworm all the time from wrestling and it cleared up in 2 weeks.
Iodine
Posted by Cori (New Brunswick, Canada) on 05/12/2007
★★★★★
My mom's friend is a nurse..my son has one spot of ringworm on his arm. She suggested iodine..I applied it twice today so I'll see how it looks tomorrow. I didn't know about the Tea Tree oil though and I have a bottle of it. If the iodine doesn't help I'll try that.
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Krenee (Oregon) on 11/24/2006
★★★★★
I had a very bad case of ringworm that I got from a friend's cat. I tried everything to get rid of it, baking soda, calamine lotion, ++ nothing worked and it got worse. I went to the emergency room of the hospital, because it had spread down my leg and looked terrible and the itch was driving me crazy. . They prescribed me a ointment and after spending close to $300 it did not work. I told a friend about it and she went online for me and found that pure tea tree oil extract is a homeopathic alternative. I would have tried anything to get rid of it. I ran to the store and bought the purest little bottle I could find. I rubbed a small amount of the oil on my infected skin reapplied every so often, and I kid you not, in two day it was pretty much all cleared up! It stopped the speeding and caused what was there to dry up and my skin was healing. I was hooked. I heard it is used for acne and helps mosquito bites dry up fast without drying out your skin. I now carry it when ever I travel. Please try this. It really works! I good bottle cost about $8 and will last a very long time.
Bleach
Posted by KAP (Dallas, TX) on 08/29/2006
★★★★★
Put 3 tbsp of bleach in bathtub water & soak. I don't recommend this for women, but my husband did this & his dried up within 2 days. Cured ringworm all over body.
Bleach
Posted by Eileen (Austin, TX) on 08/30/2006
★★★★★
I used Bleach. It cured the ringworm on my daughters arm. I used a Qtip and dipped it in clorox bleach applied it for several days and it went away.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Sarah (Vanceburg, KY) on 09/15/2006
★☆☆☆☆
I tried the remedy with putting the peroxide on my son's face overnight. It left a red place on his face where it had sat all night and didn't do anything to the ringworm but make it redder. This did not work. At least not on my child.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by April (Turlock, California) on 05/10/2007
★☆☆☆☆
hydrogen peroxide on ringworm: this does not work. it just made my ringworms red and created little scabs.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Yolanda (Tampa, FL) on 09/12/2006
★★★★★
At first sight of ringworm, I used store bought hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball, placed it on the ringworm, taped down with a band aid. By morning it was completely gone.
