Baking Soda Treatments for Toe Nail Fungus

You can rid yourself of unsightly toenails with a product you probably already have in your kitchen cupboard. Treating toenail fungus is one of the many uses for baking soda. Not only will it treat and remove the damaged toenail, baking soda can also keep the damaging fungus from returning.

Baking soda treatments can help you show off your healthy toenails. (Image: Purestock/Purestock/Getty Images)

Baking Soda Paste

Getting rid of your thick crumbling toenails can be as easy as making a paste of baking soda mixed with warm water and applying it to your affected toenail. Do this for a few minutes each day and you will soon see results. Make sure to rinse the baking soda mixture completely away and then dry your feet completely before putting on your shoes and socks. Your old damaged toenail may become loose and ultimately come off, but do not worry, because a new, healthy toenail should be growing in its place, according to SkinEnergizer.com.

Treating your shoes

Your sneakers and shoes remain damp from your sweaty feet long after you take them off. Because fungi thrive in moist, dark environments, your footwear is a breeding ground for microbes. This, in turn, leaves you susceptible to fungal infections every time you place your foot back in your shoe. Baking soda can help fight these microbes and freshen up your smelly shoes at the same time. Sprinkling a little baking soda in your shoes, or even your socks, will help keep your feet dry, thereby preventing fungus from attacking your toenails. Prevention is the best treatment.

Oil-powder mixture

Another treatment that includes baking soda as one of the ingredients was found in a case study conducted by B. D. Misner for the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition." Baking soda mixed with tea tree oil, basil oil, sage oil, and arrowroot was found to be effective against the growth of fungal infections of the feet. Apply the mixture to your feet and toes before putting your shoes and socks on. Any fungal growth on your toenails will be effectively treated as the oils allow for better penetration of the baking soda mixture. New fungal growth will be discouraged as well.