Incurable fungal infections
I had never heard of people having athletes foot for 10 years before I started my own reasearch 20 months ago. I now know many people including myself have been told by their doctor that they have an incurable fungal infection. This is unexceptable to me. I have spent thousands of dollars in the last 20 months since I contracted a stubborn form of jock itch off a portable toilet on a construction site in Atlanta. I have tried every over the counter product, most home remedies, and 2 systemic drugs. I gained much knowledge and wisdom when it comes to tinea infections. I must advise you seek your doctor's advice for your specific infection.
I am not selling anything and I do not stand to profit by my advice.
Wash all clothes and bedding in bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or boric acid.
I agree with the last post when it comes to diet. The roots of tinea infections feed on the Sugar in your bloodstream. A low glycemic diet is important when fighting stubborn infections. You can find volumes of info about low glycemic diets at mendosa.com a site for diabetics. The worst offenders for blood Sugar are potatoes, white bread, soda, table sugar(duh). I have been able to keep my infection dorment with diet alone. I eat protein, fat, and vegetables; I have lost 20 lbs and my high blood pressure has come down for the first time in 10 tears.
As a side note my blood pressure did not come down on a low fat diet. If you must drink alcohol you can drink hard alcohol with no effect to your blood sugar.
I also agree with the last post that fungal infections are inside and outside the body. Fungal infections can live in the skin and in the blood. I also think tinea can live in deep dermal layers of the skin just waiting for the chance to break out.
The main problem I have had is that when the ringworm bumps die they just spread to nearby areas and easily infect healthy skin. So I have continually had ringworm bumps on my buttocks and groin.
Of the OTC products the active ingredients I found most effective are miconazole and terbinafine. Be careful of lamasil sprays that contain tolnaftate, you want the lamisil spray with terbinafine. I found tolnaftate to be ineffective. The problem with using creams for jock itch is that when you put your pants on you will rub away most of the cream, I don't have time to stand around naked all day.
Of the herbal remedies I have tried, tea tree oil and manuka oil were both effective but did not cure my stubborn strain of tinea. Vinegar caused a major flare up an I discontinued use; it's possible that continued use of vinegar may yield results, but it was very painful and caused alot of scarring for me. I have also taken lots of garlic and oregano oil orally for several months but it did not cure my infection. I tried thyme oil and oregano oil topically and had some success, but it was very painful even when diluted with Colloidal Silver .
I have used Boric acid powder directly on the skin for many months. It is not that irritating to the skin and was very effective and very inexpensive compared to other treatments. Unfortunately it only kept the infection dormant and did not cure me.
Colloidal Silver has probably been most effective and every time I had a major flare up (I've had 5 in 20 months), it was Colloidal Silver that made the difference. It is gentle on the skin. There is alot of controversy about colloidal silver on the web. There is a more expensive high tech colloidal silver made with a kind of gyro machine that has a grey color and brags about having smaller silver nano particles. I personally found the electrolysis "old style" colloidal/ionic silver to be more effective topically, it is clear in color and should be about 10-15 ppm. Just look for a company who uses constant current and has strict product control.
Tetrasil (silver oxide cream) is very effective and I would also recommend it for women with yeast infections. Again when I put on my pants most of the cream gets rubbed away and when spots died the just spread to new areas.
I was prescribed oral lamasil tablets for 6 weeks. My infection was gone in the 4th week and I finished the course. My tinea infection came back about 2 weeks after I finished the medication. Lamisil is still very expensive and unfortunately I could not afford another course. Systemic drugs can hurt your liver so your doctor will want to supervise your health.
I am currently on another much cheaper prescribed systemic drug called Griofulvin it is available in the generic Gris-peg ultramicrosize for better absorption. Take it with a fatty meal. Some forms of tinea may already be resistant to grisofulvin.
Topically I am now using a 1950's remedy I scoffed at many months ago. Clorox bleach. I use 4 parts colloidal silver and 1 part bleach in a small spray bottle. When using bleach the dying fungal bumps have still been able to spread to nearby areas. fungal infections can flare up when they are dying, even possibly retreat into your bloodstream and emerge someplace else. Don't ever drink bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Since I am broke, this is the cheapest fungal remedy. I am having some success.
The ringworm spots on my buttocks are dead and nearly gone. So the end of this incurable infection is in sight again. I hope to post my success in the coming weeks. Even if I do not succed this time, I am certain of my recovery. For every test in my life prayer has always been the tipping point in times of difficulty.
