Home Remedies For White Spots On Toenails

Are you worried about your toenails because of white spots that suddenly appeared out of nowhere? Although white spots on toenails can be caused by a variety of things, one of the causes you should definitely watch out for is nail fungus. 

Toenail fungus is something that you have to treat immediately to keep it from spreading and getting worse. Using home remedies for white spots on toenails can be enough to stop the fungal infection during its initial stage. 

But you should understand that none of these are slam dunks. Nor are any of the OTC toenail fungus treatments. If your toenails look bad, you should seek medical help and prescription medication.

But if you’re not too far along, you can try home treatment. Here is our compiled list of home remedies for toenail fungus.

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When To Use Home Remedies For White Spots On Toenails

One of the keys to properly treating toenail fungus is to treat it while it is still in its initial state. At the first sign of toenail fungus, you should start treating it so it doesn’t worsen and cause other severe problems especially if you have chronic diseases like diabetes. 

However, you should remember that not all white spots on toenails are caused by fungus. There are some that are caused by trauma, nutritional deficiency, nail polish, matrix damage, or psoriasis. 

In order to be sure that you have nail fungus, you can go and have it diagnosed by a doctor. They may do tests and get samples for culture to confirm that it is really the nail fungus you are dealing with. 

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Home Remedies For Toenail Fungus

There are various ways on how to treat toenail fungus. There are many different products on the market like Kerasal  and Emuaid  that are specifically formulated for nail fungus.

However, they can be pricey, and they are homeopathic. No guarantees here for either Kerasal or Emuaid!

As an alternative, you could first try with the items you have at home. Such home remedies are best for those who have mild cases of fungal infection. Here’s our list of home remedies for white spots on toenails. One note: you won’t find bleach on this list, for good reason!

Vinegar

Vinegar is normally found in almost all homes so let’s start with that. It has natural antifungal qualities that can help deal with the fungus problem. 

To use the vinegar, you could mix it with water for a foot soak. You can combine two parts of vinegar and one part of warm water to create a warm foot soak. This can be used daily.

You may create a more potent foot soak by lessening the amount of water. Vinegar may not smell that pleasant but you could drop some essential oils into the mix. 

Apart from helping with the fungus infection, vinegar can also help remove the discoloration of the nails. 

Garlic

Garlic is another home remedy that is usually used in the kitchen. It has antimicrobial properties and is an effective way to fight fungal infections. 

When using garlic, you can chop them and leave them on the affected nail for about 30 minutes. Just be warned that garlic may cause chemical burns so don’t use it too often. 

If you can’t stand the smell, you may choose garlic capsules  as an alternative. Drinking them as per the manufacturer’s instructions can help deal with the fungal infection.

Baking Soda

Baking soda can be used as an ingredient to your home remedy foot soak. You can also create a paste out of it with a little bit of water and apply it to the foot or affected nail for about 20 minutes. After that, you can rinse the foot thoroughly and make sure you dry it up too.

Another alternative is to simply use baking soda powder as an alternative to foot powder. You just place some of it on your dry foot then wear clean socks. In this method, the baking soda helps reduce moisture so your toenail fungus doesn’t worsen while being treated. 

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide can be directly applied to the toes or toenails using a cotton swab. It is effective in killing the fungus.

You can add it to your foot soak to create a powerful mixture. 

See our article on hydrogen peroxide for toenail fungus for more information.

Epsom Salt

Create a foot soak using Epsom salts for your toenail fungus. All you need is a cup of Epsom salt mixed with about 2 quarts of hot water. You can add additional home remedy ingredients to this foot soak like vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. 

Essential Oils

Essential oils have become popular nowadays due to their various benefits. There are many different kinds of essential oils and many of them have antibacterial and antifungal properties that you can use to help treat your nail infection. 

One of the most well-known essential oils for fungal treatment is tea tree oil. There are many other essential oils such as clary sage, clove, lavender, jasmine eucalyptus, lemon, cinnamon, and thieves oil, just to name a few. 

When using essential oils, it is best to dilute them with a carrier oil like coconut oil or olive oil before applying them to your skin or toenails. Essential oils are potent so it is best not to use pure concentrated ones directly on the skin. 

Cornmeal

Cornmeal, just like baking soda, can be used as a foot soak or a paste. It has antifungal properties to help make your toenail fungus go away. 

To create a soak out of it, place about an inch of cornmeal on your foot soak container. Then add about an inch of warm water. Let the cornmeal absorb the water and mix naturally. Leave this for about an hour before adding more warm water to cover your feet. 

Snakeroot extract

Snakeroot extract can be more common in Ayurvedic practices. It is a great anti-fungal treatment that comes from plants in the sunflower family. 

The extract is directly applied to the toenail affected twice a week for several months. 

Mouthwash

Mouthwash doesn’t only make your breath fresher, it can be used as a foot soak for those with toenail fungus too. It has ingredients like eucalyptus, menthol, and thymol, which all help fight fungal infections. 

Vicks VapoRub

This is a popular topical treatment to help with coughs or colds. However, due to the camphor and eucalyptus oil ingredients, Vicks can be used as a treatment for toenail fungus.