cure for fungal infection?

[teachermom2834]

I have had fungus on my hand since the summer! I treated it unsuccessfully with otc medications for a while and finally went to a dermatologist. I was prescribed oxistat 1% cream and oral lamisil for 2 weeks. The infection went away in a few days but came raging back a week or so after stopping treatment. I have now been on the same medication for nearly 2 months with no improvement. It is actually getting worse and starting to go up my arm. Some nights I cannot sleep because it is so irritated. Doc doesn't have anything to offer me other than to continue the oxistat and lamisil. I am getting desperate and feeling like it will never go away. I have tried tea tree oil, as well.

 

Does anyone have any other remedies I can try? Has anyone dealt with this and treated it differently? My doc seems to indicate that this is the only treatment.

 

Any ideas? Encouragement? I am growing weary of the pain/ irritation/ expense/ embarassment of this!

 

Thanks,

Marie

[EKS]

My father had one of these infections and he had to use the anti-fungus cream for a *really* long time. It might have been for a year or longer. But the fact that when you went off it it came back and then didn't go away again suggests to me that it might be resistant to the medication.

[Wyndie]

I would try food elimination. The fungal infection starts on the inside and comes out, in your case on your hands. I used to get this too. Meds don't work you have to stop it from the inside. I would cut out sugar and bread or at least reduce them significantly. Also adding a probiotic to your diet would be helpful. I have at times put coconut oil on my skin and it helps alot but changing what I eat is the only permanent solution!

[elise1mds]

They *CAN* do Diflucan infusions if things get too bad and you believe the infection is systemic, but changing what you eat might help keep it from coming back!

[teachermom2834]

I would try food elimination. The fungal infection starts on the inside and comes out, in your case on your hands. I used to get this too. Meds don't work you have to stop it from the inside. I would cut out sugar and bread or at least reduce them significantly. Also adding a probiotic to your diet would be helpful. I have at times put coconut oil on my skin and it helps alot but changing what I eat is the only permanent solution!

 

I hadn't considered this. I'm not sure I want to consider this ;)

 

Where could I read more specifics about this?

 

I hate the thought of giving up bread/ sugar but this is getting BAD.

 

Thanks!

[TxMama]

Selsum Blue or store brand dandruff shampoo that has selenium sulfide as the active ingredient.

 

wash the area with the shampoo daily and you should see it clear up within a week. Keep using it daily for a month, then weekly for a month, then biweekly for a month....or something like that. To kill all the fungus you are going need to over treat the area because even if you no longer have symptons the fungus could still be there....as you already found out.

 

One of my kids has a similar infection and we tried the OTC and MD prescribed meds without success. Selenium sulfide worked and the infection has been gone for over a year after treatment.

[Perry]

I have had fungus on my hand since the summer! I treated it unsuccessfully with otc medications for a while and finally went to a dermatologist. I was prescribed oxistat 1% cream and oral lamisil for 2 weeks. The infection went away in a few days but came raging back a week or so after stopping treatment. I have now been on the same medication for nearly 2 months with no improvement. It is actually getting worse and starting to go up my arm. Some nights I cannot sleep because it is so irritated. Doc doesn't have anything to offer me other than to continue the oxistat and lamisil. I am getting desperate and feeling like it will never go away. I have tried tea tree oil, as well.

 

Does anyone have any other remedies I can try? Has anyone dealt with this and treated it differently? My doc seems to indicate that this is the only treatment.

 

Any ideas? Encouragement? I am growing weary of the pain/ irritation/ expense/ embarassment of this!

 

Thanks,

Marie

 

I'd see a different doctor. There are numerous antifungals.

 

Did they do a scraping to be sure it was fungal? Was it cultured?

[Wyndie]

I hadn't considered this. I'm not sure I want to consider this ;)

 

Where could I read more specifics about this?

 

I hate the thought of giving up bread/ sugar but this is getting BAD.

 

Thanks!

 

If you do a search for natural yeast infection or fungal infection treatments, you should find some good info. I hate giving up food too but when the problems get severe enough, I'm motivated. :grouphug: I hope this helps!

[kalanamak]

I'd see a different doctor. There are numerous antifungals.

 

Did they do a scraping to be sure it was fungal?

 

 

See if you can find a dermatologist who to see inpatients at the hospital. There are, IME, two kinds of dermatologists: the kind that deals mostly with looks, and the ones that are into serious medicine. The latter are the ones that do consultations at bizarre rashes, etc. at the hospital. Where I am, the majority are NOT interested in strange rashes and hospital patients. They are into making a whole lot more money than me!

[Lisa in Jax]

Try reducing the amount of sugar you eat (if you're craving sugar, it could be yeast).

 

Using a combination of organic, unfiltered apple juice, digestive enzymes, charcoal (for clean up) and good-quality probiotics, you should be able to kill any yeast in the gut and prevent it from causing skin issues.

 

You do this for about six weeks, while increasing the amount of unprocessed foods and reducing the sugars in your diet.

 

If you'd like to learn more about killing gut yeast, google "Usman" and "biofilm protocol." The links you'll find deal mostly with autism, but the protocol can be used for anyone who has issues with fungal/yeast/bacterial colonization in the gut. Once you clear the gut, the skin issues ought to also get better.

 

If you're interested in the Usman protocol, I can send you a simpler version of it that we did last summer. If you want it, please email me. lkporter91 at gmail.com

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

[Sandy in Indy]

I think I'd try soaking in apple cider vinegar and upping Vit. A, C and E.

[KrissiK]

I had a yeast infection (Candida) a couple years ago that manifested itself in my fingernails and I was on 9 months of Difulcan and a couple months of the Candida Diet and it finally cleared up. I had to go to a dermatologist and they cultured my nails.

[Tutor]

My dh has successfully treated Tinea corporis and Tinea pedis (ringworm and foot fungus) with applications of coconut oil. When it is really hot and humid, they may return, but not with as much vigor as before, and they are easily treated with a week or so of coconut oil applications.

[Pamela H in Texas]

You may need to do the dietary stuff; but for topical, I'd use tea tree oil a few times per day.

[Mommyfaithe]

I have had fungus on my hand since the summer! I treated it unsuccessfully with otc medications for a while and finally went to a dermatologist. I was prescribed oxistat 1% cream and oral lamisil for 2 weeks. The infection went away in a few days but came raging back a week or so after stopping treatment. I have now been on the same medication for nearly 2 months with no improvement. It is actually getting worse and starting to go up my arm. Some nights I cannot sleep because it is so irritated. Doc doesn't have anything to offer me other than to continue the oxistat and lamisil. I am getting desperate and feeling like it will never go away. I have tried tea tree oil, as well.

 

Does anyone have any other remedies I can try? Has anyone dealt with this and treated it differently? My doc seems to indicate that this is the only treatment.

 

Any ideas? Encouragement? I am growing weary of the pain/ irritation/ expense/ embarassment of this!

 

Thanks,

Marie

 

I had this issue and the ONLYthing that worked after all sorts of treatments was soaking my fingers in apple cider vinegar with a few drops of tea tree oil. I also took caprylic acid supplements which is a natural nystatin. It took about a week for my infection to clear up completely.

Good Luck!

 

Faithe

[Critter]

This is a very unorthodox treatment, but it works so well on horses, dogs, and cats, that I decided to try it on my son's ring worm that he picked up from another wrestler. I use Captan, an antifungal powder, which can be purchased at garden centers, and make a thin paste out of it with water. It only takes a tiny bit of water to about a tablespoon of Captan. I apply it to the area and cover it with a bandaide. Leaving it on for 24 hours is sufficient, but I have reapplied it daily for three days in the past just to be sure that it worked. Ringworm is a tough fungal infection to beat, and I have never had it return after using Captan.

[ReneeK]

Acidophilus is good if it's yeast related. Most fungal are because of yeast. Make sure you get a strong mg.