Athlete’s Foot Fungus and Essential Oils

April 12, 2010 in Antifungal, Application, Blends, Family Health, First Aid tips, Fitness, Foot, Lemongrass, Make My Own, Men's Health, Natural, Skin Care, Spa / Wellness Products, Tea Tree / Melaleuca, Thieves, Using Essential Oils, Wellness, Women's Health, Yeast / Fungus by Evelyn Vincent | 1 comment

Tinea pedis or athlete’s foot is a fungal infection of the skin that infects the feet. (it is identical to ringworm which infects the skin in the rest of the body). This fungus thrives in the warm, moist environment to which many feet are subjected. The best remedy is to keep feet cool and dry and avoid wearing tight-fitting shoes or heavy natural (ie. cotton) socks. Wearing sandals, shoes, and socks woven from a light-weight, breathable fabric, can also be beneficial.

Avoid socks and shoes that are now available with an antibacterial made directly into them as these are not healthy or beneficial. **see below for a much safer solutions to foot bacteria**

It is especially important to control fungus infection probability during showering or bathing. Since the moist, warm environment in bathrooms and showers favor the growth of the Tinea culture, responsible for athlete’s foot, it is a good idea to address that problem as well – to prevent further spread of the fungus.

Young Living anti-fungal essential oils such as Melaleuca ericifolia or Melrose can be added to sea salt or Epsom salts and used in a RainSpa shower head to create a mild, anti-fungal shower.

The addition of the therapeutic essential oils to the shower head also provide a cleaning action to your shower stall as well, thus making your shower space not a likely cause of continued fungal spreading.

Note: I personally don’t use or buy scented aromatherapy products because of the chemical ingredients. Instead I create my own concoctions with my pure therapeutic-grade YL oils, this way I know what I’m getting and putting on my skin. I would not use other, lesser quality, oils or scented products in my RainSpa shower head as they do not have the therapeutic properties I am looking to obtain with the treatment of fungus on my body and in the shower stall itself.

Single Essential Oils: Melaleuca ericifolia (make sure you choose this species, NOT for internal use), Cypress, Lemongrass, Idaho Balsam Fir, Lavender, Peppermint, Thyme, Mountain Savory.

Blends: Melrose, Thieves, Purification.

A Note on Using Essential Oils

Always dilute these essential oils as they can irritate the skin when applied neat. Dilution can be obtained by using a carrier oil, such as V-6 Massage Oil. Or, dilute the chosen essential oil in Sea Salt or Epsom salt for bath or shower. Water does NOT dilute an essential oil.

Additionally, if you are using a RainSpa shower head, avoid getting the essential oil shower water into the eyes. If essential oil does get into the eye, do NOT try to dilute or flush eye with water – instead use V-6 or a vegetable oil.

Great News if Tea Tree Oil is not clearing up your nail fungus!

If you like to keep things simple and if you have not had complete foot fungus removal using Tea Tree oil, I highly recommend using the blend Melrose instead. I have seen friends, with what I consider severe cases of nail fungus have a 50 percent improvement within 24 hours hours when applying Melrose topically to the area of concern, 2-3 times a day. Simply put a couple of drops of Melrose on the area and allow to air dry.

Melrose oil blend contains: Melaleuca (Melaleuca alternifolia), naouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and clove (Syzygium aromaticum). All of the oils in this blend are well-known for their anti-fungal properties.

A 15ml bottle of Melrose has about 250 drops per bottle, making this choice a very affordable option to clear up topical fungal issues.

Athlete’s foot blend recipe #1:

8 drops Tea Tree (Melaleuca ericifolia) (#3501)
2 drops Lavender (#3575)

How much would it cost to make this recipe?

$1.27 per application

(Note: the cost would be 24% less if you’re a wholesale customer or distributor)

Athlete’s foot blend recipe #2:

8 drops Tea Tree (Melaleuca ericifolia) (#3501)
4 drops Peppermint (#3614)
2 drops Mountain Savory (#3590)
1 teaspoon V-6 Massage Oil (#3031 – 8oz. / #3030 – 32oz.)

How much would it cost to make this recipe?

$2.80 per application

(Note: the cost would be 24% less if you’re a wholesale customer / distributor)

Application Methods

Topical: Apply 5-7 drops to affected areas between toes and around toenails
Foot Bath: Daily. To make your foot bath, use a total of 6-8 drops of essential oils (above blends, or either Melrose, Thieves, or Purification) to 1/2 cup Epsom Salts or Sea Salt, stir well, add to foot bath water.
Other Topical Treatments: Thieves Antiseptic Spray, Ortho Ease Massage Oil, Thieves Mouthwash (used on the feet), Peppermint-Cedarwood Bar Soap, Rose Ointment.

Keeping Your Shower and Bathroom Free of this Fungus

Clearly, keeping your bathroom surfaces clean go a long way in stopping and preventing this fungus from lingering and spreading to other family members. A terrific way to get things under control is to use a total of 25 to 30 drops of any of the above mentioned essential oils in a 14 oz. spray bottle filled with water.

Keep this spray bottle handy to spritz the tub/shower, floor, and bathmat directly after showering. This will give the room a nice scent plus it will help destroy the fungus and other unwanted bacteria. You can even use this spray to spritz inside of shoes.

See my Savvy Consumer Tip: how to buy superior quality oils

Other articles of interest:

Understanding Fungal Infections

FOS Bifidobacteria for Gut and Colon Health (discusses fungus/yeast/candida)

Using Essential Oils for Corns, Sore Feet, and Athlete’s Foot

Aromatherapy Foot Bath

It’s Easy to Make Your Own All-Natural Shaving Cream (for him or her)