The fungus “Candida” is present in all our bodies.
Under certain circumstances, it can become rooted in different locations or organs, spreading as if it were an “infection”. This infection is made visible through the presence of “white” discharge or some other infected material (in the case of the toes, a yellowing of the nail).
Candidiasis is the “infection” state of the fungus – affecting everything from dandruff to having vaginal candida discharge.
Whilst nothing wrong from a purely health perspective, the underlying condition is often unsightly, and can lead to further complications if not treated.
Most pertinently, the infection will likely not go on its own. This means if you have Athlete’s foot (another form of Candidiasis), or some other Candida-based infection, you’ll typically have to work hard yourself on cleaning it up.
Solutions are actually quite bountiful… “Tiger Balm” (a more powerful Vicks Vapour Rub) being one of them.
Firstly, the important thing to note is that there are two types of Candidal infection. You can either get a growth on the surface of the skin, or it can be embedded inside the skin. The type you have determines the remedy.
Secondly, ALL Candida responds in the same way to the various remedies. The only difference lies in accessing the root cause of the problem. If you have an embedded infection, it will typically require direct access through the surface layer of skin (hence why the likes of laser treatment is used for Toenail fungus).
The point is that if you’re able to access the infection (it’s either on the surface of the skin or close), you can apply active ingredient straight to it. In the case of the “cottage cheese” type substance for most fungal infections, this means you can apply the likes of anti-dandruff shampoo, yoghurt or “Vicks Vapour Rub” to essentially kill off the fungal spores. This will be quick and painless.
If you have an embedded infection (heels / toenails / vagina), you need to be careful with what you end up doing. Specifically, if the infection is under the surface of the skin, you have to remove the top layer in order to hit the fungus directly. This is where the likes of Tiger Balm comes in.
Tiger Balm is nothing special. It’s just a more powerful Vicks Vapour Rub without the Eucalyptus. The most important thing is that it’s potent. Really potent. And it hurts.
The cream basically tricks the brain into “numbing” the pain receptors on your body. It creates an “ice heat” – GREAT for muscle injuries, but basically means that you should expect some discomfort from using it (look up Tiger Balm on YouTube for more info).
To this end, if you want to get rid of a Toe nail infection with it, you first need to be able to get rid of the surface layer of the nail. This is best done by filing, or can be done by applying a cream to soften the nail before trying to pick off all the infected layers on the top.
Once you’ve removed the “crusty” layer of the nail, you should then be using the likes of Tiger Balm to kill off the infection directly. Again, this may hurt but you need to be absolutely stoic in its application – put it all over the nail so it will get rid of it entirely. If it works, the new nail that forms should be entirely “fungus free”.