Natural Foot Health Remedies

Natural oil remedies have existed for thousands of years. They came about to fill a need that was not being taken care of by the medical practitioners of any particular period. The feet being of prime importance to a person, especially in the days where riding a horse was necessary for transportation, led to many natural oil remedies for good natural foot health. Some of these natural oil remedies are still used today. Here they are grouped by the type of foot problem.

Athletes Foot and Toenail Fungal Infections
Fungi love hot warm environments and inside leather shoes is just such a place. The itching and burning that are symptoms of Athletes foot can be almost unbearable. The same fungi can spread to under the toe nails and become very difficult to cure or even treat. The most common natural oil remedy for Athletes foot is application of Tea Tree Oil. Scientific studies have shown that Tea Tree oil is an antiseptic and does kill a large number of bacteria and fungi. Tea Tree Oil has been compared in tests to tolfonate, often prescribed for foot problems, and it faired well if the oil was used in very high concentrations.

In South America there are natural herbs and extract oil from a plant called Sosa Solanum that are used for athlete's foot as well.

In Indonesia people use Aloe Vera creams to rub on their feet for a general improvement of the skin surfaces of the foot. When a person visits a reflexologist each foot is normally placed in a very harsh antibacterial solution that actually smells a lot like Pinesol. After five minutes the feet are withdrawn and the aloe Vera cream is used to finish the cleansing of the feet. Some times extract of pine is used to add desirable aroma to the feet area. There is also a drink called Lyda Buaya - which means the tongue of the crocodile, which is also made from the gel inside the leaf of the aloe Vera plant. This also is meant to assist in improvement on skin surfaces all over the body.

Indonesian jamu ( traditional medicine sellers) ladies also have a cure for toenail fungus. They advise that every day for two weeks you soak your feet in a mixture of hot water and cuka apel. Cuka apel is similar to apple cider vinegar. After 15 minutes the feet are withdrawn and completely dried before any socks or shoes may be worn. Drops of cuka apel are placed directly on the toenails and allowed to soak into the feet. This treatment works better than any modern North American treatment I have had either over the counter or prescribed by doctors.

Modern pedicure shops use razor blade removers to take away cracked skin on the heels of patrons. This is dangerous and can lead to bad skin infections if not done properly. The old natural method in Indonesia to treat cracked skin on the heels is to rub ripe bananas on the cracked skin area and let that application stay in place for at least 30 minutes. Then the feet are cleaned with pure coconut oil and wiped dry. Some how this really works and in a few days' large sections of previously dry skin begins to loosen and gently fall away from.

This has been just a few of the many natural remedies that traditional healers have used to promote good foot health.