Among the different essential oils found potent enough to treat toenail fungus, clove oil is probably the strongest one. Most naturally made medicinal antifungal preparations contain clove oil as an ingredient. Cloves have been used a popular fragrant spices for centuries. Besides their culinary purposes, cloves have been proved to contain various healing capabilities as they can function as an anti-bacterial, anti-septic, a digestive substance, etc. Due to this reason this oil has been used in traditional medicines for ages.
Clove oil is prepared using the leaves of the clove plant also known scientifically as the Syzygium aromaticum tree. Clove oil has been observed scientifically to cure fungus & yeast related infections. Tests have shown this oil being effective enough to kill yeast & fungus that cause skin & nail conditions. All this makes clove oil quite an effective natural remedy for toenail fungus treatment. In fact it can be said that clove oil is almost as good as the much celebrated oregano oil for treating various health conditions such as nail fungus, yeast infections, etc.
Clove oil, in its pure form is quite strong and therefore it might result in dermatitis or even burns when applied to the skin or nails directly. So it is always recommended to use clove oil in a blended form along with other natural essential oils or plant essences, which are also good for the skin. It can be used by diluting it with carrier oils that have equally good anti-fungal properties like coconut oil or sweet almond oil. However, some people occasionally use concentrated clove oil on smaller nail fungus affected areas where just a few drops of this oil are required.
How does clove get this ability to fight off fungus & bacteria?
Well, each & every ability possessed by a plant is through an evolved natural instinct for survival. These anti-fungal properties of Syzgium aromaticum come from the necessity of the plant to defend itself against microbial invasions. We can use this natural immunity contained by the clove plant for treating toenail fungus quite efficiently. As this is a medicine developed intrinsically by the plant through natural selection over many generations, it has tremendous potency in curing the obstinate nail fungus problem that affects a lot of people these days.
How to use clove oil?
Clean your affected toenails & the near by regions properly. Use a mild soap if required. Then use a clean dry cloth to wipe the nails completely dry. Make sure that this cloth or towel used to wipe the infected toenails does not touch other non-infected nails as this could cause the infection to spread.
Take 10-12 drops of pure, strong clove oil and mix it thoroughly with about a cup of pure olive oil (great carrier oil) to prepare clove infused essential oil that will be greatly effective while not leaving any side effects of the strong clove oil. Now, use an eyedropper & fill it with this oil blend. Use this eyedropper to apply a few drops of the oil carefully to all he affected toenails thoroughly. Make sure the entire nail get the oil by applying it drop by drop on different parts of the nail including the skin underneath.
After applying the oil, use a cotton piece or swab to spread the oil uniformly over the entire nail. Wash your hands properly once you have completed this process. Try to repeat this process 3 times a day for best results.
