Infected toe is a common problem that occurs mostly in adults. This infection is caused by fungal infestation, ingrown nail, improper nail clipping, or calluses. Similar to other kinds of infection, an infected toe will be painful and may ooze some pus discharge. Various medications may be prescribed for promoting healing to an infected toe and most of these medications are antibiotics that limit the causal bacteria or fungus overgrowth. Some people find these antibiotics work very well to improve the conditions, but prolonged use of antibiotics can cause some issues to your health and thus, not recommended. Therefore, knowing how to treat an infected toe without involving any antibiotics will be beneficial.

How to treat infected toe at home without antibiotics

Some natural home remedies are really simple, affordable, and side-effect free. These remedies improve a large number of illnesses, including toe infection. Start gathering things around the house and perform effective remedies for your infected toes without being worried about any other complications.

• Soaking an infected toe

Soaking an infected toe in warm water gives some benefits in improving its condition. It brings down the inflammation caused by fungal infection or ingrown nail. The treatments also softens the hardened skin around the nail or the calluses occurring around the toe. To soak the affected toe, add some teaspoons of sea salt to your bathtub or large bucket filled up with very warm water. Soak the toes for 15 minutes and pat it dry afterwards. Repeat the treatment several times daily until the pain subsides and the inflammation improved.

• Applying ointment

Topical ointment can be used as a replacement to oral antibiotics. This treatment does not cause any side effects and can be taken without prescription. To treat an infected toe, you can apply the ointment onto the infected toe and wrap it with clean bandage. This topical medication helps providing relief to the infection and prevent it from spreading.

• Getting rid of the bacteria with tea tree oil

There are numerous home remedies that can be used for getting rid of bacteria causing infection. These remedies can also be used for eliminating fungus that usually triggers toe infection. To use this remedy, dilute few drops of tea tree oil into water and wipe it onto the affected toe. Tea tree oil is a natural antibacterial and antioxidant agent that will help treating inflamed and infected toe by killing the infesting bacteria.

• Wearing well-fitting shoes

Topical treatments are essential in improving an infected toe, yet in order to heal it faster, your footwear also has a significant role. Always wear well-fitting shoes to keep the toes breathing and to prevent scratches between the infected toe and the shoe lining. If possible, wrap the infected toe with moist wound dressing and wear well-fitting footwear during the healing process. This will heal the wound without having to take any oral antibiotics.

• Not draining the infection

Most infections get worse because the fluids trapped inside is drained. When an infected toe gets worse, you will usually prescribed oral antibiotics, which you might want to avoid. Therefore, in the first place, in order to minimize your consumption of oral antibiotics, keep the infection at a minimum level. Avoid touching the wound site and never drain any discharge you notice beneath the inflamed skin. This will not only aggravate the infected toe, but may also lead to bleeding, which delays the entire healing process. If you need to take out the discharge, it is better to give the infected toe a warm compress. This compress will soften the toe skin and thus, tenderize the discharge sac. Eventually, the sac will burst and thus, the discharge can be drained.

• Not clipping any ingrown nail

In some cases, an infected toe may be caused by an ingrown nail. To heal the infection, never clip this ingrown nail. Instead, prop it up gently by putting a small amount of cotton in between the nail and the nail bed. This will relieve the pressure from the nail to your toe and thus, reduce the effect of the infection. Cutting the nail will worsen the infection and may cause another ingrown nail problem.