How well does apple cider vinegar work to treat ringworm infection?

I don’t know the mechanism for why it works, but I do know it doesn’t matter what kind of vinegar you use. If you have mildewed or moldy clothes, vinegar does a great job of killing the smell, so I think that your answer would be that mildew, mold, ringworm, and fungal infections on feet cannot live in an acidic environment.

My daughter lives in Japan. She had exactly the same problem as you do. In addition, she was allergic to the cream she was using, and by the time she realized it, she was bleeding in places! I told her to buy the cheapest vinegar she could find (which was a rice wine vinegar), and soak her feet in a weak solution of vinegar and water several times a day. It started to get better immediately, and as it healed, she increased the amount of vinegar in the water.

She always keeps a bottle of cheap vinegar on hand now for athelete’s foot

About as well as any vinegar. The infection will go but there are much quicker and more effective treatments.

I didn’t know vinegar works, but if it does it does. I guess vinegar kills it or something. Maybe it is the pH level of vinegar? Just guessing. A doctor’s prescription should work well also though. What did he prescribe? Are you using Lotrimin? That should work.

Any vinegar has healing properties in it and is great for the skin so it would work in clearing ringworm without leaving marks on the skin like other treatments could do.

Vinegar is also a natural disinfectant and has the ability of killing bacteria, molds and mildews. I use white vinegar for cleaning in the house all the time due to its ability to kill bacteria. I also spray it on furniture, and use it in the solution I make to wash my floors and walls. It just needs a short time to air out but it neutralizes any odors in the house as a result.

Good luck with your ringworm, I hope it helps to hear you.

@Lightlyseared What other treatments would you suggest, that does not involve me getting a prescription from my doctor.

Unfortunately, given that you’ve already tried the OTC route and it’s failed, I would recomend being reviewed by a doctor. If the fungal infection doesn’t clear up or keeps returning despite treatment then it could indicate a more serious problem or it may not be a fungal infection.

@Lightlyseared The OP said it was prescribed by a doctor. I’m thinking maybe the diagnosis is wrong.

@JLeslie there are ringworm infections the at do not respond to normal fungicides. My dog had one that required a change in creams and took weeks to get rid of for good.

You can use jock itch cream to treat ringworm. Although, if your doctor has been treating it and it’s not resolving, then you may have been misdiagnosed and need additional testing. Did your doctor do a DTM culture or just look at it?

@Tropical_Willie Absolutely a possibility. Howeverm another possibility is wrong diagnosis. A relative of mine had a bad case of warts on his feet and the doctor prescribed Lotrimin. How can a doctor be so dumb I have no idea. Most doctors don’t believe that story when I tell it. I told him to go to another doctor, and he did a few days later and got proper treatment. He never had the problem again.

Try Tea Tree oil. It works extremely well. I will never buy an OTC ointment again.

@Cruiser Where do you buy it? A doctor just recommended it to me for something else.

Tea tree oil is available at Walgreens, probably your local health food store and online:

Amazon.com tea tree oil.

The Body Shop

Don’t be too zealous when applying it: “Topical tea tree oil has been reported to cause allergic reactions that can be severe. Tea tree oil may also cause redness, itching, and blistering. It may aggravate burns and skin conditions like eczema. Using large quantities of tea tree oil on the skin could cause severe side effects.” Source

@gailcalled Thanks. I’m glad you gave me that warning, I actually am often allergic to lotions that have natural ingredients. I seem to do better with chemicals. LOL. I wish I could narrow down which natural ingredients are actually very irritating for me, I have never made an effort to do it.

Try a very small patch test for anything that is topical. Rub a bit on and see what happens in 24 hours.

@gailcalled I usually know within a minute! But, yes, I will heed your advice, good idea.

@syz No culture was done he just looked at it. I have a dermatology appointment in February I will a culture done then.

@silky1 Usually if it looks like ringworm a doctor prescribes a drug with antiyeast poperties and also cortisone, so it will reduce the redness whether it is an infection or not.

@ JLeslie He prescribed Betamethasone dipropionate and Clotrimazole combined in a single medication.
It seemed to have slowed down the progression but has not resolved the issue.

It sounds like he tried to cover it all with that. Hopefully you get it figured out soon. You said you have a derm appointment coming up, does that mean a derm didn’t prescribe the meds for you? Or, you are getting a second opinion from another derm?

If you remember come back and let us know what happens.

Well the derm appointment had to be re scheduled because we had the big winter storm.