In today’s world it’s not easy for the fungus not to be among us! This junk will linger dormant in our bodies, waiting to show its gnarly little face when we encounter times of chronic stress, emotional struggles, or if we decide to improve our health and eliminate toxins from our body. The big question is, how and where is this yucky stuff gonna come out? The most simplistic and common way the body tries to purge itself of fungus is through the largest eliminative organ in our body: THE SKIN! (Ewe!). Rashes, hives, athletes foot, yeast infections, thrush, acne, kerotis pilaris… and even canker sores can be placed under the vast umbrella of fungus and candida. The skin also serves as a protective aid to the liver: toxins that the liver cannot take on will be sent to layers of the skin while the liver catches up on its “housework.” But wait!… hormones can easily be blamed for skin breakouts, (teenage acne anyone?) however hormonal imbalances and fluctuations are directly correlated to the state of our liver, and guess where the liver dumps its overflow of toxins and hormonal imbalances? … into the skin… !!! So all that to say… even hormonal acne can be easily linked to toxins trapped in our liver, colon, and interstitial fluid (lymphatic system). This environment inside of our bodies creates a wonderful breeding ground for things like fungus and candida.

After a recent breakout along my own journey to better health, I put natural remedies to the test with a doctor appointment 5 days away (hoping to rid the issue before the appointment!) To my not-so-much-surprise, Nature’s pharmacy worked! One week later, my four-year old suffered a similar breakout, and the same care worked for her, just without the colloidal silver addition.

Listed below is the holistic approach I took when dealing with my own viral / fungal skin breakout.

External Care

• Epsom Salt Bath with Tea Tree Oil: Epsom salts have cleansing properties to them, and also soothe a tired nervous system. I added 1/2 cup Epsom salts with 10 drops of tea tree (melaleuca) essential oil to warm bath water and soaked for 15-20 minutes.
• Baking Soda Bath: Sodium bicarbonate in warm water helps balance the pH of the skin, promoting a healthy skin environment.

• Herbal Yin Wash: This top-of-the-line Classical Chinese Herbal liquid blend is fairly new to the U.S.A. market, available locally to me (lucky me!! Contact Gut Harmony SC to get some for yourself) and a new must-have to my medicine cabinet.  For my itching and burning skin rash, I diluted at a 50% ratio with distilled water and stored in a small spritzer bottle, spraying frequently throughout the day. Herbal Yin Care has gentle yet effective anti-microbial and anti-bacterial herbs that kill necessary bad bacteria without disrupting the good, AND is safe for children.

1. Colloidal Silver applied topically. I prefer the Silver Shield by Nature’s Sunshine, and it shines as their top-selling product for a good reason. I added 20 drops to my herbal yin wash to give it an extra kick.  Colloidal silver is a strong antibacterial and in my opinion is best reserved for external use only.  If infections are setting in the body and need to be quickly ridden, colloidal silver makes a great go-to before hitting up prescription antibiotics.  However, colloidal silver will disrupt a healthy gut bacteria colony, and will need to be re-established if taken internally. Colloidal silver has effectively ridden my skin of rashes and breakouts 3 times (and yes, I spent hundreds of dollars on various natural skin care products before finally just applying some colloidal silver on the rash twice daily. Save yourself some money, you’re welcome!

From the Fridge

• Raw astringent fruits: Fresh pressed grapefruit juice, oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, pineapples, grapes, blueberries! Yummy! Astringent foods pull… and pull waste from the body while alkalizing it at the same time.
• Vegetable juice. I honestly incorporated vegetable juice primarily to keep my salt cravings at bay.  A good salt-craving-kicker celery juice is 2 bunches of celery, 2″ knob of ginger, and 2 lemons. Beet root and beet greens make a great addition as well! Add green apples if a sweet flavor is desired. I like mine with a zing and I leave out the apples! Green juice promotes an alkaline environment in the body, keeping inflammation, stiff joints, and acidosis issues at bay.  Check out this green juice recipe as well for more inspiration.
• Water with lemon. Distilled water makes the best flushing agent, and when drinken in combination with freshly-squeezed lemon juice, contains wonderful properties to every cell in the body.

• Nourishing vegetable soups / broths. This nutritive is not quite as necessary, but can be especially beneficial for those who reside in colder climates, or need that warm cup of something to keep them grounded without feeding bacteria. Reach for simplistic vegetable soups, or make your own to ensure no added sugars are present (added refined or cane sugar is candy to fungus!)
• Proper Food Combining! This is key when it comes to using fruits to heal gut problems and skin issues.  Fruits eaten along with other complex-structured macronutrients (fats, complex carbs, proteins) do not have the same affect in your gut if they were be eaten solo.  Fruits, while extremely detoxifying, can unfortunately feed bad bacteria if combined with fats, proteins and starches in the same meal (that’s another topic for another blog!) Eat fruits solo as a single meal, and do not combine them with other food groups and you’ll be all set! If you need guidance for creating a healthy gut environment with a plant-based approach, be sure to reach out for a free 15-minute phone consultation!

From the Herbal Medicine Cabinet

• Garlic Capsules. I took the NSF-certified garlic capsules by Natures Sunshine.  You could technically just crush a garlic clove and chew on it, but my tastebuds aren’t kin to that, so I saved myself time and gagging and just took a good quality capsule!
• Heal All Tea by Dr. Morse Cellular Botanicals. This tea tastes great and can be used in an herbal sitz bath, poultice, compress, mouth rinse, nutritive tea to drink, enemas, or even douching. I will never be without this excellent blend!
• Lymphatic Drainage. I love this lymphatic stimulator. Keeping the lymph system flowing freely is extremely important, so this herbal blend gently supports lymphatic flow in addition to activities such as brisk walking, dry brushing, and sweating through the skin.

• Olive Leaf Extract: This versatile herbal tincture has a wide range of medicinal benefits and could be considered an “all-purpose” natural medicine staple. I have used this extract in times of excess mucous in the lungs (to ward off infection), strep throat, and signs of candida / fermentation of the Gut… and with my skin showing signs of viral / fungal problems, I pull this divine herb out and let it do it’s work!

• Chickweed Tea: (consumed externally and internally) This tea hasn’t graced our home yet, but it is known as a cure-all for a wide range of chronic and acute skin problems. Be sure to stock up on it and give it a try if you’re having issues or have a propensity towards skin issues!

Have you healed up an acute or chronic skin issue naturally? Share your experience and remedies below!

Happy Healing!