I’ve seen the claims of Epsom Salt helping with an infection, using an infected ingrown toenail as an example. These claims come both from naturalists, and a doctor had once told me “Most infected toenails can be fixed with a Salt water soak. Just soak it until your sick of it. You don’t have to buy the fancy French Salt (Epsom) salts, any Salt will do”.
If this is actually true, how does it work, and Why?
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Water has a natural draw to saltier water. So by soaking an ingrown toenail you’re drawing water from the pus surrounding the ingrown area. This decreases the volume of the pus and as a result decrease the pressure in the affected area alleviating pain.
Salt kills living things in sufficiently high concentration. Sea creatures have evolved resistance to salt, but increasing salt concentration beyond seawater levels will kill them too. Dead Sea is free of life because of salt.
So salt bath kills the bacteria or fungi that live under the nails. Soaking ensures the salt gets all the way in into all the nooks and crannies.
Epsom salt is a natural remedy that has been used for centuries to treat a variety of ailments. One of its most popular uses is to draw out infections.
When an infection is present, there is usually an excess of fluid and pus in the affected area. The Epsom salt helps to draw out this excess fluid and pus, which can then be drained from the body. This helps to reduce the swelling and pain associated with the infection.
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