What doctors say is that you need to take a prescription drug like Sporanox (Itraconazole), Diflucan (Fluconazole), or Lamisil (Terbinafine) for 6-12 weeks. Since these drugs can damage your liver, you have to go for periodic blood tests while you are taking them. For milder cases, a prescription solution such as Cicloprox (which can also have side effects) is applied to the nail once a day for six months. There is also a new laser treatment for nail fungus that does not have the side effects of prescription drugs. Each of these treatments can be very expensive and usually is not covered by health insurance (if you have it), and none of them is guaranteed to work.

Because of the expense and/or risk of medical treatment, it might be worth trying one of the over-the-counter products first to see if they make a difference. Follow the instructions carefully, don't exceed recommended doses. You can see a selection of non-prescription antifungal products at Amazon; just go there and search for nail fungus. You can read the reviews of each product and see what customers are saying. For example, the Tineacide Antifungal Cream has mostly good customer reviews (but of course that is no guarantee).

On the other hand, many people swear by Australian tea tree oil as a natural treatment nail fungus. My clients tell me it really works, and it has the added benefit of making your feet feel all tingly! It has a rather strong woody smell, like eucalyptus or pine, very earthy; some people like it, some don't, but it works wonders on your skin, treating not only funguses but also spots, acne, dandruff, dermatitis, minor burns, cuts and scrapes, ringworm, athlete's foot, insect bites, head lice, etc. CLICK HERE to search Google on this topic, and CLICK HERE to shop for 100% tea tree oil at Amazon.

Remember that with any treatment, even when it works perfectly, it takes four to six months for the new nail to grow out, and you have to take precautions to prevent the fungus from coming back.