If you're a toenail fungus sufferer who has been scared off by expensive drug treatments, not to mention the danger of side effects from those drugs, you're in good company.
An estimated 35 million people suffer from toenail fungus (onychomycosis) all over the world.
Infected nails are typically yellow in color, separating from the nail bed, cracked and crumbled in appearance.
If this describes your nails, be sure to verify your condition by seeing a physician.
Most physicians, not surprisingly, will recommend a drug-based treatment.
Don't be surprised if your doctor fails to mention that you have other--non-drug--options as well.
These are typically referred to as "natural" remedies, since they rely on non-manufactured ingredients.
Do natural solutions actually work? Absolutely.
Thousands of people are ridding themselves of this very resistant and hard-to-control/cure disease every year.
It's not an overnight solution-nothing is.
However, if you can follow a simple daily routine, we've found, then your chances of success are excellent.
Do these home remedies work for everyone infected with nail fungus? No-rarely does any one natural remedy work universally.
But judging from hundreds of postings on the Internet, the feedback seems to indicate that a select few of these natural solutions are highly effective.
Possibly even as effective as expensive drug treatments, though we haven't been able to identify independent studies that could verify this.
Feedback from people who have tried different natural treatments continue to be positive.
Treatment No.
1: Vinegar - King of the Home Remedies There are any number of popular home remedies for nail fungus, including tea tree oil, Vicks Vapor Rub, Listerine and more.
But the one that seems to work most reliably is plain ole vinegar.
Yes, the same ingredient your grandma used for everything from cleaning to cooking.
Vinegar has been shown to be especially effective in killing toenail fungus, according to many sources.
It can actually start killing fungus spores upon contact, so it's effective from Day One.
Plus, it's very inexpensive.
Unlike drugs that can cost you hundreds of dollars (rarely covered by your health insurance policy), you can pick up a year's worth of fungal-killing apple cider vinegar for less than $5 at your local grocery store.
But that's only part of the story.
You'll also want to know how to apply this treatment, as well as critical steps you must take to prevent the fungus from returning.
Many people have attempted to use vinegar, only to see it fail completely as a cure.
In fact, some report that previously uninfected nails became infected once they had begun the treatment.
This happens only when you use the wrong application techniques, and is easily avoided.
Others have tried vinegar a few days or weeks, then have stopped the treatment when they saw no results.
In such cases, experts say, they quit too early.
Most proponents of the vinegar treatment agree that you need to stay with the applications for at least 3 or 4 months before you see improvement, while others reported seeing a healthier appearance to the infected nails in as few as 4 weeks.
Considering that it takes toenails a full year to grow out, it makes sense that any treatment will take at least that long for a complete cure.