If those ugly toenails of yours have just been found to be plagued with nail fungus and you find yourself  concerned about starting a potentially risky  drug treatment program, you've got a very common problem  .

How do you know if your nails are infected ? Take a few minutes to look at your nails up close and personal . Are they yellow in color,  pulled back   from the underlying nail bed, or are they a bit crumbled or cracking along the edges? If  so , you'll certainly want to make an appointment with your family physician or other health care professional. Most physicians, not surprisingly , will prescribe   a drug-based treatment. Don't be surprised if your doctor fails to mention that you have  other--non-drug--options as well. We call these natural or "home"remedies,  and many people have been using them quite successfully  for a long time .

Can you place any value in  these non-medical remedies that toenail fungus sufferers  have relied upon all over the world ? In a word:  absolutely .

Thousands of people  have reported great success in eliminating  this very resistant and  tenacious   disease  every year. It's not an overnight solution --nothing is. However, if you can follow a simple daily routine ,  you'll be glad to learn  , you may be able to successfully  eliminate   your condition within just a few months .

Do these home remedies work for everyone  who tries them  ? No- not even drugs work to the same degree of success with everyone  . Some remedies, however, may have better outcomes than others. 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  home remedies  is favorably enough to warrant a serious look af some of the more popular treatments :

The Vinegar Nail Fungus Remedy-- The Leading Contender
There are any number of popular home  treatments  for toenail fungus, including tea tree oil, Vicks Vapor Rub, Listerine and more. But the one that seems to be the favorite is   plain ole vinegar. Yes, vinegar. It's been used for everything from cooking to cleaning, but many have found it amazingly effective  on nail fungus, as well .

Vinegar 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 bottle of fungal-killing apple cider vinegar for less than $5 at your local food store .

But knowing that vinegar works is just the beginning . You'll also want to know how to apply this treatment, as well as  what you should or should not do   to prevent the fungus from returning. Many people have attempted to use vinegar, only to see zero results with it . 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 report they tried vinegar  for s short period of time  , then have stopped the treatment because they were seeing no obvious  results.  Be sure to allow   the treatment enough time to attack the fungus properly . 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 a month or so . Considering that it takes toenails a full year to grow out in the first place.It makes sense that any treatment will take  at least that long for a complete cure.