fungus of the toenail always comes from fungus of the foot unless you get it from a pedicure. so if you have a true toenail fungus and you haven't had a pedicure ever and you don't have fungus of the foot then i would definitely be hesitant about that as a diagnosis. in order to take an oral antifungal like lamisil you really should have a culture of the toenail done to make sure that the fungus does grow out in culture in a nail clipping in order to make sure you have one before you treat it because not every change in the toenail even a yellow discoloration is fungus. sometimes it can be a type of eczema or psoriasis of the nail or some other type of infection. also sometimes nail polish removers can leave a yellow discoloration of the toenail. and if you add a drop of bleach to your nail polish remover that will take that yellow discoloration away. in runners i often see toenail changes especially in that first toe or the last toe and switching shoes can help as well. so not all nail changes are fungus. you need to have a known diagnosis and then you can use either an oral or a topical. i have found that neither one alone works very well to get rid of that fungus of the nail. you really need to use both together and then use a powder in the shoe or something that's going to absorb the moisture in order to prevent it from coming back. because people who are prone to it even after you cure it or you treat it appropriately it can recur. so there is really no true cure for this it's something you have to deal with over time.
my toenails are discolored and my doctor says i have toenail fungus. will over-the-counter products fix my toenails? . i don't want to spend the money for the prescription medication lamisil if i don't have to.