One of the joys of warm weather is being able to wear sandals outdoors; unless of course you're one of the 20 percent of Americans afflicted with toenail fungus.  Toenails infected by fungi or yeast appear crusted, thickened, yellow and brittle. Toenails are much more commonly affected than fingernails with the first and fifth toenails most frequently involved. Curing nail fungus is extremely difficult because the infection involves the entire nail plate as well the surrounding tissue. So how do you attempt to cure nail fungus?

Take oral anti-fungal medication to cure nail fungus. When oral anti-fungal medication is taken for 12 weeks it can be incorporated into the infected nail plate for maximum efficacy.

Consider removal of the infected nail plate in conjunction with taking oral medication. Since toenail removal is both inconvenient and painful this approach is considered when only one nail plate is involved.

Try the anti-fungal nail lacquer Penlac to cure nail fungus. It needs to be applied to the affected nails and the surrounding skin nightly and washed off weekly. Removing the infected nail significantly improves the potential to cure nail fungus.

Try using topical anti-fungal creams and lotions such as Mentax and Lotrimin Ultra to cure nail fungus. They have shown modest efficacy against toenail fungi though they have limited ability to penetrate nail plates.

Skip the anecdotal folk and homeopathic remedies that have been proposed to cure nail fungus over the years. Some of the more popular therapies include Australian tea tree oil, Vicks vapor rub, Listerine soaks and topical grapefruit seed extract. None have ever been shown to be any better than placebo and all usually require a full year of daily therapy.

Change your socks daily and don't share them with others. Avoid walking barefoot at pools or in communal shower areas. Make sure you don't get reinfected if you're fortunate enough to cure your nail fungus with medical treatments.

*  Because most nails infected by fungus cause no pain or discomfort treatment with potentially harmful oral medications must be carefully weighed.
*  It's usually a good idea to confirm that your crusted, crumbling nail is infected by a fungus, yeast or mold before trying anti-fungal medications. This can be done by sending nail clippings for fungal culture.
*  The natural course of toenail fungus is to gradually spread and affect other toenails.