What actually gets rid of toenail fungus?

Where this information comes from

Clinical facts on this page are checked against these primary sources.

1. 1.510(k) summary K241116: Onycho Laser V, U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationConfirms nail fungus lasers are cleared under the FDA device category 'Lasers for temporary increase of clear nail in patients with onychomycosis', backing this page's statement that lasers are cleared only to temporarily increase clear nail, not to cure the infection.
2. 2.Nail fungus: Overview, American Academy of DermatologyConfirms nail fungus (onychomycosis) is a fungal infection of the toenails or fingernails, that the first sign is usually a change in the nail such as a different color, brittleness, cracking, splitting or buildup under the nail, that it often starts on the big or second toe, that it can be caught from someone else's skin or nail, from shared towels or nail clippers, or by walking barefoot on pool decks, in public showers and locker rooms, that athlete's foot can spread to a nail, that dirty nails alone cannot cause it, and that it almost never goes away on its own and can spread, backing this page's description, causes and its point that waiting rarely works.
3. 3.Nail fungus: Diagnosis and treatment, American Academy of DermatologyConfirms a dermatologist examines the nails, asks about exposure, and may clip or scrape a sample for a microscopic exam to make sure it is fungus; that treatment includes prescription medicine applied to the nail (often daily for most of a year), creams that soften thick nails, oral antifungal medicine for more aggressive cases (liver damage being a possible but rare side effect of one of them), and in-office procedures such as trimming, thinning, abrasion and removing part or all of the nail; that the FDA has approved laser to improve the look of a nail after the infection has cleared, not to treat the infection; that even when the infection clears in weeks, a nail can take a year or longer to grow out, and a removed toenail 12 to 18 months to regrow; that nail fungus can return a year or more later and maintenance treatment can help prevent this, especially in people with diabetes or poor circulation; that home remedies such as tea tree oil have only small studies behind them; and that insurance usually does not cover laser for nails that have already cleared because insurers consider it cosmetic, backing this page's visit, treatment-category, laser, timeline, recurrence and insurance statements.
4. 4.Nail Fungus (Onychomycosis), Cleveland ClinicConfirms about 1 in 5 people over 60 and up to half of people over 70 have nail fungus, that it is less common in children and younger adults, that toenails are affected more often than fingernails, that affected nails may look whitish, yellowish or brownish, crack, crumble, thicken, change shape or lift from the nail bed and are not usually painful, that risk factors include age, diabetes and a weakened immune system, smoking, poor circulation, heavy sweating, psoriasis, athlete's foot, nail damage, tight shoes and shared locker rooms, that it is a greater concern with diabetes or a weakened immune system and can lead to cellulitis, that lab testing is essential to confirm the diagnosis, that treatment can last months and combined approaches often work better, that a nail may not fully return to how it looked even after a cure, that it commonly comes back, and that shoes in communal spaces, not sharing nail tools and well-fitting shoes help prevent it, backing this page's prevalence, appearance, risk factors, diabetes warning and prevention statements.
5. 5.Fungal nail infections, DermNetConfirms onychomycosis makes up over half of all nail disease with an estimated prevalence of 5.5%, that it is common in adults over 65, people with diabetes, people with weakened immune systems and athletes, that many other nail conditions mimic it, including psoriasis, lichen planus and nail lifting from injury, and that melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma under the nail must be excluded, that samples should be taken before any treatment starts, that mild infections in part of one or two nails may respond to topical medicine while oral medicine is often needed for cure, that laser and other devices are mainly add-ons, that fingernails usually clear faster than toenails, and that about 20 to 25% of treated cases relapse, backing this page's prevalence figure, its lookalike and testing-first section, its treatment categories and its recurrence figure.
6. 6.What Causes Ringworm and Fungal Nail Infections, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionConfirms the fungi that cause ringworm can get into cracks in the nails and cause infection, and that the same fungi cause athlete's foot, backing this page's explanation of how the infection gets in and its link to athlete's foot.