Our nails are naturally built to be strong and resistant to any kind of infections.  But this strength of the nail also makes infections including toe nail fungus difficult to treat once it enters the nail.  Toe nail fungus is an infection usually acquired by using tight shoes, having small cuts in the skin near your toes, and if your feet are always damp for extended period of time. When your nail is gradually becoming flaky, brittle, yellowish, thick, smelly and painful, then most likely you are infected.  Normally this infection heals without any treatment; however when it has already caused your nail to  have dents or ridges, swollen skin or pain, black linings, discoloration and unpleasant odor,  a visit to a doctor is necessary for medical care. If a toe nail fungus treatmentis prescribed, it is important to understand that nails grow slowly so they also respond slowly to any toe nail fungus treatment. Oral medication and sometimes surgery are needed to tally get rid of this.