Do you have red spot under toenail?

Red spot under toenail – this is usually caused by bleeding under the toenail, even if not painful! Learn what to do about it right here!

Causes of red under the toenail:

Red under the toenail is more commonly known as a subungual hematoma. This is nothing more than a buildup of blood underneath the toenail or the fingernail. The downward constant pressure of wearing shoes or a traumatic injury can cause the vessels under the nail to rupture and bleed.  The blood then pools underneath the nail plate. This can sometimes lead to pain, but the majority of the time there is not severe pain.

Most common in runners and joggers:

The most common cause is in runners or joggers. Thus this injury is sometimes called runner’s or jogger’s toe.  This is due to poorly fitting shoes and not enough space underneath the front of the shoe.

• Poorly fitted shoes.
• Not enough space in the front of the toenail.
• Morton’s foot – short 1st toe puts pressure on the 2nd toe.

Diagnosis of red under the toenail:

• It can look black, red or even brown.
• It can be painful or not hurt at all.
• If it does hurt, the pain is a throbbing type.
• It can be small or take up the entire nail.
• There can be a large traumatic incident before the spot appears.
• There can be a history of new shoes being worn.
• There can be a history of new exercise or job being started recently.
• Running or jogging.
• Slamming toe or fingernail.

Consider 4 other causes to black toenails:

• Toenail Fungus.
• Subungual Hematoma.
• Pseudomonas Infection.
• Black Streaks Under The Nail.

Home treatment of red under the toenail:

If you are feeling extreme throbbing try the 5 following things:

1) Ice the toenail!

The first step is to take some ice and apply it to the jammed toenail to decrease the inflammation in the area.

• This will help decrease the immediate pain.
• This will also help decrease the healing time over the next few days.
• It will increase the odds of your toenail not falling off.

2) Put some pressure on it.

• Wrap it to stop the Toe From Swelling.
• Don’t make it too tight.
• You still want to feel the toe.

  

3) Anti-inflammatory medication.

If you are healthy enough(with podiatrist or pharmacist), it is a good idea to take some anti-inflammatory medications. These will help decrease the swelling and the pain.

• Decreases the pain.
• Increases the healing time.
• Increases chances of keeping the nail.

4) If it is still hurting - go see a podiatrist to have the blood drained.

The podiatrist can drill through your toenail and drain the blood out the bottom if the pain is still hurting. This is considered the ultimate treatment!

5) Prevention is the best medicine!

• Get your shoes fitted properly.
• Try a Brannock Device
• Measure the arch length, foot length and the foot width.
• Cut your toenails properly.
• Don’t leave the toenails too long.

To learn more about red spot under the toenail visit this link. 

Do you have black spot under the toenail?

A black spot under the toenail is usually caused by one of four common problems: Learn what to do below!

Black spot under the toenail causes:

There are four common causes that I have seen of a black spot under the big toenail, here they are listened in order from most common to least common:

1) Jogger’s toe.

Jogger’s toe is essentially just “overuse toe”. The trick with this one is it sneaks up on people without any pain! Be aware that you can still have bleeding underneath your toenail and it doesn’t have to be extremely For example I just saw a woman had a scary black toenail without any cause. But the more I talked to her I realized she bought new shoes and started Zumba classes. She was exercising more, had small shoes and was not suffering from any pain!

Black spot under the toenail

Diagnosis:

• Sometimes no pain.
• Small shoes.
• New shoes.
• New exercise regimine.
• Heavy running or work.
• Traumatic injury.
• Dropping something on your foot.
• It will grow out over time.
• It will not get bigger over time.

2) Subungual melamona (black streak or mole).

This is as a result of a mole! These can appear underneath your toenail or around the toenail. The first step is to keep an eye on these and see if they are getting bigger. These can be dangerous, so if they are getting bigger or growing into the skin- go see a podiatrist or foot doctor immediately!

Diagnosis

• No Pain.
• It is getting bigger.
• It has been there a long time.
• No cause for its appearance.
• It may be growing into the tissue.
• See our “Is it dangerous guide?“

3) Pseudomonas bacterial infection.

Greenish-black spot under the toenail

This is different than toenail fungus- this is an bacterial infection. This means it comes quick and strong, then gets cured for good once you see a podiatrist. This goes against toenail fungus which is very slow and resistant.
Pseudomonas is a bacteria that loves oxygenated moist environments like wet mud and pond water. If you have been around any of these recently and you start getting greenish-black toenails, it may be this!
You should go see your podiatrist or foot doctor for some antibiotics!  It can also be confirmed by it’s sweet smelling grape-like odor.

Diagnosis:

• No Pain
• Greenish-black.
• Appears quickly.
• Sweet, grape-like odor.

4) Black toenail fungus.

Toenail fungus usually doesn’t present as a black spot under the toenail, but I had heard people describe it this way! So if this is you, here you go. Toenail fungus can present as many different types. It can grow from the front, the base, the sides or invade the entire nail. Visit our complete guide to learn more:

The complete toenail fungus guide.

Diagnosis

• Thick Toenails.
• Yellowish-green.
• Crumbling toenails.
• Discolored.
• Appear slowly and last forever.
• No Pain.
• Usually associated with older age, smoking and diabetes.

I hope that information on this  page may help you solve problem with your black spot under the toenail! For more information see this link.

Do you see white patches on toenails?

White patches on toenails are usually due to dehydration (especially from nail polish) – Learn what all the causes are and learn what to do about them!

Causes of white toenail patches

• White patches on the toenails are most commonly caused by dehydration and drying.
• This is most commonly seen after the removal of toenail polish!
• It can be a type of nail fungus, but don’t worry it usually is not.
• These white patches can also be caused by simply stubbing your nail against something, this is called Leukonychia. Don’t worry, leukonychia is harmless as well. These white marks will grow out normally.
• In cases after pedicures and manicures, and if you are sick- it is possible to catch white fungus. This is called white superficial onychomycosis.
• The least common and most severe cause of white stains on your toenails is due to systemic diseases.

Are white toenail patches dangerous?

In most cases toenail patches are not dangerous. The only time you should really be worried is if you have it due to systemic causes. But in most cases you probably knew that there was something wrong anyway, so the white marks themselves are no big deal.
It is very easy to treat these white stains and rehydrate them in most cases. If it is a cases of superficial toenail fungus, it is very easy to treat as well.

by nail polish leading are “keratin granulations” that are frequently misdiagnosed as superficial white onychomycosis but there are other reasons white stains can occur on the toenails and fingernails. The other causes of white stains on your toenails are due to scraping or hitting your nails, nail fungus or due to other systemic problems. The systemic problems option should not be suspected unless you rule out all the other options, so don’t worry!

Home treatment guide for white patches on toenails

1) Keratin granulations from nail polish

Skip straight to the keratin granulation treatment guide

White patches on toenails

Nail polish can dehydrate the nail leading to what is called “keratin granulations”. This is an extremely tricky diagnosis as almost everyone will think that this is a common type of nail fungus called superficial white onychomycosis. It is more likely to occur the older you get, but have no fear, there is an easy treatment that works in most people!

Home treatment guide:

1. Buy some cutical oil or any other emollient and apply it daily to the nail until it starts to get better.
2. You can use any moisturizing agent to perform this function, they do not add water to the skin or the nail, but simply prevent water water loss from the cells.
3. Nail polish really dries out the nail, so oils help reverse those dehydrating effects.
4. The nail should get better in a matter of days or weeks.
5. If you let your nails grow out because the moisturizing agent is not working; the bad news is that toenails and fingernails only grow at a rate of 1 millimeter per month. This means 6-9 months for toenails and potentially even longer for fingernails.
6. It is very difficult to make the nails grow any faster. There are many gimmicks out there that report stronger nails, but really all you can do is increase your metabolism and health by getting some more sun and exercising. Fun Fact: Nails grow up to 50% faster in the summer over the winter.

For more on keratin granulations:

 Keratin granulation treatment guide

2) White patches due to trauma

White Patches can also occur due to damage to the keratin(the substance that makes up the nails) and it is usually irreversible and you should just wait until it grows out. Think of this as a scar that happens to your nail plate.

White patches on toenails

Home treatment guide

1. The bad news is that toenails and fingernails only grow at a rate of 1 millimeter per month.
2. This means 6-9 months for toenails and potentially even longer for fingernails.
3. It is very difficult to make the nails grow any faster.
4. There are many gimmicks out there that report stronger nails, but really all you can do is increase your metabolism and health by getting some more sun and exercising.
5. Fun Fact: Nails grow up to 50% faster in the summer over the winter.

3) White stains that are due to superficial white onychomycosis (nail fungus)

Nail fungus can look very similar to keratin granulations. It is very difficult to differentiate these from keratin granulations. One factor that may lead you more to this is if you can try and scrape off the fungus.

White patches on toenails

Home treatment guide

1. Go see your podiatrist to make sure.
2. If you treat your nails as keratin granulations and they don’t get better after 1-2 weeks, suspect this.
3. If you are immune suppressing medication, suspect this.

Click on this link to our comprehensive nail fungus home treatment guide. Always be sure to see a podiatrist if you are ever unsure!

4) White nails due to systemic problems

If the nail does not seem like described in the above three situations, it may be due to a vitamin deficiency or systemic problem
Consider these scenarios for white patches on toenails:

• Do you have any systemic medical conditions
• Are you are many medications?
• Has your diet decreased.
• Do you not get enough vitamins and nutrients?

If this applies to you go see your podiatrist or foot doctor.

I hope that with all information presented here you will be able to take care and solve problem with your white patches on toenails!

For more information about white patches on toenails see this link.

Do you see black streaks under your toenails or fingernails?

Black Streaks under the nails (fingernails or the toenails) can be very dangerous. Follow our diagnosis guide to see if you should be worried!

Black streaks under the nails.

Most people should not be worried!

A thick black dark streak could be a subungual melanoma- a type of skin cancer. Don’t be too worried though, the odds are low that you actually have this tough, but better safe than sorry!
Watch the following video to get a better idea if this is what you have:

Dangerous causes black streaks under the fingernails or toenails:

• Subungual melanoma is the most dangerous cause. It is a very rare form of skin cancer; it is usually seen between ages forty to seventy. It is not due to sun exposure or trauma. It just appears one day without any incident. If your dark spot appears after an injury then you are most likely on the safe side.

Safe causes of black streaks in the fingernails and toenails:

• The odds of the streak in your fingernail are actually pretty low because a lot of people, especially African Americans normally have light thin streaks of dark pigment that that form a vertical line down their nail which is completely normal. It is very easy to predict whether the streak is dangerous or safe.
• Normal vertical streaks of pigment that are not melanoma. This is especially common in non-white individuals. These are usually thin lines in a very normal looking nail; check the guide below to see if you are on the safe side or if you should go get it checked out.
• Trauma and loss of fingernail leading to a streak of blood. But this should eventually grow out at 1mm per month. If the blood is not advancing then you should get it checked out just to be safe!

Probably safe (but should still visit the podiatrist) if:

• The streak is less than 3 millimeters in width.
• The streak is uniform in length and of continuous color as it progresses down the nail.
• The streak or pigment is only present in the nail and not in the skin.
• The nail is not deformed, bloody or cracked in that area.
• The nail looks normal compared to the other nails.

Black Streaks Under the Nails.

Visit a podiatrist for a biopsy immediately if:

• The black streak is over 3 millimeters in width.
• The streak is widest at the start of the nail origin.
• The streak is not uniform or appears disrupted.
• The streak changes color the further you get.
• The streak continues from under the nail into the skin, termed “Hutchinson’s sign”.
• The nail becomes deformed, bloody or starts to crack in the area of the streak.
• The nail looks very unusual compared to the other nails.
• The streak is more common in the thumb and the big toe.
• The streak may even be white; in this case be aware of a nodule or irregularity that is forming under the nail plate.
• If you have ever considered that there may be a wart underneath your nail that is just not healing.

Subungual Melanoma:

• The outlook is usually very good if the cancer is confined to just the toe.
• Most people that suffer from this disease have avoided seeking treatment for many, many years. It has usually spread far throughout the body.
• If you are cautious and follow up on the streaking and ulcerating in a reasonable amount of time, you will most likely be safe.
• The cure consists of excising the lesion or amputation the tip of your fingernail.
• See your podiatrist as soon as possible!

To learn more about the black streaks under the nails visit this link!

Do you require permanent ingrown toenail removal surgery?

AKA partial nail avulsion

Removing the outside edge of the nail plate in a procedure known as a partial toenail avulsion is is the best permanent ingrown toenail removal surgery. The nail matrix is then permanently inhibited from ever growing that nail edge back. When performed correctly this procedure is shown to be the greatest possible option for keeping your ingrown toenail away.

Permanent ingrown toenail removal surgery

Prior to surgery- See our complete guide for Ingrown Toenails
See our complete home remedy guide on removing ingrown toenails at home. We discuss how to perform soaks to soften the skin, how to cut down the nail with very little pain and then prevent an infection from occurring in the area.

Option prior to permanent ingrown toenail removal surgery

1) Complete or partial toenail avulsion
- This refers to the removal of the nail in the podiatrist’s office. The big toe is first numbed up with anesthetic so that you won’t feel a thing. The edge of the nail is then cut out, or if something is really wrong with the nail- the whole nail may be removed and allowed to then grow back. In some cases it does grow back and a nail avulsion with inhibition of the nail matrix must be attempted. In most cases this is unnecessary as the nail will grow back normally.

2) Partial toenail avulsion with nail matrix inhibition.
- If the nail regrows in the painful position, the avulsion should be attempted with chemicals or electricity to stop the nail from re-growing. Most offices will use phenol which works very well, but some people advocate that newer techniques such as using electricity or a laser to stop the nail from re-growing are the best options. Research is limited on this opinion, but the claims are decreased inflammation and more regular healing when using electricity.

3) Complete excision of the nail in the operating room.
- Although this method is the most guaranteed to work, it is usually only used if you are going into the OR for a second larger procedure like a bunion or hammertoe surgery. The cost to benefit ratio doesn’t really make sense otherwise.

Ingrown toenail removal surgery

Supplies:
Sterile gloves, Iodine solution, Syringe with lidocaine, gauze, spatula, 2 straight hemostats, sterile rubber band, Nail splitter (English Anvil), electrocautery unit.

Procedure description:
1) Patient’s toe is prepped with povidone-iodine solution. Digital block is performed with lidocaine(2-3ml of lidocaine on each side of the toe).
2) The toe should be given 10 minutes to become numb.
3) The rubber band should be tied at the base of the toe to reduce bleeding during the procedure. Clamp it tight with a hemostat
4) A drape should be placed to obstruct the patient’s view to prevent fainting.
5) The outside edge of the nail should be loosened underneath with a spatula, and then the nail splitter should cut the edge all the way back to the base of the nail. The hemostat should then turn the nail in and remove it from the base. Make sure that no nail spicules remain in that area.
6) The electrocautery unit or phenol should then be applied to the nail matrix for 10-30 seconds. Make sure there is no blood in the area.  If there excess granulated tissue to the area, this can then be treated as well at this point electrically or cut out.
7) Apply antibiotic ointment and put on a dressing.
8) Prescribe an anti-inflammatory medication.

To learn more about removal of ingrown toenails see this link.

Do you have curved toenails?

A thick and curved toenail can jam into the corner of your skin and cause some serious pain! If it is too painful to cut out yourself- follow our tips for getting better!

Curved big toenail

 Ingrown toenail?

A curved or ingrown toenail is a very common problem which occurs when the corner of your toenail grows into the soft border of your toe. If the pain is not that bad, you can just cut the corner out yourself and after a day or two the swelling will decrease and you will feel much better. If you can’t seem to get to the corner because it is too painful, follow this guide on getting that corner out of there!
If you have diabetes, problems with bleeding, poor circulation or any other medical problem- go see your podiatrist immediately!

Causes of curved toenails inward:

The cause is not the most important part, usually they are just curved in genetically. This may also be because of your biomechanics or an increase in weight over the years. If you think there may be something going on with your walking biomechanics, go see a podiatrist for an evaluation.

• Wearing tight shoes that crowd your toenails.
• Cutting the nails too short.
• Injury to your toenails.
• Jamming your toenail.
• Most Common: Genetically curved or hardened toenail.

Thick curved toenail symptoms

Uninfected
You are probably fine if none of these symptoms are taking place:

• No Nausea, fever or chills.
• No pus is present.
• Toe doesn’t smell unusual.
• Toe is not really hot.

Infected
If this is you , get your but to the emergency room or your doctor to get some antibiotics. There is poor blood flow to the ends of the toes and this can take a long time to heal or worse!

• Redness that is spreading.
• Swollen nail bed & toe is very warm.
• Increased nausea, fever or chills.

If you think you may have toenail fungus instead:

If your nails are thick, crumbly and discolored, follow our complete toenail fungus guide.

Home treatment of thick curved toenails

First make sure to check if the skin is broken or irritated around the curved toenail edge. Make sure to have an antibiotic ointment around, we want to keep this from developing any type of infection!

Tip #1: Epsom soaks and splint the nail.

• Soak the foot in warm water once or twice for 15-30mins. You can added Epsom salts for added benefit. Just add a couple table spoons to your warm water foot bath.
• Epsom salts can help may the nails and skin much more soft. They are very cheap an available at most stores, the help moisten and swell the tissues around the nail.There is limited scientific research on the added benefits of Epsom salts. But there is a huge amount of testimonial data (as with most natural cures).

Tip #2: splint the nail after soaking.

• Continue these baths until they have made the nail and the skin softer allowing better evaluation or cutting of the corner. Once there is less pain you can move onto the next step.
• After the nail is more flexible, try to lift the nail and put some gauze or a band-aid underneath the sharp and painful corner. Doing this will allow the nail to grow out over the edge of the nail bed.
• You can also try using a nail clipper to just snip the edge of the nail at this point as well.

Tip #3: cut the curved toenail across.

Don’t cut curved toenails inward

• The general recommendation is to cut the nail across. rather than curving it back.
• I say at this point: just cut out what is bothering you, because that is the most important thing.
• Usually you shoudl try and cut across though.

Tip #4: make sure you apply antibiotic ointment.

• Most Important: Make sure to apply antibiotic ointment over the red area. Any ointment is good (Neosporin, Triple antibiotic ointment, bacitracin etc).

Tip #5: wear open shoes.

• Wear open shoes like sandals until it gets better.
• Or try to wear shoes with a nice amount of room in the front.
• You can lso keep the cotton ball jammed under the corner of the nail for added relief.
• Don’t wear things like any high heeled shoes or dress shoes, your nail might push against the edges after a couple hours and cause some serious pain.

Tip #6: take anti-inflammatory medication.

• If there is severe pain, it never hurts to take some pain relievers.
• PS- Always check with your doctor 1st!
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol and others)
• Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others)

Tip #7: prevention!

• Trim your toenails straight across.
• Prevent cutting them far too short.
• Wear shoes with enough room in the front.
• Wear protecting shoes if you work a job that puts your toes at risk.

Tip #8: get the nail edge permanently removed.

• If it comes back for many months, a 15 minute podiatrist appointment will get rid of that edge for good!
• Take a look at our nail edge removal guide.

When to go see a podiatrist:

• Come see us the ingrown toenail keeps coming back and causing you pain.
• You should not have an ingrown toenail for more than a couple months.
• Early treatment includes splints, cotton wicks, plastic strips, plastic tubes down the side of the nail, plastic type glue under the corner is possible.
• The 1st step is to resect the nail after some numbing medication is used, then correct the underlying problem, whether it be nail dystrophy or nail fungus.
• The 2nd step is to see if it comes back in 1-2 months. An X-ray should be taken to rule out a bone spur under the nail.  A nail avulsion may be attempted- this is a permanent resection of that border of the nail ensuring it will never grow back.
• Tetanus prophylaxis may be needed. 1st the podiatrist will numb around the base of the toe, then cut back on the nail and use sodium hydroxide or phenol in the nail bed to keep the nail from growing back .
• If an infection is present- Antibiotics will be necessary, then the toe is covered by ointment and gauze- you will be back on your feet in no time!
• More extensive surgery can be used in very severe cases to remove the entire nail. The nail matrix is then treated with Phenol to prevent re-growth.
• This nail resection procedure usually keeps the border away for good!

For more information about curved toenails and treatment visit this link.

Do you have very long toe nails?

Very long Toe Nails are a frequently encountered problem that is easily correctable! Follow our guide to learn how.

Very long toe nails treatment

What  causes very long toe nails?

If you have very long toe nails and it is not fungal nails (onychomycosis) then it is almost always a condition called onychogryphosis or mechanically induced nail trauma. The stem cells that grow the nail are permanently damaged and you have a very thick and difficult to trim nail- but it is usually a normal color. This is especially common on the first and the fifth toenails.

Symptoms

• Thick, crumbly and tender nails that can result in an ingrown toenails.
• The surface of the nails becomes thick and rough.
• This pressure is transferred into the nail bed and causes pain.
• They can impair walking by injuring the adjacent toenails and but becoming long and curved.

Prevention

• Most likely your shoes are too small, get bigger ones!
• Check if you are sore at your big toenail and fifth toenail, this means too tight.
• Keep you nails trimmed with a heavy duty nipper.
• Use a moisturizing agent on the nail.

Causes

• Most commonly in people who work on their feet all day.
• Most common cause – Small shoes that constantly crush the base of the nails or long distance running or athletics that create chronic rubbing against the shoe.
• Pregnancy(swollen toes) is a very common cause of thick nails!
• Injury, infection, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes or even malnutrition

Home  treatment for very long toe nails

• Soak the foot in warm water 3-4x per day for 15-30mins, this will make the nail and the skin softer easier trimming of the nails. It also makes the nails softer for using an emery board or a pumice stone to make the nails smoother on top.
• If the nail is ingrown and causing you any pain: Soak the nail as above and try to lift the nail and put some gauze or a bandaid underneath the sharp and painful corner. WATCH VIDEO.
• Be careful attempting to cut out the ingrowth yourself, if you cut yourself at all go see a podiatrist immediatly, especially if you have diabetes, you have unusually bad foot circulation or any other systemic medical condition.
• Avoid heels or tight shoes until the nails become softer and you are able to cut the thickness down. It is good to use a Brannock device to measure your shoe in width, length and arch length.
• When trimming your nails, cut straight across. Do not round the corners.
• Keep the nail thin and make sure the nail curvature remains decreased.

Podiatrist treatment for very long toe nails

• Essential to go see the podiatrist if this ever comes back or if the nail ever penetrates your skin after trying to take care of it at home.
• Early treatment can be splints, cotton wicks, plastic strips, plastic tubes down the side of the nail, plastic type glue under the corner is possible.
• The physician can attempt a nail avulsion.
• The 1st step is to resect the nail after some numbing medication is used, then correct the underlying problem, whether it be nail dystrophy or nail fungus.
• The 2nd step is to see if it comes back in 1-2 months. An X-ray should be taken to rule out a bone spur under the nail.  A nail avulsion may be attempted- this is a permanent resection of that border of the nail ensuring it will never grow back.
• Tetanus prophylaxis may be needed. 1st the podiatrist will numb around the base of the toe, then cut back on the nail and use sodium hydroxide or phenol in the nail bed to keep the nail from growing back If an infection is present- Antibiotics will be necessary, then the toe is covered by ointment and gauze- you will be back on your feet in no time!
• More extensive surgery can be used in very severe cases to remove the entire nail. The nail matrix is then treated with Phenol to prevent re-growth.

For more information on very long toe nails see this link.