Sunday, 18 September 2011

So why are my toenails so thick?

Thick toenails are not just an age thing! Thick toenails often are often discoloured, crumbly and just look bad . I see more and more younger patients with heavily thickend toenails which are causing pain and embarrassmen. Thick toenails can be painful in shoes they can rub the top of the shoes, they can destroy tights and sock and bed sheets. Fungus thickend nails can be yellow and have an odour. If you think your nails will cure themselfs then you are very wrong they will just get worse, so healing thick toenails is a top priority for you.

So why are your toenails so thick?

Often the source of thick toenails is due to a bacterial infection within the nail bed but not always, trauma to the nail (like a heavy item being dropped on the toe!), poor circulation, diabetes, long term ingrown toenail damage, poor nutrition. Runners are prone to thick nails.

How to heal thick toenails

Nails need to be nourished and healthy to grow naturally a bit like our hair they sometimes need some help with conditioner to stop becoming dry and flaky. Same as toenails. Thick toenails will take 3X the time to grow then a normal one especially if they are really thick. So to restore toenails back to a more natural appearance the nail bed and nail needs to be encouraged to grow and stop any infection or trauma to the nail bed as it grows. Good foot hygiene is essential and as a Foot Health Professional I use a nail softener which patients can use at home daily this not only kills any fungus it restores the nail back to a healthy one whilst the nail grows.

Why are my nails discoloured?

If trauma like running was the original cause your nail may have dried blood underneath the nail which will eventually grow out often a line or ridge is present as the nail grows upwards. If a nail fungus was the cause of your thick toenails then the infection causes the nail to go brown, yellow and also can create an odour. As the nail restores back to a healthy one you will see the pinkness of the new nail as if grows upwards.

How to cut thick toenails.

This Can be a tricky activity but trimming and filing is essential to encourage the nail to grow and prevent further trauma to the nail bed.

1: Soak your feet in warm water for 15mins, try adding a little salt.
2: Dry feet thoroughly taking care of inbetween the toes.
3: Nip- or use clippers trimming any jagged edges or loose nail, file with emery board.
4: If cutting if difficult file down nails with emery boards.

Industry tip

If you visit a professional they will use an electronic nail file to drill and buff the nails down this will thin the nails to a more presentably thickness. Home manicure kits also have small drills but i would recommend for safety you visit a pro who can see exactly what they are doing instead of bending over trying to hack at the nails yourself.

Tip 1: Thin nail with a drill (let a pro do this)
Tip 2: Kill any fungus present in nail (See Fungus cures)

Tip 3: Keep nail short and filed

Tip 4: Use a Nail Softener Daily (See nail Softener list)

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