The toe nails in the feet may have a great deal of different problems that will affect them and become uncomfortable. The toenails are put through a lot of force and load from sneakers and daily activities. The toenails get knocked around a lot and also get objects dropped on them a lot. It is no wonder that there are plenty of conditions that podiatrists treat in their clients with difficulties of the toenails.
The ingrown nail is probably the most recognized painful problem with the toenails. An ingrown toe nails occurs when a edge of the toe nail penetrates the skin and creates an inflammatory reaction. This is often usually due to a rounded structure to the toenail and a inadequate nail clipping technique which leaves a sharp corner. A skilled podiatric physician may easily clear away that offending piece of toenail and provide just about instant relief with this. However, the condition may usually be recurrent, so a minor operation to remove the edge of the toenail should be considered.
Most likely one of the most widespread factors that cause symptoms about the toe nails can be a problem that is technically known as onychophosis. This is where there’s a lot of pressure down the edges of the toe nail that can causes a callus to build within the toenail groove. This callus or onychophosis will become so built up that it will become very painful. This is regularly wrongly identified as an ingrown toenail. This kind of disorder requires the knowledgeable abilities of a podiatrist to very carefully eliminate the callus from the nail groove and also file the toe nail away from the painful area. Long term if the onychophosis happens to be an ongoing problem a minor operative treatment to get rid of the edge of the nail can be done.
Trauma to a toe nail plate by, for example, repeated banging of the toe against the end of the shoe or the one off trauma of, for instance, dropping a heavy object on the foot can bring about a disfigured toenail plate that grows in a deformed shape. The technological phrase with this is onychogryphosis. If the toe nails begins to develop like this, it cannot be resolved. The best way to handle this is often to on a regular basis reduce the nail, probably by a foot doctor or to have the nail permanently removed by minimal surgery.
A different very common problem with the nails is a fungal infection or onychomycosis which can cause the nail plate to take on a white or yellowish colour which could crumble and become distorted. The exact magnitude of deformation of the toe nail and what colour it becomes may be based upon the precise fungi that infects the toenail. Regretably for our feet fungi love darkness and dampness and that is the exact atmosphere that you have got in the feet when it’s in footwear. This particular inhospitable ecosystem definitely makes the therapy troublesome. Often, the therapy will involve regular debridement of the toenail plate and the use of a topical ointment in an attempt to stop the growth of the fungus infection. Other options consist of laser treatments or oral agents. Treatments can last many months and a lot do have a tendency to happen again.
Peter Bird
Peter is a Podiatrist in Miami with a passion for the profession and sharing foot health information.