Thickened toenails - causes, therapy and home remedies

When the toenails thicken - Simple home remedies and therapies

Thickened toenails are also known as wood nails. Often it is a disease. We speak of wood nail because the nail not only thickens, but forms furrows "like tree bark" and turns yellow to brown - "like wood".

contents

• When the toenails thicken - Simple home remedies and therapies
• nail thickening
• Foot and nail fungus
• Wrong shoes
• Deformity of the toes
• Complaints from injuries
• What to do?
• Medical pedicure
• Home remedies for thickened toenails
• Nail polish and good shoes
• Regular controll
• Remove nails?
• Age is a risk

nail thickening

A nail thickening, as a technical term Grypose, occurs in particular on the toe nails. It is an independent disease. The nail becomes thick and discolored, most of the time it bends, grows out of the nail bed or curls up. The nails often become brittle and lose their shine. A thickened nail can cause pain and even hinder walking. A grypose is not contagious.

Treatment of a thickened toenail. Picture: mafffi-fotolia

Foot and nail fungus

If it is not a Grypose, then perhaps there is a fungal infection. An athlete's foot can also afflict the toenails, the nails then become brittle and discolored.

Lack of hygiene favors a athlete's foot, but even careful foot care does not guarantee to stay free from it. It is one of the most common fungal infections, and a visit to the swimming pool or fitness center is enough to catch the mushroom. The good news is that athlete's foot can be easily treated by medical means. Every family doctor knows antifungal ointments or sprays that push the fungus back within a few days. A foot fungus is not a Grypose.

Wrong shoes

False shoes can also alter the structure of the nails. By constant pressure, the nails no longer grow normally, but align their shape with the lack of space available to them.

The shoe can be too small, for example, if we wear shoe size 40, even though we have 42, or it has the right length, but leaves no room for the toes.

This is also true when the shoes are completely in order. But if you have countersink feet then pointed shoes are not for you.

Special problems prepare high heels. They bend the foot at an unnatural angle and therefore constantly press on the toes. The sole-runner human becomes a toe-to-toe and that overburdens the toenails. Friction and pressure can ignite the nail bed and cause a grypose.

Deformity of the toes

Conversely, pressure can also be caused by a congenital or acquired deformity of the toes. So they constantly rub against each other or in the shoes and the nails grow up and go wrong, as with the wrong shoes. Thus, the malposition can trigger a long-term Grypose.

Complaints from injuries

A grypose can also be caused by a trauma. Bumps, accidents, sprains or dislocations injure nail root or nail bed. May it be that we hang in the door with our big toe, or is it a stone that falls on our feet. If the nail root is damaged, the nail can no longer grow normally.

Skin disorders also affect if they damage the cornification. This is especially true for psoriasis. Also, a lack of keratin or melanin favors a grypose.

What to do?

A thickened nail that discolors should be examined by the doctor. Keep your fingers away from home remedies prior to diagnosis. After discovering the cause, foot care is the order of the day.

If the nail is waxed, the doctor must remove it surgically. This also applies to strong curvatures. Such an operation is performed under partial anesthesia and usually lasts only a few minutes. The exposed nail bed is very sensitive until a new nail has formed and you have to take care of it for a few weeks.

Medical pedicure

You can attend a medical pedicure practice, but first ask your doctor for the best treatment. In practice, the thickened nail is ground and shortened, and the professionals can also correct curled nails.

If the cause is resolved, be it an athlete's foot or the wrong shoes, the podiatrist can put the nail into a normal shape relatively quickly.

Home remedies for thickened toenails

Always use clean files and scissors to cut the nails. Even if you bother the shape of your nail: Do not be rabid. If you cut too deeply, a harmless thickening can become a very painful nail bed infection. Cream the toenails before. This makes the nails smoother.

Thickened toenails are difficult to cut and file because they are hard. Before cutting, soak your feet in warm water for about ten minutes. In addition, if you use core soap, disinfect the nails.

First, file the thickened nails thinner and smoother. First use the coarser side of the nail file, then add the aesthetic touch to the fine side.

After filing, cutting with scissors or nail cutters is easier. If you want to prevent the nail edges from growing in, do not cut the sides too much. Follow the skin edge. Even if a crescent-shaped nail is considered nicer, leave small corners. If the nail has regenerated and regrown normally, you can correct the corners.

Nail polish and good shoes

At the end you can "dust off" the nails with a polishing file. Such a file does not rub off the nail, but merely eliminates the horn dust that has remained from the "grind" over.

As a final touch you can apply a grooming nail polish. The nail not only shines now, but the paint also provides nutrients. Paint also fills grooves and minor injury and smoothes the surface.

Repeat the procedure regularly, preferably every ten days.

Custom fit shoes, air cushions in the soles and a pressure-cushioning liner are designed to prevent thickened toes that form in response to pressure.

Foot care for protection and healing. Image: VadimGuzhva - fotolia

Also pay attention to dry feet, socks and shoes. If necessary, you can use foot powder, as is required, for example, in the British Army. Not only athlete's foot, but also other infections of the toes are particularly fast, if the feet are wet and the pores are therefore permeable.

Regular controll

Toenails do not thicken overnight. Therefore, you can prevent morbid thickening by regularly checking their nails. If it is a fungus, you will first see how the nails lose their luster and change their color.

The nails deform first at the edges, and only later does the whole nail thicken and become brittle.

If you have injured a nail, be sure to take care of it immediately before the injury becomes a curled or ingrown problem.

Also, look for comfortable shoes. Footwear, which leads to nail thickening, presses long before.

Remove nails?

In the past, physicians mostly relied on the "brute method". They cut out the thickened nail so that a new, healthy one could be formed. Today, doctors are more likely to try to save the nail.

For lighter thickening, it often works to reshape the nail by filing and cutting.

To remove the nail, you and the doctor should think twice. Drawing a nail is painful when the effect of partial anesthesia subsides. You usually have to spare the foot for several weeks. The wound also easily gets infected, and there is no guarantee that the new nail will develop well.

Age is a risk

Old people often complain about thick-grown toenails. It is a typical old-age disease that results from a generally poorer circulation, which is one of the classic changes of an aging body.

For old people, therefore, the tips on foot care apply to a particular extent. Clean your feet, change your socks daily and disinfect your feet when you go to the swimming pool or sauna.

If the toenails thicken slightly, look for a professional foot care. (Dr. Utz Anhalt) Supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)