Toenail problems tend to be more common with advancing age. Professional care from your podiatrist can improve the health of your nails. Toenail problems are common complaints in the podiatrist’s office; they include thickening, brittleness, discoloration, and ingrown toenails.
Apart from advancing age, toenail problems can also occur because of various other consequences such as trauma, inadequate care, wearing ill-fitting shoes, wrong ways of trimming toenails including fungal and other infections such as paronychia and onychia.
Common symptoms include pain and irritation at the back of the heel, pain along the tendon above the heel bone during or after exercise, and tenderness above the heel upon taking the first steps in the morning.
Common suggestions for prevention of ingrown toenails include wearing proper-fitting shoes and trimming the nails straight across. When it becomes clear that activities are causing repeated trauma to the nail, these activities should be avoided or modified.
Trimming your toenails at an incorrect angle and rounding off the edges is the number one cause of toenail problems. Some other common causes are stubbing your toe (trauma), nails that naturally grow curving down towards the skin (eventually digging into the skin) and wearing tight shoes, causing your toes to rub directly on the front of your shoes. Trimming, shaping and nail care from your podiatrist can improve the health of your nails and help diagnose and treat more serious nail concerns.
Shoes and socks can cause toenail problems for runners, hikers, cyclists, and skiers. If the fit of shoes and socks is improper or they get too wet from perspiration, rain or snow, the result can be pressure and lifting on the toenail.
Read more about toenails and get rid of your toenail problems, and live a worry free life.
