Toenail Dead

To make a toenail dead skin cells are packed tightly together by specialized cells at the root of the nail. As more and more dead cells are added at the root, those that have already been piled up are pushed outward, toward the tip of the finger or toe. This produces a very hard plate to protect the tips of the fingers and toes - a plate that has no sensitive nerve endings, no blood supply, and no immunity to infection. It is essentially dead tissue.

The same features, unfortunately, make nail susceptible to colonization by certain fungi that can thrive off the keratin in the packed skin cells. Once a fungus gets well established, it appears to make the toenail dead indeed - the nail typically turns yellow, brown, or black, gets very thick, and starts to simply crumble away like rotten wood. What is happening is that the fungus is working its way between the packed layers of cells, separating them and breaking down the keratin, the substance that makes nails so hard.

Though the fungus rarely invades tissue deeply (fungi generally do not invade healthy living tissue), it can spread to other nails or along the surface of the skin where, as in the toenail dead skin cells are present in abundance. Fungal infections of skin on the feet are very common and can spread to the toenails, just as a fungus can spread from the nails to the skin. Once a fungal infection is established and progressing, it can be very difficult to treat, especially in the nails.

Successful treatment of a fungal nail infection hinges on getting the medication to the fungus. Again, the nail's protective features make it difficult to achieve this because any applied treatment tends not to penetrate the nail to kill the fungus. People have come up with various strategies to get around this problem. Soaking the feet in dilute solutions of chlorine bleach, vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide not only acts on any fungus it contacts, but also soften up the toenails. If you then use a file across the top surface of the toenail dead crumbly infected nail will be filed away and a lower layer will be exposed. Treatment can then be applied, and the process repeated daily until the nail infection is gone.

Though topical antifungals are not usually very good at penetrating nail, some of the newer natural remedies claim to do a better job. In addition, one topical prescription drug is now available, along with several oral antifungal medications. Be aware, however, that these prescription drugs are expensive and have the potential for unpleasant side effects.

White Spots on Toenails

Everyone occasionally gets white spots on toenails or fingernails and, most of the time, they're nothing to be concerned about. Those small crescent shaped white discolorations that appear at the cuticle and move slowly outwards as the nail grows, are simply the result of minor damage to the root of the nail, where it is formed. You probably bumped your finger or toe causing very minor damage at the root. The nail will grow out and the white area will disappear, leaving a normal looking nail.

Occasionally, however, white spots on toenails or fingernails are a sign of something worse: it may be the early warning signs that a fungus has gotten in under the nail and is starting to grow. If the whitish area appears somewhere other than at the cuticle, especially at the other end, the tip of the nail, it bears close watching. If a fungus is growing, the discoloration should get larger and it will probably change color, darkening to shades of yellow or brown. The nail may separate from the nail bed as the fungus grows, and the nail will begin to get thicker and may start to come apart, flaking and splitting.

White spots on toenails or fingernails that are getting larger and aren't growing out with the nail should be seen by a doctor for a professional diagnosis. If it is a fungal nail infection (onychomycosis), it’s a good idea to start treating it right away, before it becomes too advanced. The more it is able to spread, and the thicker the infected nail becomes, the harder it will be to get rid of the infection. Small white spots on toenails that are just beginning to spread may respond to treatment relatively easily.

There are many traditional home remedies, over the counter treatments, natural healing products and prescription drugs that are recommended for the treatment of onychomycosis. Discuss your options with your family doctor. Your choice will be affected by the extent of the infection, your level of comfort with prescription drugs that come with potential side effects, your trust in natural or home remedies, and, significantly, your budget. Prescription drugs for fungal nail infections tend to be extremely expensive, commercial products are in the mid-range, and home remedies can be virtually free. None are absolutely guaranteed to work. You'll have to decide how much it is worth to you to get rid of white spots on toenails.

To reiterate – don’t be hasty. Most white spots on toenails are nothing to worry about. If you have discolorations that you suspect are caused by a fungus, see your doctor first for confirmation and then take it from there.

Big Toe Toenail Problems

Big toe toenail problems are not uncommon, and they are caused by a variety of different things. Perhaps because the biggest toe is so much larger than the rest, it seems to take the brunt of the punishment. This article will discuss a few of the things that occur with the biggest toe nail.

One of the more common big toe toenail problems is what is called an ingrown toe nail. An ingrown nail occurs when the nail is too wide for the space it is growing in and the nail at the edges starts to cut into the tender flesh there. An ingrown toe nail can be very painful, and it will frequently cause swelling and inflammation at the site. Of course, when there is injury of this kind, the area is more susceptible to infections of various kinds. Surgery is often required to remove extra nail at the sides. Many people recommend that you always cut your toenails straight across to avoid ingrown nails.

One of the most common infections that causes big toe toenail problems is fungal infection of the nail. This can occur with or without injury or inflammation of the toe, and once a fungus gets established in the nail, it is quite difficult to get rid of. It can also spread to the skin around the nail and to other nails. A fungal toe nail is usually yellowish or black, flaky or crumbly, and very thick. If you suspect you have a fungal nail infection, see your doctor for confirmation. Fungal infections can be treated with prescription drugs or over the counter remedies. There are many widely used home remedies as well.

Another thing that can turn your toenails black and cause big toe toenail problems is strenuous exercise in shoes that don't provide enough room for your feet. When the nails are subjected to repeated and prolonged physical stress, tiny blood vessels under the nail can break, causing what is essentially a bruise under the nail. If enough blood builds up to cause pressure, it can be quite uncomfortable. Your body will clear up the bruise over time, but you should purchase a good pair of shoes that won't cause a repeat of this injury.

Because big toe toenail problems are quite common, and can be caused by various different things, it's important that you get a proper diagnosis from a qualified physician. Diabetics, in particular, should seek professional care as soon a problem is noticed, because these people are more susceptible to infection in the feet.

Toenail Fungus UV

As a treatment for toenail fungus uv light is seldom, if ever used. However, it can be useful as a means of ridding the environment of infectious fungal spores. Laboratories that work with fungal isolates use ultraviolet light to sterilize equipment, and it has been at least suggested that ultraviolet light might prevent fungal spores and other organism from being dispersed through air conditioning and ventilation systems. At home, simply exposing shoes and socks to normal daylight, which includes ultraviolet wavelengths, may help kill off lingering fungal elements from fungal nail infections.

Ultraviolet light is harmful or lethal to many forms of life. It is routinely used to disinfect contaminated surfaces and water supplies. On the other hand, exposure to ultraviolet rays causes blindness, and almost everyone is aware that increased exposure to ultraviolet in sunlight is causing an increase in skin cancers. It is not a benign light, therefore any toenail fungus uv treatment should be approached with extreme caution, and under the supervision of a professional. Tanning beds are a relatively safe way to expose skin and nails to ultraviolet light, but even these come with associated risks and many people do not think they are a safe approach to tanning or skin treatment.

Perhaps the reason some people believe that toenail fungus uv treatment is an option is that patients who suffer from psoriasis are often treated with ultraviolet radiation. This can be very beneficial in clearing up the uncomfortable skin lesions these individuals suffer experience. Because psoriasis patients often have deformed nails that resemble nails that are infected with fungus, there may be some confusion: dermatitis caused by psoriasis affects the root of the nail and makes the nail grow out abnormally: settling down the dermatitis can result in new nail growing in with a normal appearance. Clearly, this is not a toenail fungus uv cure.

One of the drawbacks in ultraviolet light, with respect to sterilization techniques at least, is its inability to penetrate surfaces. Glass and plastic that don't allow ultraviolet wavelengths to pass through are readily created. It may very well be that ultraviolet rays would not penetrate an infected nail sufficiently to affect the fungus growing underneath - a weakness of many nail fungus treatments. The bottom line is that toenail fungus uv treatment is not a good treatment choice. A natural remedy or prescription drug will probably work better and carry less risk.

Toenail Not Growing

There are occasional reports of a toenail not growing; however, in most instances, the nail is growing, it is just doing so so very slowly that it's difficult to tell. Nails grow slowly: it will take an average of six months for a fingernail to grow out completely, and a toenail takes at least twice as long. They also seem to grow more slowly as we get older. Sometimes the cure is simply patience. If you just wait, eventually you will see growth.

In other instances, the appearance of a toenail not growing may result from it being worn down or destroyed so fast at the tip that no growth is visible. Sometimes activities (like a daily walk, barefoot on a sandy beach?) will wear away the tips of the nails so that they never have to be cut, much like a dog's toenails will be kept short by walking or running on pavement all the time. Infectious causes could be at work as well. Fungal infections of the nails often make nails soft and crumbly, so that they come apart and remain short. Infected nails are usually yellowish or brownish, thick, distorted and unhealthy looking. An antifungal treatment of some kind is needed to resolve this kind of problem.

When you truly have a toenail not growing, it could be that the root of the nail is damaged. The root is hidden under the flesh at the base of the nail, between the cuticle and the knuckle. Specialized cells here pack together dead skin cells into dense layers to form the nail. As the cells in the root pack together more and more skin cells, the ones that are already packed are pushed outwards. If, for any reason, the packing of cells stops, the nail will stop growing. There could be various reasons for this, ranging from physical damage to the root, to drug side effects, or disease processes. When there is no obvious history of finger or nail injury to explain a toenail not growing, a doctor should be consulted.

To have a toenail not growing is a rare thing. Unless there is something obviously wrong with the toe (indicated by swelling, inflammation, pain, discoloration, etc.), there is probably not a problem. Wait and see if a month changes your perspective. The nail will probably have inched forward a bit by that time.

Bleach for Toenail Fungus

Perhaps you have heard of people using bleach for toenail fungus (onychomycosis). This is a home remedy that used to be more popular but it has been largely replaced by prescription medications and commercial home remedies. The downside of home bleach treatment is that it requires twenty to thirty minutes every day, a time commitment that many people find difficult.

On the other hand, using bleach for toenail fungus is much cheaper than almost any kind of remedy specifically marketed for onychomycosis, and most people already have some with their laundry supplies. Indeed, you may already have some stored with your cosmetics: some people are already bleaching toenails for entirely different reasons.

Foot care professionals recommend a weekly foot soak in a solution of one part chlorine bleach to 100 parts water, just to keep the feet feeling fresh and clean. Others recommend a stronger solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water for bleaching toenails to remove stains. In this case, the solution is applied directly to the toenail. If you’re using bleach for toenail fungus, however, you’ll need to be a bit more aggressive.

First, it’s a good idea to trim down the nail as much as possible, and even file it down from above so that you actually make the whole nail thinner. File it down as much as you dare. Most people recommend using very diluted bleach for toenail fungus – one tablespoon in a gallon of water – and soaking for 30 minutes daily. Even better, soak for 10-15 minutes morning and evening. Bleaching toenails in this gradual, gentle way will decrease the chances that you will irritate your skin with the solution.

Some people have used more concentrated bleach for toenail fungus: a one in four solution applied directly to the nail or undiluted bleach applied to the nail and washed off after three or four minutes. Some tough individuals have just applied undiluted bleach to nails daily and left it on. Keep in mind, however, that chlorine bleach is a hazardous chemical: it is corrosive, and will damage any skin that is exposed while you’re bleaching toenails. In addition, the fumes from the chemical should not be inhaled. It is much safer to use a diluted solution.

If you decide to use bleach for toenail fungus, be prepared to set aside the time daily for a couple of months. It may even take longer than this. If bleaching toenails doesn’t appeal to you, consider trying one of the commercial natural remedies for onychomycosis. They are more expensive than bleach, but less so than prescription drugs, and there is scientific evidence that some of them are effective against the fungus that infects toenails.