Are You Suffering From A Black Toenail?
Has your toenail or some part of it turned purple, grey or black or does it look a little bruised? You might have what is known as a black toenail. Or does your nail look yellow, or even green. You may even have the common yellow nails, or green nails.
So with a little explanation I can explain how you can fix it, but first let’s look at what are black toenails.
What are Black Toenails?
A black toenail occurs due to the injury to the toenail bed, which breaks the blood vessel to make it bleed. The blood is not able to drain outside, therefore, a blister is formed under the nail sometimes covering a large area. When the blood begins to dry, the red color changes to purplish color, thus a black toenail.
Causes of Black Toenails
The most common cause of black toenail is an injury or trauma to the nail be trauma can result from the frequent collision of the nail with the toebox of the shoe during running, dropping something heavy on your toe or simply by stubbing your toe.
Runners are more prone to black toenail mostly because of their poorly fitted shoes, where their toe slides back and forth and repeatedly bangs the front part of the shoe. People who are active participants of various sports that involve a lot of foot work, are more likely to suffer from a black toenail.
Black toenails are also caused by wearing a tight fitting shoes such as high heels or wearing a wrong size shoes. In a poorly fitted shoes, your nail gets compressed back into your cuticle and a sudden jerk could easily lifts away the nail from the nail bed and cause a bleed.
Are Black Nails really a subject of worry?
Usually, there is no need to worry about having a black nail. It is not required to cure the bleeding under the nail since it will heal itself and you have to just wait for the blood to get dry out with the growth of a new nail. This is a hassle free treatment similar to that of a nail fungus treatment.
Since the growth of a toenail is quite slow, about 1mm per month, it may take several months to have a healthy looking nail. However, if you feel pain and the condition of your nail looks severe it is best to consult a qualified health advisor. It is quite possible that you have developed an underlying nail infection.
It is crucial to know that black toenails can also results due to the development of melanoma, a type of skin cancer, under the nail. If you observe a streak on your nail rather than discoloration, seek your doctor’s advice for further diagnosis.
In some cases, the toe can be very painful due to the presence of the swollen blister under the toenail. Here, the blister is pricked with the help of a needle to drain out the fluid. But, it can be a sign of an infection if redness and swelling persist even after draining the fluid out of the blister. It is unhealthy to ignore the infections since it can lead to gangrene, diabetes and blood infections.
How to Prevent Black Toenail?
Black toenails are usually caused by Ill-fitting shoes. Hence, good-fit shoes are required for healthy toenails. Moreover, proper lacing of the shoe will prevent your foot from sliding forward in the shoe.
Cut your nails properly to prevent your nails from hitting the end of the shoe causing injury. It is suggested to wear a reliable footwear to avoid accidents, if you are working in an accident-prone area.
If you are looking for more information on black toenails and related nail disorders, then this site nail-fungus-cures-that-work.com has the real answers you need to find out if you do really have a black, green or even yellow nail.