How Long Does A Lost Toe Nail Hurt

And then you've lost – or are well on the way to losing your toenail. It'due south probable your big toe, though whatever toenail can come loose, and it likely pops to the forefront of your mind anytime you lot put on or take off socks and shoes because you're worried that whatever is left may catch on the fabric and exist painfully ripped off. Audio familiar?

Every bit loose toenails bring with them a myriad of questions including:

Volition my nail abound back?
Will my blast expect normal?
Why has it fallen off?
Why does my nail look so white now?

… your My FootDr podiatry team has given you the depression-down on losing toenails, why it happens, and what you tin can await going forwards.

Why Toenails Fall Off

First matter's first. The #1 cause for nails falling off or condign loose is trauma. This may look like dropping something heavy on your toenail, stubbing your toe, your large dog jumping on your toe – y'all name it. If y'all're a skier or snowboarder, you might accept a loose boom regularly from tight (but necessary) boots on the slopes. Sometimes, information technology tin can be equally elementary equally not trimming a long toenail and spending a whole day on your feet, with the nail constantly pressing firmly against the end of the shoe.

Regardless of the cause, the finish result is the same: damage to the nail and likely bleeding beneath the nail too. If your nails are painted so you may not realise, but many people will develop a black/royal spot beneath their blast – or beyond the entire boom. This is dried blood beneath your toenail. Unless information technology's at the very tip of the smash, information technology's likely that you won't be able to clean the surface area until your nail grows out. Thankfully, if you tin't attain the stale blood to make clean it, neither can whatsoever leaner or other nasties, so in nigh cases, you don't demand to worry about infection or anything sinister.

What the dried blood does do is fill the space between the nail itself and your smash bed, otherwise known as the pinkish skin below the nail. As the two layers are at present separated, in that location is naught holding the peel to the smash in that area whatever longer. Hence, information technology becomes much easier for toenails to fall off – and eventually, as the nails continue to grow, they most probable volition as they're no longer 'attached' like they used to exist.

Other causes of nails condign loose and detaching can include:

Fungal boom infections
Nail thickening (onychauxis)
Psoriasis
Equally a side effect of medical treatments like chemotherapy

My Nail Has Been Loose For A While. When Will It Fall Off?

This really depends on the cause for it condign loose, how severe it is, and where the damage to the nail originally occurred. For example, if you had some bleeding right at the base of the nail, it may take weeks or months for it to fall off – if it does at all. Simply if you had astringent harm and your entire nail is currently blackness, it may only accept days or weeks.

Will The Nail Grow Back?

In the bulk of people nosotros see, yes they practice – just here's what you should know. Anytime we grow new nail, it is produced by smash-growing cells in the nail root, institute deep beyond our cuticles. They're made of a protein called keratin, and information technology'due south a constant process of the new boom pushing out the older nail at the tips, and hence our nails growing longer.

As long as there'southward nil interfering with the nail-growing cells and this process, then y'all can and will abound new nail. Just, if y'all dropped a bowling ball onto your foot or burnt your toes and have later damaged the cells to the betoken that they can no longer grow new nail, then information technology may not abound back.

Interestingly, some people cull to have their toenails completely removed and the boom-growing cells destroyed using an acidic substance if they have longstanding problems with their nails and decide they no longer wish to put up with the hassle and discomfort. And so yes, it'south very possible for your toes to no longer abound blast, though nosotros don't come across this occurring naturally besides often.

Will The New Blast Look Normal?

This is quite similar to the previous question. As long as the boom-growing cells are healthy and your body is producing everything it needs to abound the nail, then it'll grow back and very likely have a normal appearance. If there'southward a problem with the toe, the smash growing cells have been partially damaged, or something like a fungal smash infection or other problem is present, and so the boom may grow back distorted.

It's really a instance-past-case situation and it depends very much on your personal history. But if y'all've only stubbed your toe or worn tight shoes or sports boots, then it'southward likely it'll grow back normal.

Why is part of my nail so white at present, instead of pink?

The reason our nails take that overnice pink colour is because of the tiny claret vessels that feed the nail bed directly beneath your nail. When the smash exceeds the nail bed at the tips of the nail, information technology appears white. The aforementioned is truthful if part of your nail is now white – the smash has separated from the nail bed, and so now appears white instead of pink.

Be conscientious if this is the case – clay and leaner can get trapped in this newly formed 'cavern' between the nail and blast bed, putting you at risk of infection. To aid, you lot can wash and dry thoroughly in this area or cutting the boom back accordingly, being careful not to become too far.

Worried About Your Boom?

If you're worried about your toenails, something doesn't await or feel right, or you're experiencing any unexpected pain or discomfort, your local My FootDr podiatrists are here to assist.

If your toenail is loose but hasn't fallen off yet, here are a few tips on how to look after the nail:

Try to go on the edges of the nail as smooth as possible using a nail file to stop them catching on the edges of shoes and socks
Keep a elementary dressing over the toe to reduce irritation to the area
Avoid tight, narrow footwear that put pressure on the nail
If there'south a gamble of infection, monitor your boom closely, use antiseptic as needed, and apply warm salty water to assist reduce the infection gamble
If your smash is painful, bleeding, or there is any other crusade for business, always see your podiatrist immediately. Especially if yous have medical conditions that affect your circulation or increase your infection risk like diabetes