could it be anything other than fungus? It just came off to about half-way down and underneath just looks like skin, not nail bed. But it’s not yellow or thick and doesn’t hurt. I’ve got a dr’s appt next week so I’ll ask then but wanted to know if anyone could think of anything else that would cause a toenail to fall off.
I have been wearing some kinda tight shoes lately but not everyday. Could tight shoes alone cause a toenail to shed? I keep hearing all these horror stories about people who have had fungal infections for years. :eek: And that the new medicines are awful for the liver.
Sigh, it looks like I won’t be getting a pedicure for a while…
Tight shoes may do it; several of my toenails got partially detached when I started climbing and wearing too-tight climbing shoes.
I lost a big toenail too, but I actually tore it off putting on a wetsuit; I had been in the water a lot all week and all my nails had gotten soft.
If you are concerned about fungus, since the nail is already off just put anit-fungal cream (like for athletes foot) on the nail bed as it grows back in. I’ve heard that works just as well as the prescription remedies. (Of course, IANAD so YMMV.)
Have you been rowing lately? (That is you who’s an avid rower, right?) My brother frequently lost toenails when doing a lot of boating - generally from the pressure of his foot against the side when he rowed. It’s much like the abuse ballet dancer’s feet receive, only on the vertical plane.
I would agree that your shoes might be the problem. Several years ago I started vigorous hiking, and my feet would jam forward when going downhill. I lost 6 nails (the first second and third toes on each foot), and realized that my boots were not the correct sort for that sort of hiking. When I changed to a brand with a larger toe box, all of the problems went away.
If you do have nail fungus, ask your doctor about the antifungal pills that you take for a fairly short period…that is how I got rid of mine after years of creams and so forth. The pills worked like a charm for me.
When a toenail of mine fell off I went to a dermatologist and he said that it could be either fungal infection or some injury causing the nail to grow in the wrong direction (lifting off). He took a clipping and had the lab try to grow fungus from it for five weeks - after that he told me: no fungus - must be a toenail growing badly - keep it short; otherwise nothing useful to be done. Perhaps you could also ask a dermatologist?
Yeah, but the foot stretchers (shoes) are always too big so I don’t get a lot of pressure from them.
I don’t remember dropping anything on my toe and it never turned black so I don’t think that’s it.
Well, I’m taking the offending shoes into today to get stretched in the toebox (hmmm, I wore the tight shoes yesterday and they were more comfortable without the toenail); they’re heels so my toes do get kinda jammed towards the front. I’ve also been religiously applying hydrogen peroxide and vinegar twice a day to ward off fungus.
I hope it was just the tight shoes, it was just so weird the way my toenail just came off (I was trimming it and realize it was completely loose) without any pain. And it’s so ugly…
Huh, I didn’t know you could test for fungus. I’m actually going for a general check-up next week and was just gonna ask the doctor to look at it while I was there but maybe I should see a specialist. Should it be a dermatologist? Or a podiatrist?
BTW, if you want to gross yourself out, just google for toenail fungus. Lots of really horrific images.
I’m a runner and I currently am missing four toenails.
They just grow right back and I abuse them until they fall of again.
I took pictures of the removal process once (ripping off the big toenails) and posted them in a similar thread, however I think I will show some restraint today and hold back.
I guess toenail problems would bother me more if I were a chick, but I’m not, so I really couldn’t care how scary my toes look.
Last time I went for a physical, my doctor looked down, smiled, and said “You’ve got runner’s toes!” He wasn’t concerned.