# Toenail question **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2022, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883 "2022-09-20T04:08:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/1 "2022-09-20T04:08:59Z")
Why do toenails seem to get thicker and tougher with age? Is there some evolutionary advantage for this aside of being more able to kick ass? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/2 "2022-09-20T04:25:33Z")
Thickening nails is a classic symptom of a fungal infection. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/3 "2022-09-20T04:29:32Z")
Damn, and here I was thinking I was gaining super ass kicking powers. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/4 "2022-09-20T06:57:09Z")
Toenails without fungal infection also seem thicker and tougher. I did once ask (elsewhere) why toenails grew more slowly than fingernails and got the answer that it was all to do with blood flow. Is that a factor here? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/5 "2022-09-20T14:04:34Z")
Just wanted to note that “being more able to kick more ass” is one of the top evolutionary advantages that gets selected for. Possibly right after “attractive to the opposite sex.” ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/6 "2022-09-20T14:39:51Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Possibly right after “attractive to the opposite sex.” My ex married me because of my sexy, thick toenails. She left me for someone with thicker nails. 😄 Thickened nails are usually caused by fungal infection (onychomycosis), but there are other causes, like psoriatic nails, metabolic disorders as well as macro- or micro-trauma to the nail matrix (nail root). ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/7 "2022-09-20T15:03:46Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Thickened nails are usually caused by fungal infection (onychomycosis), but there are other causes, like psoriatic nails, metabolic disorders as well as macro- or micro-trauma to the nail matrix (nail root). I would guess that there hasn’t been much research on thickening nails related to aging, but that it’s related to the last factor here and general deterioration of the aging body. You get older, your skin gets less elastic, your joints wear out and your nail matrix deteriorates and accumulates irreversible trauma. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/8 "2022-09-20T15:32:00Z")
> [@naita](#): > > You get older, your skin gets less elastic, your joints wear out and your nail matrix deteriorates and accumulates irreversible trauma. My whole body is suffering from accumulated irreversible trauma. It’s noticably sagging southward and ending up at my toenails. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/9 "2022-09-20T15:40:10Z")
> [@naita](#): > > your nail matrix deteriorates I just take one blue pill every day, and my doctor tells me I have the nails of a man half my age. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/10 "2022-09-20T16:18:58Z")
> [@Mortimus](#): > > It’s noticably sagging southward and ending up at my toenails. Hold it, your theory is gravitational tissue migration? Try as I may, I can’t dispute this. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/11 "2022-09-20T17:36:42Z")
[gulf clapp] ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toenail-question/971883/12 "2023-07-17T00:36:47Z")
Eat someTree of Life root, become a Pak Protector.