Your toenails may provide you with more insights to your health than you think. Our Gaithersburg MD podiatrist says that what your toenails look like is not exclusively an indicator of podiatric health. Instead, the color and texture of your toenails may be a signal of health conditions through the rest of your body, too.
Our Gaithersburg MD Podiatrist Explains What Toenail Conditions May Mean
Yellow Toenails
Yellow, thickened toenails are often a symptom of a fungal infection. However, they may also signal an underlying illness such as lung problems, lymphedema, rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriasis. Call our Gaithersburg MD podiatry office to consult with our 5-star podiatrist if you are concerned about your yellowed toenails.
Spoon-shaped Toenails
If your toenails are misshapen, it is likely a sign of one of two issues. Either your toenails do not have the correct nutrients to form properly shaped nails, or an external factor is causing the issue. In the case of vitamins and minerals, an iron-deficiency can cause unusual spoon-shaped toenails. Our podiatrist in Gaithersburg says that a concave shape can also be the result of over-exposure to petroleum-based solvents.
White Toenails
Our podiatrist in Gaithersburg MD says a variety of factors can cause white toenails. Injury directly to the nail can cause a white color to occur, but so can illness anywhere in the body. If your nail has at all separated from the nail bed and only part of your toenail is white, this could be the result of an injury, psoriasis, or an infection. If your nail is still intact and most it is white, this could be a sign of serious conditions. Liver and kidney disease, as well as congestive heart failure, have been causes of the condition. Our Gaithersburg MD podiatry office encourages you to consult your podiatrist or doctor if you notice these symptoms.
Call Our Gaithersburg MD Podiatrist to Have Your Toenails Examined
Pitted Toenails
Nail pitting can be recognized as a series of depressions within the nail structure. Your toenails may look ribbed or grooved. This is a result of defective development of the layers of your superficial nail plate. Roughly 50 percent of patients with psoriasis experience nail pitting to some degree. Other conditions that nail pitting may be a symptom of include connective tissue disorders, sarcoidosis, and alopecia areata.
If you have concerns about the health of your toenails, we welcome you to call The Podiatry Center to schedule a consultation.
The information provided in this article is not meant to be medical advice and is for educational purposes only. If you would like to learn more about this and other topics related to podiatry, feel free to contact The Podiatry Center, with a convenient podiatry office location near Gaithersburg MD, by clicking here or by calling 301.656.6055.
