Toenail pain is of varying degrees. Most of them are ignored until the pain becomes so intense. It can range from simple issues to the intolerable pain demanding immediate medical intervention. Often toenail pain is caused by ingrown nails which can either be inherited or develop later in due course due to progressive damage of the cells of the skin under the toenail.
Causes :
There are several causes for toenail pain. You may feel intense pain when you scratch your toe with some heavy objects. It can occur when there is trauma or injury to the toenails during a fall or accident. Sometimes heavy objects fall on the nail causing irreparable damage to the nail matrix. Wearing poor fitting shoes can eventually cause damage to the toenail. Toenail pain can be felt due to fungal infection. Sometimes scratching one’s toe on the other can cause toe bruising which is quite common while playing. Ingrown nails can cause intense pain on the toenail.
If you do not trim your nails regularly, it may cause a spike of nail to develop into the skin which in turn gets inflamed. There can be pain when there is accumulation of waste particles and fungus between the nail and the skin. There is every chance for bacterial development on the nail portion and hence removal of dirt is essential for maintaining healthy nails. Nail fungus is one of the common causes for nail pain. When fungus develop on the area between the skin and the nail, it gradually turns the nails to become thick and hard and sometimes it gets discolored. Due to invariable nail thickness your toes may not fit well into the shoes causing bruises and pain. Fungus can potentially damage the toenails and above all it has the power to spread the infection deep into the bones. In case of fungus infection you need to take immediate treatment following your doctor’s advice. Instead of relying on over the counter topical creams you can use prescription medications to control fungus infection.