What illness causes toenails to fall off?

Two illnesses that could cause toenails to fall off include diabetes and psoriasis. Having diabetes increases your chances of getting a fungal infection called onychomycosis, which usually affects the toenails. The nail can turn yellow and brittle and might also fall off.


What is toenails falling off a symptom of?

It's usually caused by an injury, fungal infection, or psoriasis. However, chemicals, certain medications, and serious illness can also make your toenail fall off. Once your toenail falls off, it can't reattach itself and keep growing. You'll need to wait for the new nail to grow back in its place.

What diseases affect toenails?

Brittle nail syndrome, onychomycosis, paronychia, nail psoriasis, longitudinal melanonychia, Beau's lines, onychomadesis and retronychia are common nail disorders seen in clinical practice.


What disease causes nails fall?

With a condition known as onycholysis, the fingernails become loose and can separate from the nail bed. The separated part of the nail becomes opaque with a white, yellow or green tinge. Sometimes detached nails are associated with injury or infection.

Is a toenail falling off serious?

While a toenail falling off is usually not a major medical concern, it can be painful and annoying. In some cases, a damaged or detaching toenail may become infected, or it may be a sign of a more serious medical condition. A person can take steps at home to help ensure that the nail bed is kept clean and protected.


What To Do if Your Toenail Falls Off



When should you go to the doctor for a toenail falling off?

If you aren't comfortable tending to the nail yourself or think the damage is serious, call your doctor or a podiatrist. Go to an urgent care center or emergency room when: The tear is too far down for you to trim. The base or sides of the nail are pulling away or already detached from the nail bed or nail folds.

Does diabetes make your nails fall off?

Like other tissues, the nail needs a viable blood supply. Even in early vascular disease, reduced circulation to the nail matrix can cause thin, brittle nails that break and split and then separate from the nail bed (onycholysis).

What illness shows in your nails?

Ripples on nails or pitted nails may be caused by a skin disorder, psoriasis, eczema, or arthritis. Nail clubbing is when a nail curves under at the tip of the finger. It could indicate heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, lung disease, liver disease, thyroid disease, or HIV/AIDS.


What are COVID nails?

What Do COVID Nails Look Like? Beau's lines are grooves that run horizontally across your nail plate, per an August 2021 paper published in the journal Skin Appendage Disorders. COVID nails/Beau's lines can look like ridges, grooves, or indentations, according to Dr. Day.

What are 5 nail disorders?

Tips to treat the 5 most common nail disorders: brittle nails, onycholysis, paronychia, psoriasis, onychomycosis.

Can toenails show signs of illness?

The condition of your toenails is something everyone needs to pay more attention to. Bacterial and fungal infections can cause color, texture, and odor changes to toenails. If you notice light or dark stripes, it may be a sign of nutritional problems or systemic health issues like diabetes or peripheral artery disease.


What is toenail poisoning?

An infection in the skin around the toenail is called paronychia. It's normally caused by a bacterium. The toenail can also be infected with a fungus. If your toe is infected, one of these things might be to blame: You cut the nail too short, or you cut the cuticle around the nail.

Why is my nail detaching from the nail bed?

Onycholysis is when your nail separates from its nail bed. It often appears after an injury to your nail, but it may have other causes, including fungi. Treatment may only involve cutting away the separated nail as it grows out, or you may need to take antifungal medications or stop using certain nail products.

Why do old people's toenails fall off?

A nail fungal infection, known as onychomycosis, is one of the most common reasons that toenails detach from the nail bed and fall off.


What are Lindsay's nails?

Half and half nails or Lindsay's nails is a systemic onychopathy, clinically characterized by a white coloring of the proximal half nail and a red-brown coloration of the distal half of all the nails.

Can your fingernails show signs of illness?

If your nails turn yellow, thicken, and seem to stop growing, it could be a sign of something going on inside your body. Lung disease and rheumatoid arthritis can cause yellow nails. You may also have a serious nail infection, which requires treatment.

Can COVID cause toenail problems?

According to recent data, up to 20% of patients with COVID‐19 have cutaneous manifestations. Nails can also develop abnormalities during and after infection.


Do nails show signs of liver?

White Nails

If the nails are mostly white with darker rims, this can indicate liver problems, such as hepatitis. In this image, you can see the fingers are also jaundiced, another sign of liver trouble.

What do iron deficiency nails look like?

Spoon nails (koilonychia) are soft nails that look scooped out. The depression usually is large enough to hold a drop of liquid. Often, spoon nails are a sign of iron deficiency anemia or a liver condition known as hemochromatosis, in which your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat.

What does malnutrition nails look like?

White nails can be the result of anemia and pink or red nails may suggest malnutrition with several nutrient and vitamin deficiencies. Additionally, biotin deficiency can increase the risk of fungal nail infections and subsequent nail plate discoloration. Changes in nail shape and surface.


What does a diabetic toenail look like?

What to Look For in Diabetic Toenails. The first toenail change you'll notice in diabetic patients is likely to be discoloration. Most have some yellowing of the nails, though the shade and involvement can vary. Discoloring may start at the distal edge (tip), and run all the way to the root of the nail bed.

What are the first signs of diabetes in feet?

Tingling, burning, or pain in your feet. Loss of sense of touch or ability to feel heat or cold very well. A change in the shape of your feet over time. Loss of hair on your toes, feet, and lower legs.

What do diabetes toenails look like?

In some people with diabetes, the nails take on a yellowish hue. Often this coloring has to do with the breakdown of sugar and its effect on the collagen in nails. This kind of yellowing isn't harmful. It doesn't need to be treated.


What happens if your toenail completely falls off?

Once the nail falls off, you will need to protect the nail bed from infection. Toenails can take several months to a year to regrow. Some treatment and prevention tips for toenails that have fallen off or are in the process of falling off include: Use pain medication as needed.

What does psoriasis look like on toenails?

Symptoms of nail psoriasis include: Discoloration: The skin underneath your nails (nail bed) may change colors. These changes, called salmon patches or oil drop spots, may look yellow, red, pink or brown. Pitting: Your nails may develop dents or pits (cupuliform depressions).