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While ingrown nails can occur in the nails of both the hands and the feet, they occur most commonly with the toenails (as opposed to fingernails). [citation needed] A common misconception is that the cause of an ingrown toenail is the nail growing into the paronychium, but it can also be caused by overgrown toe skin. [2]
The accessory nail of the fifth toe, also known as a double nail of the fifth toe (DNFT) [1] or a petaloid toenail, [2] is a physical trait of the small toe, where a minuscule sixth toenail is present in the outer corner of the nail situated on the smallest toe. Although understudied and underreported, its prevalence is common.
Green nail syndrome is an infection that can develop in individuals whose hands are frequently submerged in water resulting in discolouration of the nails from shades of green to black. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] It may also occur as transverse green stripes that are ascribed to intermittent episodes of infection. [ 3 ]
The signs/symptoms of polyonychia are very easy to detect: two or more nails growing on the same finger or toe. The nails can either be separate, small nails (micronychia) or one wide, almost complete nail, the digit affected could also be wider than normal
For home treatment, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends clipping the loose piece of skin with a clean nail clipper or nail scissors, and applying over-the-counter antibiotic ointment if the area appears inflamed. Persistent hangnails should be evaluated by a physician. [5]
Growing older or having poor biomechanics, which are more common in the elderly (e.g., toes that overlap and underlap; incompatibility between the foot and the shoe; or digiti flexi, which is characterized by contracted toes due to toe buckling caused by shortening of the controlling muscles), may be contributing factors.
Toe nails become infected with fungi in the same way as the rest of the foot, typically by being trapped with fungi in the warm, dark, moist inside of a shoe. Fungal infection of the nails is called tinea unguium , and is not included in the medical definition of "athlete's foot", even though toe nails are part of the foot.
Athlete's foot, known medically as tinea pedis, is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. [2] Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. [3] In rare cases the skin may blister. [6] Athlete's foot fungus may infect any part of the foot, but most often grows between the toes. [3]