Have you ever spent time thinking about the way your toenails are growing? Do you wonder why your toenails seem to be growing crooked or jagged? If you do, then you’ve come to the right place! I’ll tell you everything there is to know about this condition that many people experience. My own experience with this has been one of confusion and frustration. It has plagued me for as long as I can remember. And yet, the reason why my toenails are growing crooked remains a mystery. But before I go into any explanation, let me just say that this article is not meant to be an in-depth look at all things nail. Instead, it will focus on the reasons why your nails are growing crooked and how you can correct them.
Why are my toenails growing crooked?
There are a few things that can cause your nails to grow crooked. One common problem is that you may have a healthy diet and not enough exercise. This can cause your nails to get twisted and crooked. Another common problem is that you may be using too much polish on your nails. This can make the nails brittle and crack.
What Are Toenail Dysfunctions?
1. Twisted Toenails or Traction Nail Dystrophies
Twisted toenails or traction nail dystrophy is a common nail disorder. You may not even be aware that you have it. This condition can start to take shape around your second or third decade of life. If you do not do anything to alleviate this condition, then it will get worse. It could lead to permanent damage to the skin on your feet and toes and may result in your nails growing crooked.
2. Hereditary hairline fractures
Hereditary hairline fractures are also common for people with either genetic predisposition or certain environmental conditions. In this case, the nail part of the finger can split open due to a weakness in the area and allow bacteria or viruses into it. The skin split can get very large over time, which can lead to other health problems, such as white spots on the nail beds, thickening of the nails, and flu-like symptoms in both hands and feet.
3. Onychophagia (Nail biting)
The psychological condition called “nail-biting” occurs when one or more fingers are bitten by an individual because they feel nervous or irritated by something else (eg： the smell of food). This does not necessarily mean that one’s nails have actually been bitten; rather that their fingernails have been nibbled away so much that there is a noticeable difference in the length of their fingers.
4. Hammertoe deformities
Hammertoe deformities occur when the joint of your toe gets stretched from overuse and is folded or bent, causing pain and swelling to the toe joint. If you continue to expose your toe to such strain, it can cause a permanent bend in that joint.
5. Corns on the big toe
Corns on the big toe are also caused by injury, inflammation, and overuse. The tissue under the skin that covers your toe becomes inflamed and infected. When this is left untreated, it can cause permanent changes to the shape of your foot and toes.
6. Calcaneal Spur Syndrome (CS)
This is a painful condition that affects many people regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity. The condition occurs when a spur in the heel bone of your foot twists excessively sideways causing pain in the ankle and feet. This can also cause swelling around your ankle due to pressure from inside outwards onto a swollen tendon/ligament or dislocation of your calcaneus or heel bone itself. This disorder is also known as Achilles tendinitis ophthalmicus.
Why Are My Toenails Growing Crooked?
- The nail starts to grow at a downward angle, making the nail appear curved. This is due to the growth hormone; however, it can be corrected by using a pencil to round the edges of the nail.
- The nails can grow crooked as a result of poor circulation in the foot or toe area. Healthy feet have nourished blood flow whose presence enlivens nail growth and avoids deformation. Nourishment for healthy nails follows a natural cycle that includes the extension of new nail growth, expungement of old nail growth, and subsequent arrest or cessation of new nail growth shortly after formation. Poor circulation resulting in a lack of nutrients that are required for optimal oral health and safety may result in the resumption of nail growth after stopping its progressive establishment; thus resulting in deformities/curvature or preventing it from reaching its full length or width.
- The toenails are growing sideways instead of upward due to ailurophobia (fear). Toenails grow faster than fingernails because they contain more keratin deposits than fingernails (toenails also grow facing backward). When a nail reaches its full length, the formation of new keratin begins at the distal end of the nail. The distal end extends forward into the next growth ring, stopping at the next growth ring. This is how nails grow. If you are afraid of your toenails growing (alongside your fingernails) then you may be suffering from ailurophobia (fear) and this may cause irregularly shaped nails. Regular exercising and a proper diet will help you overcome this abnormal fear and eventually make your toenails grow normally again.
- Toenails get deformed as a result of dermatitis/ eczema/ psoriasis on the toe area causing distortion or irregular shape in nails. Toenail deformities can be caused due to fungus infection, autoimmune diseases like lupus erythematosus or scleroderma, fungal infection, etc.
- Problems result in toenails growth if not taken care of by a specialist doctor immediately like deformities such as short toes, thickened nails due to problems with blood circulation, split and torn toenails due to injury from rubbing the same toes together, etc are some examples which may be seen by doctors within few weeks after its occurrence; causing pain & inconvenience for the patient during treatment as well as causing pressure on other toes thereby affecting their normal toe growth as well; widening the gap between them making them look like fingers instead.
My Journey To Discover The Cause Of My Toenail Problems
- I had been experiencing for a year or so that my nails were always breaking and not getting longer. I used to get a few breaks in my nails every month about 10 – 15 in a year. These breaks would usually occur on the sides of my nail, under the tips of the nails, at the edges, and also on the heels. It used to get painful and irritating when I would be doing household work like cleaning or filing nails but most of all when I was doing desk work at home.
- It seemed like something that had always been there but never really bothered me much until it started to affect me more over time. However, there was no history of injuries in my family or personal history of any incontinence ever which might have affected my nail growth and breakage rate in some way too. My doctor did take regular blood tests for any kind of infections/diseases which could be pathogenic but these came back negative each time with no abnormalities registered on X-ray or MRI scans too.
- While searching online for answers to this problem, after reading some posts by others whose stories were somewhat similar (to mine) suddenly I found out why it happens to me as well! Yes, it’s because having nail fungus is one way to deplete your iron levels which can cause several other problems including premature aging as well! So many people suffering from this same issue are actually diagnosed by their doctors through blood tests – revealed only halfway through treating the problem and as I found out myself later, this is the way it should be.
- Yes, after realizing that my nail fungus is actually the cause of my problem, I started to take measures to try and get rid of this nail fungus. At first, I did all kinds of home remedies like getting rid of all the lotions from my body and washing daily with a soapless cleanser (which has no detergents or other chemical additives in it) but that did not work at all. So then for about two months, I followed an intensive course of treatment to reduce the number of fungus on my nails.
- I must say, I was quite skeptical when I started the treatment as there were many patients who claimed to get rid of the fungus in just a few days using some other medical methods like oral medicines and others but they died a horrible death later because they were not strong enough to cope with it. It was another case of people believing what they wanted to believe so I began my treatment to think that it should not be that difficult for me to achieve the same results with my application of natural remedies.
Conclusion
Toenails are critical parts of our feet and hands. They are responsible for supporting our feet and hands and are also used for more than just walking, running, and playing sports. Although it is easy to assume that our toenails are doing just fine when in fact they are not, it is important to do some research and understand exactly what is causing them to grow so long. Once you have the answers to these questions, you can take care of your toenails to improve their health and condition.
