About bruised toenails

Introduction to bruised toenails

Even tough it is hardly a serious medical condition, a bruised toenail can be both troublesome and painful. When a person bruises their toenail, the nail will turn dark blue and black, like a bruise on any other part of the skin, and this can be very painful.

The color changes because of the blood and fluids collecting under the nail plate and in many cases the toe will swell as well. In the worst case, the toe nail can actually fall off, which will lead to further pain and can result in serious infections if not taken care of properly and protected from dirt and bacteria.

Causes

The most common cause of a bruised toenail is trauma, usually through the some kind of physical activity, such as a sporting event in which the toe suffers a serious blow upon contact with either another person, a ball, or the ground.

The toenail can also be injured accidentally, for example, if a heavy object is dropped on the foot or if the foot is banged on a hard surface.

Sometimes shoes that do not fit well can lead to toe bruising. The shoe that fits the foot poorly can put pressure on the toenail and result in bruising.

Sometimes when a person does not maintain and cut their nails regularly, the toenail can bruise. This condition results strictly from a person’s negligence.

Treatments

If the toenail has already turned black then there will probably be a considerable amount of pain accompanying the condition. In such a case, a doctor needs to be contacted immediately. Usually, the foot doctor will make a hole in the toenail, specifically in the area in which the blood and fluid is building up underneath it, and then drain this fluid from the toenail. Once this is done, the inflammation and pain in the toenail will be reduced significantly.

Sometimes the fluid buildup is so great that in the end, the entire toenail will have to be removed.

It will then take about half a year to regrow the toenail and during this time a person must be extremely careful and keep the area clean and safe at all times so that an infection does not occur and cause further complications and problems to that area of the foot.

Usually a doctor will prescribe painkillers to help reduce the discomfort that is associated with not having a healthy toenail.