Why do toenails become thicker?

Nails are closely related to human health. Nails can accurately reflect the health status of the human body like an alarm. Therefore, Chinese medicine can identify the type of disease the body suffers from by distinguishing the shape and color of the nails. For example, some physical problems can be discovered through the thickening of toenails. Let's take a look at the explanation of why toenails become thicker.

1. Onychomycosis

Most of the time, the reason for thickening toenails is due to onychomycosis. After contracting onychomycosis, the fungus can easily enter the nail bed or nail plate and multiply rapidly, causing the nails to thicken and the accumulation of the stratum corneum to increase. Generally, toenails caused by onychomycosis become 1 to 3 times thicker than normal nail plates. If onychomycosis is not treated promptly, the toenails will become thicker and thicker, eventually causing the nail plate to fall off. It may also cause athlete's foot, making it more difficult to cure.

2. Age Issue

Thickening of toenails is common among the elderly. This is usually because the metabolism of the cuticle that makes up the nails slows down as the elderly age, causing the toenails to thicken. There is no special treatment, just pay attention to foot hygiene.

3. Pachyonychia

Pachyonychia, known as thick nail disease in traditional Chinese medicine, has clinical symptoms of obvious hypertrophic enlargement, hardening, brittleness, loss of luster and easy rupture of the nail plate. Generally, the nail plate becomes thicker, yellower and wedge-shaped, with the thickest edge at the front of the nail. The nail is hard and brittle, and the distal end of the nail may curl up due to accumulation under the nail. Pachyonychia can be treated in the hospital and is not contagious.

4. Chronic diseases

Chronic diseases such as respiratory system, thyroid or lymph gland diseases may lead to poor circulatory system, affecting blood supply to the extremities, causing slow growth of toenails, accumulation of keratinization in the stratum corneum, and thickening of toenails. In this situation, it is most important to improve the body's overall disease resistance, which makes it possible to completely cure chronic diseases.