Toenail Pain [Toenail Fungus, Ingrown Toenails, Discolored Toenails]
Black & Bruised Toenail Bleeding [Causes, Symptoms & Best Treatment]
Do you have a black & bruised toenail with bleeding? AKA subungual hematoma. It is usually caused by blunt force trauma and exercising with bad shoes!
Look:
- Red & black toenail pain can be improved with a few simple treatment changes.
- We are foot doctors & we see this problem get better almost every day.
- The goal is to solve this problem without medication or surgery if at all possible.
So, let’s GO!
Table of Contents
Bruised toenail treatment video:
Do I have a bruised toenail or fungus? Causes:
Red or Black Toenail Picture & Photo Gallery:
Look:
- A red toenail generally means fresh blood or a fresh injury.
- This can be called a toenail hematoma or fresh blood from repetitive irritation.
- A black toenail is generally more dried blood that has crested underneath the toenail.
- Very infrequently, can a black toenail be something more dangerous like melanoma?
- It is also possible for your toenail to the infected with toenail fungus. This can also then result in rubbing and bleeding after the toenail fungus.
- If there is toenail fungus, this is usually more of a brown or yellow color.
- A toenail falling off is a widespread problem as well.
Please click on the photo gallery for descriptions & full-size photos!
Please click on the photo gallery for descriptions & full size photos!
What Is A Bruised Toenail?
- A bruised toenail occurs after your toes experience some serious overuse or injury!
- This can happen if your drop something on your toes or bang them very hard.
- This type of injury can also occur during some extreme exercise, such as marathon running or training.
- It is especially more common after running hills, hiking, and starting a new exercise class.
- The problem with bruised toenails is not only how unsightly they are!
- They can continue causing severe pain and can even fall off over time.
- If these nails are not properly treated, this can lead to fungal infection and deformed regrowth of the nail in the future.
Are Bruised Toenails Common?
- It is widespread to experience toenail pain after a race.
- It is common knowledge that after a long race such as a marathon, many people will experience toe pain.
- This is especially more common if this is one of your first marathons, or you are just getting your body used to this type of punishment!
- Your feet and toes will usually be swollen.
- If your feet and toes are swollen, this means your toenail will have a decrease in blood and will also undergo inflammation.
- If this swelling and pain are severe enough, your toenail may loosen and fill with blood.
- The under-surface of the nail plate is rich with blood vessels, and if ruptured, they will bleed!
What Toenails Are Most Commonly Bruised?
- The most commonly bruised toenails are those from the longest toes.
- It is usually the longest toe that is most commonly affected.
- This is the big toenail in most people, but it is perfectly normal for the 2nd toe to be the longest in some people.
- It is also common for the 3rd toenail to experience bruising as well!
- The 5th toe is likely to go numb and experience tingling, experience a corn or callus, but rarely a bruised 5th toenail!
Bruised Toenails in Ultra-marathoners:
- I previously worked a couple of ultra marathons at an aid station as a student.
- It is amazing how many injuries develop at the end of these massive races. Some of these runners have never run anything like this but push themselves to the limit.
- Bruised toenails, loose toenails, stress fractures, and chronic muscle inflammation in places you have never seen before!
- At these distances, bruised toenails are very common! So you have nothing to worry about, there is nothing wrong with you!
Who else gets Bruised Toenails?
- “Weekend Warriors”- Those who go all out with a body are not prepared for it.
- People starting new exercise classes.
- People starting a weight loss routine and pushing themselves very hard at the beginning.
- People breaking into new shoes.
- People who drop something heavy on their toenails.
- People who stub their toenails very hard!
Bruised Toenail Causes:
The basic formula for developing a bruised toenail is the amount of force with the repetition of that force. So two scenarios are possible for acquiring large bruised toenails.
1) One Large Very Forceful Impact.
A massive amount of force in just one hit. Examples include dropping a heavy object onto your toe or smashing your toe against a stair while running.
Symptoms:
- Obvious pain.
- Swelling and bleeding within 30 minutes.
- Numbness and tingling are possible.
- Black or red toenail.
2) Many Small Repetitive Impacts.
- This is the type of pain runners usually experience.
- This is most common in runners. This is experienced as shear stress.
- As you are running forward, each step as it plants into the group, the toes slide into the shoe.
- So with each step, the skin under the toenail is pulling away from the toenail.
- The more steps you take, the heavier you are, and the tighter your shoe is:, the more damage is being caused.
Symptoms:
- Obvious pain.
- Swelling and bleeding within 30 minutes.
- Numbness and tingling are possible.
- Black or red toenail.
Risk Factors:
What makes runners more susceptible to this type of injury?
1)Poorly fitted shoes:
- As mentioned above, your foot does need room to slide forward into the front of your shoe with each step.
- But the tighter the shoe, the more you weigh and the farther your run- the more you are at risk!
- If you are only running for 20 minutes or less per day and are in shape, this won’t make much difference.
2)Running hills:
- The more you down hills and up hills, the more your feet will slide.
- The more the slide in your shoe absorbing impact, the more your toenails are at risk!
3)Increased weight:
- The more you weigh, the more at risk you are for friction forces through the front of your toes.
4)Extremely long races:
- The further your run, especially marathons and ultra-marathons, the more you are at risk!
- In my experience, losing a toenail is very common in ultra-marathoners!
Best Toenail Fungus Products:
- These are our favorite products to treat toenail fungus at home.
- Keratin Granulations are very easily taken care of through moisturizing your nails with cuticle wax, oils and simply avoiding nail polish for a little while.
- It is unnecessary to buy anything expensive or online; it is fine to use Vaseline or any other petroleum oil in most circumstances.
- So get yourself some petroleum jelly at your corner store and apply it to your nails at night when you won’t be using your hands. In 2 weeks, you should be in great shape!
- Make sure you read the reviews and see if it is good for you!
How to fix toenail fungus:
- There are many different types of toenail damage.
- In our experience, about 90% or more is related to toenail fungus.
- The key to toenail fungus is to trim it as much as possible and file that nailed down.
- These products are not meant to replace prescription drugs or medical treatment equipment.
- If you can do that, you have to make sure you can kill fungus the rest of the way.
- The best way to do that is to soak exfoliate the affected toenail skin. So, consider foot soaks.
- At the same time, you have to apply antifungal medication such as these medications recommended here or the toenail repair pens.
Best Toenail Fungus Clippers & Files:
- You have to be careful using at home, and deftly don’t use these if you have dangerous health conditions.
- There are some great value heavy-duty clippers and files.
- The key is to cut straight across and file the nail down from the top to prevent impinging in the corners.
- It is also important to make sure all dead, dry skin is removed surrounding the foot.
- This is where you should really see your podiatrist if you have any concerns or are worried about cutting or hurting yourself.
- This is something covered, so don’t take chances with your health!
Best Toenail Fungus Polish and Remover:
- There is some great toenail fungus polish options and polish removal options.
- Some non-acetone-based toenail polish removers don’t dry as quickly, but they are less like dehydrating the toenail.
- This also applies to your fingernails and hands.
- The benefits of using these non-toxic toenail polishes are filled with non-fungal options such as tea tree oil, preventing toenail fungus.
- These can also work well for the fingernails.
- So great combo is to use one of these healthier toenail paint options, as well as a non-acetone-based toenail polish remover.
Best Antifungal Moisture Wicking Socks:
- These are some great options for moisture-wicking socks.
- We tried to focus on budget value stocks that are not too expensive.
- Sure there are better stocks out there, but these are great socks for a great price for most people.
- If you have diabetes, focus on getting yourself some diabetic socks.
Best woman’s antifungal socks:
Best men’s antifungal socks:
Recommended foot fungus products:
- It is also imperative to fix your foot fungus.
- Even if you cure your toenail fungus, keep your toenails trimmed in healthy: your foot fungus can spread back into toenails.
- It’s not a far journey from skin fungus to jump onto your toenails again.
- So make sure you treat your foot fungus, as well as your toenail fungus.
Get The Best Shoes:
- You definitely want to get great shoes and sandals for your toenail fungus and foot fungus.
- Specifically, when you are in a communal shower or pool, you want to get a good pair of sandals. We compiled a great list of our recommended orthotic flip-flops.
- You also want to get new breathable shoes that are not covered in sweat and mesh around the toes.
- Specifically, good pairs of running shoes have a mesh where your toes are. This prevents your toenails from rubbing and prevents them from dreaming on the front of the foot.
- Click on the below link to see which shoes we recommend for your toenail fungus and foot fungus.