Why my leg nails is like that and on my both toe nails painful bcz I f

IMG_0701.jpg

Why my leg nails is like that and on my both toe nails painful bcz I feel it’s growing inside the skin on edges

analyse_media

Reading File

Finding Sources

Searching the Web

onychomycosis ingrown toenail causes treatment

Reading File

Finding Sources

Reading File

Finding Sources

Reading File

Now I have comprehensive information from the image analysis and textbooks to give a thorough answer.

What's Happening With Your Toenails

Based on the image, you have two separate but often co-existing problems:

1. Onychomycosis (Fungal Nail Infection) - Primary Issue

Your nails show the classic signs:

Yellow-brown to grayish discoloration across nearly all toenails
Thickening and roughness of the nail plate, especially the big toes
Dull, opaque appearance instead of normal translucent pink

This is called onychomycosis (or tinea unguium when caused by dermatophytes). It is the most common nail disease, affecting up to 14% of the population. The most common cause is a fungus called Trichophyton rubrum. It typically starts as a foot fungus (tinea pedis/"athlete's foot") and spreads under the nail from the tip, working its way toward the nail root. - Fitzpatrick's Dermatology, p. 2967

Why does it happen? Risk factors include:

Wearing tight/closed shoes (traps moisture and heat)
Walking barefoot in communal areas (gyms, pools, changing rooms)
Minor nail trauma
Diabetes or reduced circulation
Male sex and older age

2. Ingrown Toenail (Onychocryptosis) - Causing Your Pain

The pain you describe - nail edges digging into the skin - is an ingrown toenail (onychocryptosis). The thickened, curved nail plate (worsened by the fungal infection) presses into the soft skin of the lateral nail folds.

Common causes include:

Cutting nails too short or rounding the corners - this creates a sharp edge (spicule) that grows into the skin
Tight footwear pressing on the toes
Curved nail shape
Nail thickening from fungal infection

The great toe is the most commonly affected. Symptoms are pain, swelling, and inflammation at the nail edges. If untreated, it can progress to infection with pus and granulation tissue. - Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine, p. 231

What You Should Do

Right now (home care for mild cases):

Soak your feet in warm soapy water for 10-20 minutes daily - this softens the skin and nail
After soaking, gently lift the nail edge and tuck a small piece of cotton or dental floss under the corner to redirect nail growth away from the skin
Wear open-toed shoes or loose footwear to relieve pressure
Keep feet dry after washing - fungi thrive in moisture

For the nail cutting going forward:

Always cut toenails straight across - never curved or rounded at the corners
Do not cut too short - leave a small white edge visible
Use proper nail clippers, not scissors

You NEED to see a doctor or podiatrist because:

Fungal nail infections do not clear without treatment - OTC creams rarely work on thickened nails because they cannot penetrate deeply enough
A doctor can confirm the diagnosis with a nail scraping test
Oral antifungal medications (like terbinafine or itraconazole) are the most effective treatment - they are taken for weeks and work from the inside out
Prescription topical nail lacquers (ciclopirox, efinaconazole) are an option for milder cases
If the ingrown nails are painful or infected, the doctor can do a minor procedure to remove the offending nail edge - this is quick and done under local anesthesia

Do not ignore this. Fungal infections spread to other nails and to the skin. If you have diabetes or poor circulation, an untreated ingrown nail can become a serious infection. According to the AAFP guidelines, ingrown nails represent about 20% of all foot problems seen by family doctors, and most resolve well with proper treatment.

Summary: You have a chronic fungal infection making your nails thick and misshapen, which in turn is causing the nail edges to dig into your skin. Both conditions need medical treatment - one won't fully resolve without treating the other.

May I know what is the best treatment for this

Finding Sources

Searching PubMed

onychomycosis toenail treatment oral antifungal

Reading File

Searching PubMed

onychomycosis terbinafine itraconazole systematic review

Reading File

I now have everything needed for a thorough, evidence-based answer covering both conditions. Let me compile it clearly.

Best Treatment Plan for Your Toenails

You have two conditions that need to be treated at the same time: fungal nail infection (onychomycosis) and ingrown toenails (onychocryptosis). Here is the full treatment roadmap, from most effective to least:

Part 1: Treating the Fungal Infection

#1 - Oral Terbinafine (BEST option - First Line)

This is the single most effective treatment available for toenail fungus, supported by multiple textbooks and Cochrane review evidence.

Dose: 250 mg once daily
Duration: 12 weeks for toenails (about 3 months)
How it works: Gets into the nail through your bloodstream and kills the fungus at the root
Cure rate: ~70% mycologic cure for toenails; combined clinical + mycologic cure ~38% (higher than itraconazole's 23%) - Dermatology 5e
Needs a prescription - your doctor will also check your liver function before starting

⚠️ Important: Tell your doctor ALL other medications you take - terbinafine can interact with certain drugs.

#2 - Oral Itraconazole (Alternative if terbinafine not suitable)

Dose: Can be given continuously or as "pulse therapy" (1 week on, 3 weeks off, repeated)
Duration: 3 months for toenails
Slightly lower cure rates than terbinafine but still effective
Also needs a prescription and has more drug interactions (uses the P450 enzyme system) - Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 2025

#3 - Topical Antifungal Nail Lacquers (For mild cases or as add-on)

Because your nails are already thick, topical creams alone will not work - they cannot penetrate. However, prescription nail lacquers applied directly to the nail surface have some benefit:

Product	Application	Duration	Cure Rate
Efinaconazole 10% (Jublia)	Daily	48 weeks	15-20%
Ciclopirox 8% (Penlac)	Daily	48 weeks	6-10%
Tavaborole 5% (Kerydin)	Daily	48 weeks	6-10%

These are much less effective than oral treatment alone, but can be combined with oral therapy for better results. - Dermatology 2-Volume Set 5e

Prevention After Treatment (to stop it coming back)

Recurrence is common - these steps are important:

Wear breathable cotton socks and change them daily
Keep feet dry - dry between toes after washing
Wear open or well-ventilated shoes; avoid tight, damp footwear
Discard old shoes - they harbor fungal spores
Use antifungal powder in shoes daily
Never walk barefoot in public showers, gyms, or pools

Part 2: Treating the Ingrown Toenails

Stage 1 - Home Treatment (For mild pain, no infection yet)

Do this every day:

Soak feet in warm, slightly soapy water for 15-20 minutes
After soaking, gently slide a small piece of cotton wool or dental floss under the nail edge to lift it away from the skin
Apply a mild antiseptic (like dilute Betadine) to the nail groove
Wear open-toed sandals or loose footwear

Nail cutting technique (very important going forward):

Cut nails straight across - never curve the corners
Leave the nail long enough that the corners are just visible
Use proper nail clippers, not scissors

Stage 2 - Minor Procedure (If pain is severe or there is swelling/pus)

If home treatment does not help within 1-2 weeks, or if the skin is red, swollen, or oozing, you need a doctor. The procedure is simple and done under local anesthesia (numbing injection):

Partial nail avulsion: The doctor removes the thin painful edge of the nail - only the problem corner is removed, not the whole nail
Takes about 15-20 minutes
Relieves pain immediately
For recurring cases, the doctor may apply phenol (a chemical) to the nail matrix to permanently prevent that edge from growing back - this has a very low recurrence rate

Recommended Action Plan

Step	What to do	When
1	Visit a dermatologist or podiatrist	As soon as possible
2	Get a nail scraping test to confirm fungus type	At first visit
3	Start oral terbinafine 250mg daily	After confirmation
4	Use warm soaks + cotton tucking for ingrown edges	Start today
5	Partial nail procedure if needed	If no improvement in 2 weeks
6	Apply antifungal nail lacquer alongside pills	Optional add-on
7	Preventive foot hygiene	Ongoing after cure

One important note: Because both conditions affect each other - the fungal infection makes nails thick and curved, which worsens ingrowth - treating only one without the other will likely lead to the problem coming back. Treating both together gives the best long-term outcome. According to recent guidelines from AAFP, oral antifungals combined with proper nail edge management produce the best results for this combination of problems.

Even my dad nails also same it’s very hard also even my grandfather

Finding Sources

Searching the Web

onychomycosis runs in family genetic predisposition hereditary household transmission

Reading Web Page

https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/20510

Finding Sources

Reading File

This is a very good observation, and the research fully explains it. Here is the complete picture:

Why Your Dad and Grandfather Have the Same Problem

There are two reasons working together:

Reason 1: You Inherited a Genetic Susceptibility

The fungus itself is not directly inherited - but your immune system's ability to fight it can be. Research published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology shows there is strong evidence for a genetic predisposition to chronic onychomycosis. Specific genes - including certain immune receptor genes (like Dectin-1) and HLA class II genes - affect how well your body recognizes and attacks fungal infections. If a parent carries these gene variants, children can inherit them, making the whole family more susceptible than average people exposed to the same environment.

The inheritance pattern is described as autosomal dominant in some studies - meaning even one copy of the gene from one parent is enough to increase your susceptibility.

Think of it this way: the fungus is everywhere in the environment, but most people can fight it off. Your family has a lower immune defense against this specific fungus, so it takes hold more easily.

Reason 2: The Fungus Is Spreading Between Family Members at Home

This is equally important. Research using molecular analysis confirmed that people living in the same household are frequently infected by the exact same strain of fungus. The transmission risk in a household where one person is infected is 44-47% - meaning nearly half of all family members of an infected person will get it too.

How it spreads at home:

Walking barefoot on the same bathroom floor or carpet
Sharing slippers or shoes
Sharing towels
The fungus survives in washed socks, bath mats, and even nail clippers
Shared shower floors are one of the most common transmission sites

So what has likely happened in your family: one person (possibly your grandfather first) got it, and over years it spread through the home - both through direct contact AND because the family genetically finds it harder to clear. - Andrews' Diseases of the Skin

Reason 3: Your Grandfather's Nails Are Harder - Age Makes It Worse

The fact that your grandfather's nails are described as very hard is also expected. Onychomycosis gets significantly worse with age:

Nails naturally grow more slowly with age, giving the fungus more time to establish
Blood circulation to the feet decreases with age
The immune system weakens with age
Years of untreated infection leads to more severe thickening (called subungual hyperkeratosis)

Prevalence of onychomycosis is highest in people over 65 years of age, and in older individuals the nails can become extremely thick, hard, curved, and discolored - sometimes resembling a ram's horn (a condition called onychogryphosis).

What This Means for Your Family - The Most Important Part

All three of you need treatment at the same time.

This is critical. If only one person treats it and the others don't, the treated person will almost certainly get re-infected from the untreated family members through the shared home environment. This is one of the most common reasons the condition keeps coming back.

Family Action Plan:

Action	Details
All three see a doctor together	Get all three confirmed and treated simultaneously
Disinfect the bathroom floor	Use a dilute bleach or antifungal spray on floors weekly
Wash all bath mats	At 60°C or higher - the fungus survives cold washing
Never share nail clippers	Each person needs their own, cleaned with alcohol after use
No shared slippers or towels	Each person has their own
Treat the inside of shoes	Use antifungal powder or spray in everyone's shoes
Replace old shoes	Old shoes harbor fungal spores and cause re-infection
Wear flip-flops in the bathroom	Especially in shared bathrooms

Special Note for Your Grandfather

Because he is older and his nails are very hard, his treatment may be more challenging:

His doctor may need to mechanically thin the nails before medications can penetrate
Oral terbinafine is generally safe in older adults but liver function should be checked first
The treatment course may need to be longer
Nail avulsion (removal) or laser therapy may be considered if oral treatment is not tolerated

The good news is that treating the whole family together is the single most important step to stop this cycle for good. Without that, re-infection will keep happening no matter how well each individual responds to treatment.

This is a shared conversation. Sign in to Orris to start your own chat.