Why Are My Toenails Yellow? Discover The Reasons
Have your ever wonder “why my toenails yellow”? or did you ever noticed your grandpa’s toenails and wondered if he could be a troll? Those nails are all yellow, weirdly shaped, and break easily, which can make little kids feel uncomfortable. To hide them, he wears black socks that go up to his knees with his sandals.
This condition is called Onychomycosis and it affects around 10% of all people. When you look at people over 60, about 20% of them have it, and when you look at people over 70, a whopping 50% of them have it too!
Causes of Onychomycosis
So what’s going on here? There are a few reasons why your nails might not be perfect. One common cause is a group of fungi called Dermatophytes. There are also certain types of yeasts and molds that can cause this too.
Dermatophytes don’t just affect your nails; they also infect the skin, causing conditions known as “ringworm” or “tinea”. They can also live in your hair and follicles, causing something called tinea capitis.
Dermatophytes and the diseases they cause are really interesting. They don’t invade living tissue, but instead, they make themselves at home in the dead layers of tissue that have a protein called keratin. Hair, skin, and nails all have lots of keratin.
Even though they don’t invade living tissue, they can still cause allergic or inflammatory reactions.
These fungi have evolved to depend on infecting humans or animals to survive and spread. They need us to keep their species going.
Understanding Nail Growth
To understand why our nails become deformed, let’s learn about how they grow and what they’re made of.
Our nails have different parts. The part we can see is called the nail plate. Below the plate is the nail bed. The white, half-moon shape at the base of the nail is called the lunula. The tissue over the matrix is called the cuticle.
The nail grows mostly from the matrix, which is made up of epithelial cells. Epithelial cells are common cells in our body that make up our skin and hair. They contain keratin.
When the cells reach the end of their life cycles, they go through a process called keratinization or cornification. The cell loses its nucleus and other parts, leaving behind hardened keratin.
An enzyme called Transglutaminase helps enclose the keratin in a mixture of proteins and fats. This process makes our nails hard and allows us to use them for picking noses and giving back scratches.
The Role of Dermatophytes
Keratin is like the main food for dermatophytes. These fungi infect the keratin-rich cells and make them release sulfite. Scientists have found out that dermatophytes need sulfite to grow and spread.
Keratins have a special amino acid called cysteine that has sulfur in it. Cysteine bonds are what make keratin strong and give it a solid structure. These fungi use cysteine to make sulfite. Once sulfite is made, it sticks to the cysteine bonds and the process happens again.
The end result is keratin that doesn’t have cysteine anymore. This makes it weak, weirdly shaped, and not nice to look at.
Risk Factors for Nail Infections
There are many factors that can make it more likely for your nails to get infected by these tiny troublemakers. Some of these risk factors include:
- Not having good blood circulation, like when you have peripheral artery disease.
- Having nails that grow slowly.
- Hurting your nail or having an injury to it.
- Having a weak immune system.
- Having a family history of fungal infections.
- Having diabetes.
- Having AIDS.
- Age and gender
Other things that can increase your risk are environmental conditions, like walking barefoot in wet public places, working in humid or moist environments, and wearing socks and shoes that don’t let your feet breathe.
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Treatment Options
If you’re unlucky and your nails have these tiny bugs, there are different ways to treat them. Dermatophytes are the most common cause, but there are other conditions and fungi, like candida, that can cause the same nail problems.
Your doctor will need to figure out exactly what’s wrong with your nails before deciding on a treatment. If the infection is only in one spot, they might try using creams or ointments like benzoic acid, Batrafin, or Nystatin.
But if the problem is all over your nails, you’ll probably need to take oral medications that target specific types of fungi.
Don’t worry too much if your nails start turning yellow and you have to wear socks with sandals. Lots of people over 70 have the same problem. If it bothers you, visit your doctor and have your nails tested to determine the exact bugs causing the problem. Then you can try to get rid of them and make your nails look better.
The information provided in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment
