Several situations can cause toenail discoloration such as toe trauma, excessive use of dark-colored nail polish, and colored foot decorations.
Bacterial infections and fungi can cause discoloration as well.
Severe underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, circulation problems, or liver dysfunction also cause this problem.
Depending on the cause of discoloration, toenails may appear brown, red, yellow, black and even green.
Toenail discoloration can sometimes be a result of a serious underlying medical condition such as diabetes, or liver dysfunction.
This is the one of the main reasons why if one has this concern that they should have their feet examined as a precautionary measure.
Also anyone with diabetes needs to have all foot issues examined by a health care provider.
Genetic issues can also cause toenail discoloration, the most common is called yellow nail syndrome.
The symptoms of yellow nail syndrome are slow-growing toe nails and yellow tinged toe nails.
Repeat injury to the toenail bed which can be seen especially in athletes can also cause discoloration.
An injury to the toe can cause bleeding to occur under the toe, therefore red streaks or a totally red toenail can ensue.
Sometimes this blood can get trapped under the toenail and not drain properly resulting in a black toenail.
This type of discoloration can happen to anyone, but it is more common in active people.
Another common cause is dark-colored toenail polish.
Extensive use of dark-colored nail polish can cause the toenails to have a yellow tinge when the nail polish is removed.
Middle Eastern body adornment known as henna is a deep red color and is sometimes used on the feet.
Since it's a deep red color and is used on the feet, it makes the wearer prone to discolored toenails.
Despite all the aforementioned causes of toenail discoloration, the most common cause is toenail fungus.
Different fungi cause the toenails to be different colors.
A yellow color is usually the first color that develops when a toenail is infected with a fungus.
If that indicator of toenail fungus is dismissed then the colors will change as the infection spreads throughout the nails.
That is why it is important if you have any toenail discoloration to see your physician, so that is assessed and treated promptly and properly.
Toenail discoloration is a nuisance but it can be easily taken care of with prompt medical attention, good hygiene and home care regime.