Toenails just falling off - should I be concerned?

[Wilsonicus]

Gross, I know - feet!! Sorry!

Anyway, I've lost both of my big toenails within the last 2 weeks. I literally didn't even NOTICE the second one falling off until I realised that I had painted the nail purple and there was a suspiciously purple-free toe staring back at me.

Obviously I'm going to see my doctor when possible, but does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Fungal nail infection maybe? I do martial arts, and the last few weeks I've been practising in shoes, so could they have caused damage to my nails during high impact training sessions?

It's likely to be your shoes. My DD lost both her big toe nails within weeks of taking up running for this reason. You need to make sure your nails are short and that your shoes fit properly - that they aren't impacting the top of the nail, or your toe isn't hitting the end of your shoe whilst you are doing your sport.

Could it be Covid toe?

if you bruise your toenails from shoes to the point that they fall off you tend to really know about it. They get bruised and very tender before they actually drop off.

My DD actually had little, if any, pain. And the nail loss was definitely caused by trauma. Initially the nails developed an area of bruising/ blood underneath, then they eventually became loose.

I think Covid toes is a rash, not nail loss.

Are you a runner? My big toe nails fell off when I was training and I had poorly fitted trainers, mine went black then fell off

Hi OP,
I’m sure the problem will be caused by impact from your sports but ask your doctor if you can have blood done to look for deficiencies just in case. I would start taking a multivit anyway - but only take vitamins after any blood tests as it might skew the results. I do know one person who loses toe nails who is in heart failure but I think you would know about this due to breathlessness/weakness etc.