Black Toenails - Picture

[Theblacksheepandme]

My daughters two big toenails have turned black. Any ideas what it could be? I thought maybe fungal but didn't think fungal would be black. I hope I added the photo ok. Not very good at this stuff.

Could it be caused by tight footwear?

Bruising.

I'd say this is bruising - toenails are quite long - could be as simple as nails repeatedly pressing against shoes

Has she had gel nail varnish on? I’ve had an issue with this similarly. It’s fungal I think.

Looks like bruises. Are her shoes too tight over her toes or has she been kicking anything?

Fungal can absolutely be black (bitter experience) but I would suggest the fact it’s on both feet but the same toe on each means bruising.

how old is she?
do her shoes fit?
does she put her chair legs at school/home onto her toes? I see many childrdn doing that.
does she brake the bike/scooter with her toes?

Wow that was a quick response. She's 14, shoes definitely not too small as I always make sure. If anything I think they may always be slightly too big. Doesn't put chair legs on her toes. She plays a lot of sport including football. Never had gel varnish.

Could be from kicking the football

yes could be football. do her football boots fit well?

It's bruises 100%. Takes months to grow out

Got her expensive well fitted leather boots. She kicks the ball with her right foot but it is a possibility that it is kicking the football.

The main thing I was worried about is that it could be fungal. If it is football does anyone have any suggestions on what she could do to protect her toes?

Sometimes, shoes that are loose can be just as bad as shoes that are tight. They ‘flap’ around against the toes, and if her nails are too long the nails get pushed repeatedly back towards the base of the nail.

Her nails are long so it could be pushing against the front of her shoes and damaging the nail and nail bed. I would trim them shorter and see if that helps.

It does look like bruising. I currently have a red/black big toe, been like it for 3 months now! Apparently bruising on toes can take up to 9 months to get reabsorbed into the body!

Look up runners toenail. It may be that, a combination of her toe hitting the football boot when running/kicking, plus her toe striking her regular shoes if they are slightly oversized so her foot slips in them.

I'll get her to trim her toenails. She has one foot half a size bigger than the other.