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Toenails
Is the common disfigurement of toenails (in old age and bad health) due to VA overload? And are there things we should be doing about it? We've all seen how Grant's fingers looked so much better over time. I'm not sure he has posted about his toenails!
I am inspired to think about this because I watched a few videos on a YouTube channel called "the meticulous manicurist" and OH LORDIE do people have disfigured toenails. Toenail disfigurement is a serious issue that can actually even lead to death (due to infection).
I have noticed that the vlogger removes "toe cheese" (sorry) from under the nail bed... @ourania has mentioned that she thought toe cheese could be VA detox. Toe cheese under the nail bed disfigures nails. It has to go.
She also spends lots of time grinding down overly-thick oddly-pigmented (rather than opaque) toenails. From watching a few vids I think she has said that toenails become dyed from colored perspiration...
She has skills that probably we all should try to master to help our loved ones (because eventually we all can't reach our toes). (Or see them sharply. Or feel them.). We should be tending our toenails at least monthly. If not more.
Does anyone have updates about their toenails that they would like to share? I have not had toe nail fungus during my lowered-VA years. I do have a white spot here and there. I don't have the toenail disfigurement that starts to be common for people over 60.
@tricky Wavy gravy has a thread about nails too, so I'm going to ping him.
Wow, the thing just happened to me where I lost a long message. I do think I might have timed out, it took me a long time. Also it might have been because of trying to upload a picture with a file extension it didn't like.
I am 72 and a half. My toenails are now perfect. No ridges, no white spots, which I had before starting the diet. Nails on my hands are perfect too. But more recently. On 25th November it will be 5 years.
Wow, I'm super glad, Ourania! Do you have ideas about the care and feeding of the toe nails? 😉
There seems to be various opinions out there.
The manicurist I've been watching carefully cuts away all excess toe nail, very close to where the nail grows out. And the line she cuts isn't necessarily straight across, it hugs the natural line of the nail, whatever that is. Now, this is easier to do when you don't have disfigured nails. It becomes a real art once you have disfigured nails. She uses a "nipper" rather than your usual fingernail clipper. A nipper can get into strange shapes easier. It's a tool that needs some finesse and practice IMO.
Most people cut straight across and leave a lot of white, unattached nail. (and perhaps these spaces become a toe cheese haven?). If you have to leave excess unattached nail, I wonder if we should be cleaning under there gently and often.
I would guess that cutting close has the benefit that "toe cheese" has no where to build up and if detox happens through toe cheese... getting rid of it is good! Of course, cutting close sure isn't easy if your nail is arched, oddly shaped due to injury or ingrowth.
Another thing that I find interesting is that some people's nails begin to grow "up" rather than "out" and I've seen that with my relatives. Before I started watching this manicurist channel I thought all of that was toenail fungus, but now I'm not sure if it is just disfigurement. She grinds down these thickened nails and I think that possibly that could be detoxing as well. There are little power tools for this.
And then there are also the corns and calluses to carefully sand down too.
Soft and roomy shoes are important. And air. Air can be a problem because yesterday I really stubbed my toe walking around barefoot. That isn't good!
I had one of those split toenails on a little toe that went away after about 2 years of low vitamin A eating. Now it is one piece.
I agree about removing stuff under the toes and filing or grinding the surface of the nail. Both of my big toes had pain along the edges as if they were ingrown. I thought the yellowish ends of the nails were from beta-carotene but it never went away until after I filed off the yellowed surface. Then I started to use plain white vinegar on all the toes and the pain has gone away mostly. One nail has one side that still has problems sometimes and I think it may be an ingrown type pain because at my age the flesh around my toenails is thin and doesn't provide much padding around the nail.
I told my sister-in-law about the vinegar and she says it solved her fungus problem. She swims so is in contact with places that harbor athlete's foot fungus among other things.
I still have ridges, though.
Thanks Elo, for the interesting post. Yes, white vinegar is the answer that worked for me when I had "corn chip toe" (back pre-Grant)
Super interesting about the yellowed surface. The Meticulous Manicurist might say that your toenails got stained by sweat that dyes things yellow (such as your pillow, your collar, underarm areas of white shirts... Our pillows are very yellow!) My guess is that there are carotenes in sweat. If it is only on the surface, maybe she is right!
This makes me think about how nice it is to wear socks, I have some shoes and boots that I don't wear socks with, and I suppose they might end up sort of Vitamin-A toxic from sweat.
That is great about the split healing up.
I think we should make this week: War against Toe Cheese Week. Lots of self-care ideas here.
Be so careful with your back, if you do try to do some of this foot care to yourself.
Clip. Sit up and massage that back. Clip. Push those disks back in. etc.
I'm sure if we do this every day we will get a bit more flexible.