toenail pain

The nails on my big toes are thick and discolored. There is constant pain from pressure even without shoes. My podistrist trimmed and filed them but it did not help. What can be done?

[FootDoc]

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Although not the only possibility, by far, the most common cause of findings such as you have enumerated is a fungus infection of the nail and nail bed. It use to be that the only permanent method to resolve fungus infection of the nail was to permanently remove the nail plate and destroy the nail matrix to prevent the nail from growing back. But for some time now, oral anti-funguals, such as Lamasil have proven very effective for this condition, although they have potentially adverse effect on the liver and liver tests are required before and during treatment. I have personally never seen a liver problems with this medication in one of my patients, but they HAVE been reported and they can prove serious. Although a plethora of topical medications have generally been very disappointing or the years, a relatively new one, Penlac, a prescription medication, seems to be more promising, although the nail plate should be debrided for the medication best to be effective.

But your first course of action should be to obtain a diagnosis, Check with your podiatrist or see a dermatologist.