Toenails growing in "layers" that create horizontal lines, why?

I am going on 10 years with this problem on both big toenails. I have tried going long periods of time wearing open-toed shoes, without toenail polish, and keeping the nails trimmed short. A few years ago, a dermatologist suggested the cause was trauma (dietary or physical). He said that, because of the slow growth of toenails, it can take a long time to see a new regrowth/layer, which makes it very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause. The dermatologist did not have any solutions except to hide the layers with toenail polish.

 

Hi i have the same thing (im 12) my nails started layering one would grow out then another would start to form and grow on top. I believe this came from me playing soccer for 4 years and constantly hitting my toes and injuring them. It doesnt hurt nor has it ever no one else in my family has gotten it. So i continue to just take care of them and file and cut them down they are not ingrown nor like Beaus lines, its sorta like how you might layer a cake but they grow outwards once they start to layer and grow.

 

This is so interesting! This also started happening to me just after a car accident. I assumed it was related to my brain using all the energy from the body to heal but it has been 14 months now and it hasn't gone away!

 

I started growing an extra layer on my big toe toenails 3 years ago after my thyroidectomy. The thyroid can affect nail health so I attributed it to that, but my thyroid levels have been in check so I really do not know what it is. As soon as it grows out, another layer starts, much to my dismay. I wear comfortable shoes, mostly open-toes sandals and no injuries to speak of. The podiatrist didn't know what it is either. I will have to live with it I guess. It could be worse.....

 

Actually Onychomadesis is a condition where without injury the toenail spontaneously dies and completely falls off.

 

You know what? This is going to sound kind of weird , but I had the same kind of thick toenail on my big toe , and then my 2nd toe. For a few months , instead of putting lotion on my feet I used pine oil (yeah , like pine- sol). Do you know what? I noticed it started going away. But I stopped because I was using the pine oil for a rash I had on the same foot , which also went away. So now , I guess I will go back to the pine-sol. Give it a shot. What have you got to lose? Besides , at least your feet will smell good. I work as a paramedic , and obviously deal with a lot of seniors , and people who just don't take care of their bodies , and feet. Its important. I think we ignore our feet until something like this comes up.

 

Check your thyroid function

 

Just came across this thread and felt I should leave a comment-- like most people who commented before me, I have been experiencing layered toenails for more than a decade now. This was most likely caused by trauma and cold feet (poor blood circulation). My dermatologist was of the opinion both toenails suffered trauma to that area, which I can confirm happened back in 2001. Why these layers disappear and then show up again? I am not entirely sure, but the doctor confirmed no fungal infection is involved, it is just a deformity in the way the nails grow. One ointment which help me get rid of the layers for long periods of times is called Emtrix. I highly recommend you look into it. Results can be seen after two weeks but it can take longer for the layers to completely disappear. Again, this is not a fungus as per medical observation, but the ointment does the work nonetheless (something to do with rearranging the nail formation/texture on the cellular level). I hope this info helps those who read this thread after my comment. God bless you all!

 

I have had this same issue for at least 10 or 12 years and I just recently decided to try and figure out what it is and I believe I have solved it.

I have the same issue described here by almost everyone else where about 1/2 of the toenail on both of my big toes grows thick and looks slightly yellow. The nail seems to grow thicker instead of growing out as fast as the others. You can see the layers and sometimes can separate them and peel a layer off if it cracks. I have always known that it is not a fungus because it always stays at the end of my toe, doesn't get worse, and has never spread to any other toes in all the years. I use the same nail clippers on all my toenails and fingernails and I would imagine that would easily cause it to spread if it was a fungus.

I believe this exact same thing is happening to so many people because it is caused by the way we walk. When we walk, we are putting too much stress on the tip of our big toes for balance and this force is pushing the nail up off of the nail bed and also pushing it back into the toe somehow causing it to grow thicker in layers instead of just growing out. In my case, I know it is caused by how I walk, but I would imagine if you have improperly fitting shoes that put pressure on your toes and wear them a lot, it could cause the same problem.

Another factor that I believe makes it worse is that I allow my toenails to grow too long. The longer toenail will create pressure sooner and probably work like a lever increasing the upwards pressure that separates the front of the nail from the nail bed. As long as I'm not in the shower, I always have socks on, and I don't really do anything where I would need to take my socks off in front of other people, so I don't cut my toenails as often. I probably cut my fingernails every week, but let my toenails go 2 or 3 weeks because I am lazy and nobody has to see them.

A few months ago when I thought of this, I decided to try and change the way I walk and keep at least my big toenails shorter. When I walk, I try to remember to not putt too much pressure on the tip of my big toes and I cut them back fairly short about once a week. After a couple weeks, I started to notice that the amount of thick nail was getting less and less every time I cut them. Now, probably 2 or 3 months later, they are almost completely back to normal. The layers and lines are gone and there is almost no yellow color at all. I can still tell that they are slightly thicker, but you have to look very close. It is night and day compared to how they use to look and standing up, they look completely normal. There will probably always be a slight amount of trauma to the nail unless I can completely change the way I walk, but that probably wont happen.

Give it a try for a few months and see if you have the same results I did. You have to really try and think about it every time you walk though. After a couple weeks of thinking about it, it will start to become a habit and you won't have to focus on it as much anymore. I am curious to hear if this helps other people that read this. You can post here as a guest without creating an account.

 

I GOT A BAD CASE OF THE SHINGLES. AND THIS APPEARED AS A RESULT. I HAD SHINGLES FOR OVER A MONTH. AFTER SHINGLES AND BLISTERS DISSAPEARED , I WAS LEFT WITH SCARS AND DAMAGED BIG TOE NAILS

 

I've had this problem for at least 6 years, I only noticed it during a summer trip to the DR nearly 7 years ago. I have no idea when it started, but there's no pain (unless someone steps on it), and I went to a podiatrist and she took a biopsy which ruled out toe fungus. She also told me it was caused by trauma and "shaved" down my nail, however my nail still continued to grow upwards (in layers), rather than outwards. Now, it barely covers 1/2 of the nail bed and it looks the same as it did before. It's only on my left big toenail, the right one is normal. Does anyone know what this is or how to treat it?! I'm sick of it.

 

My daughter has had this problem for about 7 years. She had ingrown toenails and a podiatrist did a procedure to get them out but they grew back in. A few months later she had a surgery to get the toenails "killed". The sides of her toenails were removed and were not supposed to grow in anymore as they were left very narrow. The problem was that the nail bed continued growing a new nail (luckily at an extremely slow rate) but the nail cannot advance to the tip of the toe, so it never gets long, which makes layers that form underneath. She's 18 now and I'm trying to convince her to let me take her to another podiatrist to see if the top layers can me filed away or removed but she's still adamant about it cause she suffered a lot of pain with the surgeries

 

I realize that y posted that over a year and a half ago but I've had the same issue however not for nearly as long as you had it. I'm going to try doing what you did to stop it and I'll try to see if it works. I will try to remember to update you in a few months or something to let you know if it improves and helps with things.

 

Thyroid disease!!!

 

Hi! How long did it take him for the issue to clear up? My dermatologist said I had fungus, but I only have the issue on my big toe nails.

 

Guys Im shocked by the amount of ppl talking about thisss. I never knew what's wrong with my left big toe and thought im the only one going through this. It's a layer covering half of my nail. There's a noticable crack between them. The above layer is thick and yellow. It doesn't hurt at all. I don't know if it's fungus or deformation but I'm gonna start applying fungus spray and applying all the above advices. Also I think the layer is dead so idk