Funky toenail debris can be difficult to treat and cause discomfort. To put it simply, nobody wants their toenails or fingernails to smell. A smell emanating from the nails can be obvious to the people around you. When people notice this smell, they might try to avoid being around you. The following damage to social relationships may remove a lot of the joy of life. The relationships you have with others, be it your friends or family, can add meaning to your life and be a basis for happiness. When something like stinky toenails causes disruption to these meaningful interactions, the problem has gone too far.

It is very common for people with smelly nails to avoid showing their toes in public. This can lead to the inability to enjoy fun activities like going to the beach or heading to the pool. Aside from the harm to social life that smelly nails can cause, this foot issue also raises the concern that medical intervention is necessary. Smelly feet are a common problem when proper hygiene isn’t followed or when sweating is excessive. But the smell coming from nails is different. 

Nail fungus spread

Funky toenail debris is often a symptom of nail fungus infection. Nail fungus is a highly contagious condition that can easily spread between people. This spread happens as fungal spores from an infected person are passed to an uninfected person. This transfer of fungal material most commonly occurs in public spaces where people touch communal surfaces with their toes. For example, public pools and locker rooms are where toenail fungus spread is common. These public areas have a high traffic of barefoot people walking through. Nail salons are other places where toenail fungus is frequently spread. In these salons, nail techs may reuse tools on multiple clients, causing the potential for the spread. This can be avoided if nail salons properly sanitize their tools between customers. You should always ask if your nail tech has sanitized/changed their tools before using them on you.

Nail fungus symptoms

Funky toenail debris is just one of the multiple symptoms of a toenail fungus infection. This debris often will look like unrecognizable gunk under the nail. it can take many different forms and colors. For example, this debris can be crumbly, dusty, thick, or even appear as if another nail is growing underneath the normal one. Nail fungus typically causes aesthetic problems on the nail’s surface.

The most common of these aesthetic problems is discoloration, which is also usually the first sign of nail fungus to appear. After your toes have become infected with the fungus, it will often take some time for the symptoms to develop enough to be obvious. It can often be difficult to notice the first signs of this issue since they are subtle; the discoloration will at first usually show up as small dots or stripes on the nail. The discoloration will become more prominent and noticeable as the fungal infection grows. As the discoloration worsens and the fungal infection grows, other changes will often happen to the nail.

Nails that are infected with a toenail fungus can often start to look cracked, brittle, or decayed as the fungal infection worsens. The nails can also seem like they’re about to fall off because they start to lift from the nail bed. The nail can also seem to grow multiple layers, or become very thickened or hardened.  

Treatment options for nail fungus

Funky toenail debris should improve after effective treatment as a healthy nail grows behind the old fungal one. Most treatments for fungus are very ineffective and can take as long as a year to eliminate the fungus under the nail bed. These treatments for fungus also have very low cure rates and require long periods of application. However, there are more effective treatments available for nail fungus.

The best option is the PinPointe laser, which typically only requires one treatment to completely eliminate the fungus from under the toenail or fingernail. This means that right after the treatment, a new healthy nail should start growing in with less debris. This treatment is able to cure patients with all types of nail fungus, even those who have had the condition for a long period of time. To read about the experiences our patients have had with the PinPointe Laser treatment, visit our website here.