Toenail Assessment & Care

What is a Toenail Assessment and Care?

A Toenail Assessment and Care program is essential for mobility, independent functioning and comfort.

Foot health can be maintained with proper foot care, which includes:

• Regular comprehensive assessment of the feet,
• Appropriate interventions that address problems associated with the toenails and skin.

Why Have a Toenail Assessment?

The primary purpose of the nail is to protect the digital tip of your feet.

While abnormalities of the nail can be caused by skin disease and infection, they may also indicate more general medical conditions.

• Cracked Heels
• Dry Skin
• Fungal Nails
• Athlete's Foot and Tinea

When Toenails thicken and become hard and brittle they may also become difficult to cut. Also, continuous pressure from inappropriate footwear can also cause more extreme nail deformity.

Nails that become too long or thickened can damage the skin on adjacent toes.

What is a Toenail Assessment?

A Toenail Assessment involves a complete examination of all 20 nail units and any periungual skin.

• Assessment of the softness and flexibility of the free edge,
• The shape and colour of the nail,
• The quantity of soft tissue around the nails,
• The growth rate. (normal toenail growth rate is 1 mm per month)

When attending a Toenail Assessment, patients should have removed nail polish from all nails, as it may camouflage dystrophy or disease of the nail.

About Regular Toenail Care?

Regular Toenail care involves:

• Filing - To safely reduce the length and thickness of the nails
• Cutting - To safely reduce the length of the nails by using nail clippers

As well as:

• Biomechanical Assessment
• General Podiatry Care, and
• Foot Care