Dry, Cracked Toenails

If you’re not counting the many puddle jumping day we’ve had in Dubai lately, we mostly live in a hot and dry climate. This can cause excessive dryness in our skin and nails, which is the most common reason for cracks in the nails. A lack of moisture in the nail plate creates gapping between the matrix cells (cells at the root of the nail), which will produce a crack in the nail during growth.
Ladies are more likely to have dry brittle nail, due to wearing nail polish and using solvents to remove polish – both contain various drying chemicals causing brittle nails.
Tips to avoid / treat dry toenails
Soak your feet for no more than 5minutes and after drying apply natural nail oils (olive, coconut, almond, Vitamin E oil) directly to your nails to replenish moisture within the nail and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Here at Dubai Podiatry Centre we also use a specialist clear nail gel containing a high concentration of synthetic urea (40%) – we advise this for daily moisturizing use at home. Urea breaks down dryness and attracts moisture to the nail plate, and as an extra bonus, with 40% urea concentration it will deep cleanse the nail plate of fungal spores and thus minimize your risk of developing a fungal nail infection!
For the ladies, limit the use of nail polish! Also try and avoid polishes with formaldehyde and solvents with acetone. Both of these remove all the moisture from the nail plate.
What causes dry, brittle toenails?
Excessive moisture
Surprisingly, this can also be a cause of brittle nails. Nails can absorb 25% of their weight in water, creating expansion within the nail plate. As the nail dries it will contract (become smaller). If this happens quite often (daily baths, swimming, and soaking feet) the repetitive, expansion and contraction will weaken the nail plate and form a crack.
Nail trauma
Wearing shoes which are not a good fit create repetitive trauma at the tip of the nail. This over time will cause splitting of the nail from the tip of the nail down. 
Tip: Go shoe shopping in the late afternoon, your feet naturally expand over the course of the day. Therefore if you buy shoes in the morning, they feel tight later on that day! Sports shoes should also be a half size bigger than your normal shoe size; this will also help to prevent bruising underneath the nail plate – we commonly see toenail damage in joggers caused by slightly too small running shoes. 
Tip: Keep your nails trimmed to prevent the tip of the nail rubbing excessively at the end of the shoes’ toe box.
Underlying medical conditions
Nails can often be a window to your general health and medical conditions can affect the normal development of the nail plate. Skin conditions such as psoriasis may show up in the nail as dry, pitted and cracked nails. Other conditions such as poor nutrition, thyroid disorders, iron deficencies (anaemia), poor circulation and fungal nail infections also impact normal development of the nail.
If you are concerned about the appearance of your nails, then it is recommended to visit a licensed Podiatrist (used to be called a chiropodist) who can improve the appearance of your nails and advise on ongoing care. Contact us today on 04 3435390.