Only use professional grade toenail clippers like these for thick nails – don't try to thin thick toenails with fingernail clippers. It's usually more painful as they just don't cut these thick nails very well and you end up kind of gnawing at the nail with the nippers.
Soak your feet for 10 minutes in warm water then dry thoroughly. Before you attempt to cut your thick toenails, you should soften them by soaking them in warm water for at least 10 minutes. When you're finished, dry your feet completely, including between your toes. Trim your toenails using nail nippers.
Soften your toenails by soaking your feet for 10 minutes in warm water. Dry your feet and toenails with a towel. Now you're ready to trim your toenails. Nail nippers work best.
Make Toenails More Pliable
If you can get your parent to soak their feet, then even hardened toenails should soften up enough to make cutting easier. For example, it's easier to cut thickened nails after your parent has had a bath or after soaking their feet in a tub of warm water.
This overgrowth is called subungual hyperkeratosis. People with hyperkeratosis may notice a white, chalky substance under the nail. When this occurs in the toenails, the pressure of shoes pushing down on the nails might cause pain.
Thickened toenails are typically a sign of a fungal toenail infection, which can cause changes in the texture and color of the toenail. An infected toenail can often thicken, become brittle or crumbly, and develop white, yellow, or brown discoloration.
This should help alleviate some of the discomfort involved with thick toenails. Thick toe nails can be managed using an emery board and filing your nails. This will stunt nail growth and keep them manageable. Gently file each nail across the thickened part 2-3 time weekly to reduce the thickness.
The growth rate of nails decreases when people get older. This results in thickening because nail cells pile up. The process of nail cells piling up is referred to as onychocytes. Another reason why fingernails don't thicken as much is their growth rate is smaller than the growth rate of toenails.
Surgical Treatment for Thick Toenails
In some cases, the thick toenail can be surgically removed in order to relieve pressure and eliminate the infected tissue underneath. Topical anti-fungal medication is then applied until the nail completely returns.
“Applying Vicks VapoRub to fungus-infected toenails can clear up the notoriously hard-to-treat condition. Michigan State University clinicians found that applying the product daily to the infected nail cleared the condition in 32 of 85 patients, though it took anywhere from 5 to 16 months…”
Once your toenail grows thick, it will always be thick, this is a permanent change. There are only two main options when we have a thickened toenail: Conservative treatment where the foot specialist will debride (file) your toenails to their normal flat level.
Vaseline pure petroleum jelly has more skin care and beauty uses than the majority of products on the market. Most people grew up with it when they were a baby. Vaseline was used for diaper rash and to sooth chapped lips. However, the cure-all salve can reduce dry and brittle nails plus relieve dry cuticles.
Vicks does have some effect on the toenails. Applying Vicks Vaporub to the toenails will soften and lighten their color. This gives the impression of treating the fungus. In truth, Vicks may have some anti-fungal properties, but it is unable to effectively penetrate the toenail to treat the fungus.
If your nails are crusted with keratin debris, your podiatrist may remove it to improve the appearance of your nails. In severe toenail fungus cases, toenail surgery may be required to temporarily remove the infected nail so the nail bed can be treated directly.
Oral antifungal drugs.
These drugs are often the first choice. One option is itraconazole (Sporanox). These drugs help a new nail grow free of infection, slowly replacing the infected part. You typically take this type of drug daily for 6 to 12 weeks.
Effective products include efinaconazole (Jublia), tavaborole (Kerydin) and ciclopirox (Penlac). All require daily applications, and it may take as long as a year to see noticeable improvement. These products may work for early, superficial fungal infections because they kill fungi on the surface of the nail.
Vicks VapoRub (The Proctor & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH) has been advocated in the lay literature as an effective treatment for onychomycosis. This pilot study tested Vicks VapoRub as a safe, cost-effective alternative for treating toenail onychomycosis.
Although there are many potential causes of thick nails, a fungal infection is the most likely cause in the toenails. Other conditions, such as psoriasis or diabetes, may also cause thick nails to develop. The exact cause of thick nails will help decide a person's treatment to correct the condition.
Among these, a fungal nail infection — onychomycosis (on-ih-koh-my-KOH-sis) — is a common cause of thickened toenails.
A pharmacist can help with fungal nail infections
nail-softening cream – it's used for 2 weeks to soften the nail so the infected part can be scraped off.
The fastest way to eliminate the infection is through toenail laser treatment. Laser nail therapy specifically targets the microorganisms under your nail while leaving the keratin intact. In just a few treatments, the infection can be entirely eliminated.