Toddler toenails coming off - Nail Problems Message Board

lmb0314 · 10-12-2006, 07:21 PM

My 16 month old daughter's big toenails on both feet are separating at the base. I noticed last week that there was a ridge across the bottom of both big toenails and now, as they are growing out, I see they are actually separating below the ridge away from the toe. Also last week, one of her fingernails peeled from about the midpoint up. Could this be a deficiency of some sort or a fungus or infection? Thank you.

Marti · 10-13-2006, 01:28 PM

The ridge in the toenails could be from the way she crawls, or from pressure on the nails from her shoes. If she uses her toes to 'push' herself forward when she crawls, or if she is a 'toe walker', this would put enough pressure on the nails that they would experience enough trauma to develop ridges just forward of the matrix, or in the matrix itself. Watch how she uses her feet/toes, and check her shoes to be sure het toes aren't touching the end of the shoe, or that they aren't putting downward pressure on the nails.

As for the fingernail problem, is it one that she might stick in her mouth? If so, the saliva would wick the natural oils and moisture from the nail plate, leaving it dry enough to split and peel.