What Causes Bruise-like Spots Inside The Toe Nails?

Posted on Fri, 10 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 Answered on

Wed, 29 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My daughter which is 15 years old developed two bruise-like spots in both her nails or both her great toes, they are in d inside part of her nails. Both bruises are in the same location under both great toes nails. She says she doesn't remember having injured her toes or having worn uncomfortable shoes. She doesn't feel pain on either toe. What can have cause this?

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: It is most likely a bleed!!!!!! Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for this query. I am so sorry to hear about these dark spots under the toes that you observed in your daughter. The symmetric nature and description of the spots is typical of a poor fitting footwear. nothing clearly fits this description and location more than this. The extend to which these shoes were undersized either relatively or absolutely clearly determines how severe the symptoms would be. It not strange that she is not experiencing severe pains probably because the stress that caused this wasn't that great. These spots would slowly grow and fall out as the toes grow. It may take several months for this to completely progress and fall off. It needs no treatment and nothing special needs to be done to address this problem. I will suggest that you take a look at the shoes she put on and also how many socks she used to understand the source of the problem and prevent future recurrences. I wish you well. I wish your daughter well. I hope you both identify the exact foot wear that caused this and take measures to prevent it in future. Feel free to ask for clarification of more information if need be. Dr. Ditah, MD.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar