Pharmacist says these 2 common signs on your toenails may prove to be warning indicators of fatal health condition

If you're ignoring your feet and toenails, stop now because they can tell a lot about budding diseases in advance.

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(L) Dermatologist examining toenail with magnifying glass closeup. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by megaflopp) (R) Man sitting in bed with severe leg pain. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Real People Gr

Our bodies have intelligent ways of looking out for our best interests. When it comes to health, several organs show warning signs before a person can suffer fatal conditions. Something as simple as an ache or breakout can point to an underlying health condition and caution for medical advice. Pharmacist Noel Wicks pointed out two significant signs that call for attention, per The Mirror. Having these two simple issues with one’s feet can be a call to seek medical assistance. Wicks suggests that these two signs can be warning factors for a fatal condition and should not be ignored.

Woman getting footcare. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by gpointstudio)

“We need to keep an eye on our foot health, including our toenails, because it can impact our overall health and be a sign of [serious] health issues,” he explained. He added that several symptoms on toenails can hint towards heart conditions. "Thickening and brittleness of toenails may also occur with heart disease,” he remarked. Wicks shared that other signs can also be a concerning call to seek medical attention. “Tingling, burning or pain, a loss of sense of touch, cracked, dry skin, blisters and sores which refuse to heal, fungal infections (including yellow thickened nails) and athlete's foot,” he noted.

Use a magnifying glass to look at the fungal toenail. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Pempnak Ngamsathain)

The pharmacist noted that these can be warning signs that may seem subtle but need to be taken seriously. Wicks added that Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), also known as peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is another condition of the feet one mustn’t ignore. The latter is a condition that causes fatty deposits in the arteries to restrict blood flow to the legs and muscles, per NHS. There are mainly no symptoms to catch this condition apart from a pain in the feet that usually disappears after a few minutes. Other subtle symptoms include brittleness of nails, pale legs, ulcers and sores that do not heal, and so on.

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PAD is usually caused due to old age but can also make way through diabetes, high blood pressure, and a few other conditions. Even smokers may be at risk of developing the same. The best way is to look out for signs and visit a doctor for the right diagnosis. If caught early on, PAD can be treated with simple changes in lifestyle such as the right exercises and a change in diet. These conditions are ideally said to be minor initially. However, on noticing such symptoms, it is recommended that people seek medical opinions and incorporate necessary changes and treatments as applicable.

The doctor is examining the patient's feet. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Sirisak Bokaew)

These seemingly minor issues, if prolonged, can become fatal. It can cause complications and lead to several heavy-risk conditions. One of these is coronary heart disease where the blockage of arteries in the legs affects other areas. It can hinder the arteries that supply to the brain and heart and cause strokes and other heart diseases. Another complication stemming from PAD can be Critical limb ischemia (CLI) wherein the flow is significantly restricted to the limbs, causing severe pain, numbness in the toes and loss of mass in muscles among other inconveniences. All these risky health complications that only get worse with time can be dodged by being observant of foot health and getting consultations in case of doubt.

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