Appearance of the first `black spot' indicates that a minor break in the skin has become a major infection with a grave prognosis. Reconstruction of arteries has helped in the management of these infections. To properly manage these patients, the physician must provide longterm support and meticulous foot care.
The shade can be a light yellow, brown-tinged, or even canary yellow. When you see red, brown or black toenails, it's often a subungual hematoma – or collection of blood under the nail – which may result from acute or chronic trauma.
What is it: When thick callus builds up on the soles or sides of the feet without being reduced and managed, the pressure to the skin beneath the callus build-up can cause damage and bleeding, resulting in a dark spot developing from the dried blood. When callus becomes too thick and dry on the heels, cracks can form.
Dry, cracked skin on your feet. A change in the color and temperature of your feet. Thickened, yellow toenails. Fungus infections such as athlete's foot between your toes.
Avoid soaking your feet, as this can lead to dry skin. Dry your feet gently, especially between the toes. Moisturize your feet and ankles with lotion or petroleum jelly. Do not put oils or creams between your toes — the extra moisture can lead to infection.
Diabetes are more prone to infection, and fungi and bacteria can transfer from clipping or foot care tools to any open wounds.
Those spots that appear dark purplish or sometimes even brownish may be due to a condition called venous stasis dermatitis. This condition is associated with venous stasis, which is a condition in which veins have a difficult time sending the blood from the feet back to the heart.
The most common cause of a small, soft lump on the toe is a digital mucous cyst, aka toe ganglion. Digital mucous cysts are small fluid-filled sacs that occur when the sheaths around the joint or tendon of your toe are disrupted. This could be due to arthritis, injury or wearing shoes that don't fit properly.
A person should see a doctor if they experience a sudden, unexplainable black toenail, or if it does not heal with time and at-home treatments. In cases of trauma or injury, the discolored part of the nail will disappear as the nail grows out.
When treating diabetic foot ulcers it is important to be aware of the natural history of the diabetic foot, which can be divided into five stages: stage 1, a normal foot; stage 2, a high risk foot; stage 3, an ulcerated foot; stage 4, an infected foot; and stage 5, a necrotic foot.
If your toenail turns black, it's most likely a bruise under the nail, technically called a subungual hematoma. You can get it from stubbing a toe or from footwear that cram your feet into the front of the shoe.
Look for the signs of melanoma
Aside from looking like a changing mole, a melanoma on the foot can appear as a: Brown or black vertical line under a toenail. Pinkish-red spot or growth. New spot or growth where you injured your foot.
“Even though we think of malignant melanoma as being large, it can appear initially as a small, dark spot that just looks creepy,” says Dr. Shamban. Melanomas can be tiny black dots that are no bigger than a pen tip.
Foot problems are common in people with diabetes. They can happen over time when high blood sugar damages the nerves and blood vessels in the feet. The nerve damage, called diabetic neuropathy, can cause numbness, tingling, pain, or a loss of feeling in your feet.
These lesions usually appear to be small, scaly plaques or inflamed bumps. The spot is usually painless, but it may itch, crack, and bleed. Often the lesion looks like a wart of even a fungal infection. Asymmetry – The tumor has an unusual, uneven shape so that one half is not the same as the other.
Purpura causes red, purple or brown blood spots on your skin. It happens when small blood vessels leak blood under your skin's surface. There are different types of purpura. Treatment for purpura depends on the underlying condition causing it.
Wear socks or stockings with shoes. Wear socks without seams. Avoid tight-fitting socks and garters. Wear socks in bed if your feet are cold at night.
If a patient's general condition is poor and gangrene is located in the toe, then amputation should be selected. For patients with Wagner Grade ≤3 diabetic foot lesions, limb salvage therapy should be attempted whenever possible.
Board-certified dermatologists say to look for these signs when checking your nails for melanoma. A dark streak. This may look like a brown or black band in the nail — often on the thumb or big toe of your dominant hand or foot. However, this dark streak can show up on any nail.
Subungual melanoma often starts as a brown or black streak under a toenail or fingernail. A person may mistake it for a bruise. The main symptoms of subungual melanoma include: brown or black streaks in the nail without any known injury.
Melanoma of the nail unit originates from activation and proliferation of melanin producing melanocytes of the nail matrix. Injury or trauma may be a factor, accounting for the greater incidence in the big toe and thumb (75–90% of cases).