Help. My toe nails are falling off!!

That doesn't sound normal. Go see a doctor.

That doesn't sound normal. Go see a doctor.

QFT!

Even though it doesn't seem like a shoe thing it very well could be. Like others posted I would suggest seeing your primary care physician or going to see a foot specialist.

I've heard of that happening to marathon runners... perhaps your shoes don't fit as well as you think? Do you keep the nails trimmed close or are/were they kinda long?

I've gotten my running shoes from a special running store, and ended up needing a whole size bigger than other shoes. Your toes can take a heavier beating than with casual walking so you may need the extra space.

This happened to my mom, she has a lot of problems with her feet. Her toes were rubbing against the seam in her socks and sometimes the toe of her shoe. She ended up having to get orthotics and new shoes and stay off her feet for a while. Def get to a doctor, and maybe ride a bike for a little while? Good luck!

You should go see a doc but this is from yahoo.com:

"...The most frequent cause of black toenails -- which is so linked with running that the condition is also known as runner's toe. Black toenails or Runner's Toe happens when the toenail is either pressed down too much on the bed that underlies it or the nail separates from the bed. In either case, blood pools between the nail and the bed. Eventually the nail turns black.

According to webmd.com, when this condition is caused by the nail being pressed into the bed, it's almost never painful. It is however very ugly. The toenail gets very hard, and it looks like hell, but it won't bother you. After a few months, the nail will grow out and fall off.

Black toenails can be the result of tight fitting shoes, so even if you don't run you can get them. And black toenails are Equal Opportunity all the way - both males and females can get them. Only women are lucky: they can paint their toenails and change the black to a nicer color - like red.

Sometimes, the toenail loosens rather than hardens, and this is usually uncomfortable. New runners whose toenails aren't used to much wear and tear will get these more than longtime runners. If your black toenail is wobbly, experts recommend you sterilize a needle, and then use it to drain the blood from under the nail, as you would drain a blister.

I think I am one of the few people who suffers from chronic black toenails. My toenails have been black for so long that they just are that color. Sometimes when I am deeply engrossed watching my favorite TV show Lost, I will whittle away at my nasty-looking black toenails, and try my best to remove the toenail on the big toe.

At any rate, menshealth.co.uk reiterates that runner's toe is usually caused by ill-fitting shoes. If your shoes aren't long enough, your longest toe (which in some people is the second toe) will slam against the front of the shoe. You might also irritate your nails by running on a course that has a lot more declines than you're used to, because your toes are going to rise up a bit more than usual on a decline than an incline to help you brake. Wet shoes, either from sweat or rain, are also a leading cause of runner's toe...."

My running shoes are a half size larger than my other shoes. And keep your toenails trimmed. I've been running for 10 years and have all my toenails. And very cute feet, if I do say so myself

This would be a wasted trip to the doctor. Spend the gas money on a trip to a specialty running shoe store and get the right size shoes.

you need bigger shoes

Yes on the 'you need bigger shoes'. Serious runners always get their running shoes 1/2 size larger than their street shoe size for this very reason. Same goes for the walkers. You need to keep your toes from hitting the front of your shoe, which what they are now currently doing, and it is causing them bruise and for you to lose your toenails.

Bigger shoes and they WILL grow back. When they are bruised black, it is usually too late.

Did you have any issues with your toenails prior to walking?

Had to stop and say "Way to go on your weight loss!!"

Go to a running store and get fitted properly for shoes.

I had a pair I randomly bought that did that to my big toe. Since I got fitted, I don't have that problem.

This^^^ It just means your shoes are too small for when your foot swells from activity. Your big toe is hitting the top of the shoe box constantly and is creating a bruise (The purple you are seeing) when a bruise is created underneath the nail, it is forcing the nail to separate from the skin to heal which is why you are losing a toenail. Start there and see what happens.

Your shoes might need to be a half size bigger. You're getting this from your toe repeatedly ramming the front of your shoe like it's a $5 *kitten*. If it makes you feel better the second toenail on both of my feet are only half grown back. I got mine from running in the rain with wet shoes/feet.

The good news is that this isn't a serious problem. Keep doing what you're doing. Just think about giving your toes more room.

Or a half size smaller. If the shoe is not fitting properly around the middle of the foot, the foot can slide forward.

This is why she needs a proper shoe fitting and not just "a size bigger." But first she needs to see a doctor and have her toe heal.