7 Things Your Toes Could Say About Your Health

4. “Half-and-half” or washed-out nails

Possible condition: Kidney or liver disease

Nail beds that are partly white and partly red, pink or brown are called half-and-half, or Lindsay’s nails, Vlahovic says. Research suggests that they occur in 20 to 50 percent of patients with chronic kidney disease. 

White or pale nails with a band of pink or brown, called Terry’s nails, are similar to half-and-half nails, but “we typically see more whiteness and just a couple of millimeters of normal nail bed color,” Vlahovic says. The condition is a tip-off to liver diseases such as hepatitis and cirrhosis.

5. Painful, inflamed toe joints

Possible condition: Arthritis

Painful joints could mean rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the joints at the base of the toes, says Stuart D. Kaplan, M.D., chief of rheumatology at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York. The condition creates painful erosions in the bones of the toe.

Osteoarthritis is the wear-and-tear form of arthritis. “There’s not so much erosion to the joints, but you may often get hammertoes, when toes — often the second or third ones — are bent,” Kaplan says.

Psoriatic arthritis affects the joints at the ends of the toes (distal interphalangeal joints), particularly the third, fourth or fifth digits, which swell up “like little plump sausages,” Kaplan says. It’s common for lower back or joint pain to accompany this condition.

Gout is an arthritic condition caused by excessive uric acid in the blood, when your kidneys don’t eliminate uric acid efficiently, or your body makes too much of it. Gout symptoms can be exacerbated by a protein- and alcohol-heavy diet.

6. Clubbed toes

Possible condition: Lung disease

When the tips of the toes enlarge and the toenails become more rounded on the top and curve downward toward the tip, it could be due to low blood-oxygen levels, typically brought on by a lung disease or even heart issues, Vlahovic says.

“Clubbed toes can be inherited,” she adds, “but in a subset of people, it is acquired.” If the tips of your toes seem to be widening or curving, see your doctor.

7. Cold or blue toes

Possible condition: Heart disease

Poor circulation can cause the feet or toes, or both, to become cold, Markinson says. It’s typically due to atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart disease. This causes a buildup of plaque on the inside of your arteries that blocks blood flow to the extremities. Have your doctor investigate if you are having abnormal or increasing issues with feet temperature. Another cause may be Raynaud’s syndrome, a rheumatic condition in which the small blood vessels in the fingers or toes go into spasm, causing them to turn white or blue in the cold.