Fingernails/Toenails falling off

My 4 year old son's fingernails and toenails seem to be splitting away by the cuticle and coming off. It started on one of his big toes and now it is happening on both hands/feet. There is no discoloration on any nail and no sign of fungus or infection. I took him to the pediatrician and he said he was stumped. He referred me to a dermatologist but I can't get in for a while. I looked online and anything I could find that seemed to match what my son is going through sounds pretty bad. I am pretty nervous. What could be happening???

[meniere135]

Has your son been sick recently?  I found this site:

http://www.foot-health-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=927

It won't help with the diagnosis, but it happened to someone else and the nails grew back.   And call the dermatologist's office and reiterate what the problem is and ask to be seen ASAP.  Get your pediatrician to put a call in if your call doesn't work.  This is an unusual problem and should be addressed sooner than later, just because you don't know what it is.  

How are your son's eating habits?  I'm not sure if nutritional deficiencies can cause something like this, but it's something to be explored.  Are there any other symptoms?

Hang in there.  Good luck!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

From the symptoms fungal infections of the nail need to be ruled out. In onychomycosis(nail fungal infection) nail plate can have a thickened, yellow, or black appearance. The nails can become rough and crumbly, or can separate from the nail bed. Topical and oral antifungals are needed which are available under prescription. My sincere advice would be to consult a dermatologist and get a KOH examination of the nail and skin specimen done to confirm the diagnosis.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing

[dodo22]

Hi My 5 year old son just started having the same thing happening to him..I have to take him to the doctor's...I am trying not to freak out but it's hard..please let me know what the doctor says. It started with his big toenail then 2 little ones, now it's his fingernails, they are detaching and falling off it looks like there'e growth underneath..IDK but it it looks like some kind of mutation..I know exactly how u  feel..it's making me nervous too.