Your toes can reveal important clues about your overall health and well-being.

Foot specialists have warned that anyone noticing discoloration in their toenails should seek medical attention right away.

According to podiatrists—experts who diagnose and treat foot conditions—at Belmont Anderson & Associates, there are specific warning signs in the toenails that may indicate underlying health issues.

“If you notice dark discolouration that is often painful, you should be alarmed,” they warn. “This is a sign of melanoma, which is a very serious form of skin cancer. You should schedule an appointment with your physician right away.”

Healthline adds that dark discolouration could be a sign of subungual melanoma, which is caused when cells in the nail bed create too much melanin, cells that cause colour in things like your skin, hair, and eyes.

The experts outline: “Subungual melanoma develops under the toenail and, depending on the type, can be fatal if left untreated. Most people with subungual melanoma have a dark black, vertical band in a single toenail, which can be confused with other conditions like bacterial and fungal infections or nail injury.”

Apart from a dark band of colour on a nail, Healthline notes that other warning signs of subungual melanoma include:

splitting or bleeding nail
painful nail
drainage (pus) from the nail
injured nails that are slow to heal
nail dystrophy
nails that separate from the nail bed

“If you have any of these and your doctor suspects subungual melanoma, they may order or perform a nail biopsy to check for cancer cells,” the outlet adds.

Treatment for subungual melanoma includes: surgery to remove the affected nail and nail bed, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy and a partial or complete surgical removal of the entire toe.

It’s crucial to note that, sometimes, nail discolouration is a symptom of an underlying health condition.

Yellow-brown spots under the nail could be due to psoriasis, white on the bottom half and pink or discoloured on the top could be indicative of kidney failure, completely white could be cirrhosis, and green could be down to pseudomonas infections

Healthline suggests seeking medical attention if your nail or nail bed:

changes in shape
thickens
bleeds
swells
is painful
has discharge