Brittle Toenail?

I am going through the same thing right now. Mine is because I injured my toenail. Before I could clip it, it was really long and I accidently kicked my daughters metal bed frame...ouchie. After that it was gone. It never did turn black, it just turned like a white-ish/yellow-ish color and was dead. Now it's growing back, but very slow, and very thick. I do an OTC med that seems to be working. I just asked the pharmacist at target what she recommended.
I did some research on it when this hapened to me and there were a few things to take into consideration in my case. They said it could be a fungus, which of course could be caused by numerous things, it could also be from pedicure, more specifically when they stick that little tool under your nail to scrape all the dirt and debris out, supposedly that tool damages your nail bed slowly. They also said some medications you take in combination with sun exposure (like wearing flip flops) could cause the nail to lift (tetracycline was one) and injuries to your nail bed (dropping something on them, stubbing them etc).
I hope this info helps. Good Luck!

It is probably a fungus. My mom had this for years and finally talked to her doctor about it. He told her there were 2 ways to handle it. There is a brush-on product that you can buy at the drugstore. You brush it on there every so often (every day? every week? I forget) for maybe 6 months, and eventually the fungus goes away. The other option was to take some kind of pill that the doctor prescribes - same thing, it takes forever. My mom chose the brush-on product because the pill had some side effects. Anyway, it did end up resolving the issue but it took a long time. (Maybe because the fungus is actually underneath the nail, and toenails don't grow that fast?) I would ask your doctor about it. They may have other options now, or more effective ones. Good luck!

I would suggest making an appointment with a dermatologist, good luck!

You could go to a dermatologist to see if you have a nail fungus. There aren't really any OTC treatments that work for that but there are great Rx that can fix it if that's what it is.

I don't know what causes this but both of the nails on my big toes are now very difficult to clip. They are a bit brittle but mostly just thick. I'm guessing this is caused by previous injuries to the nail bed. I hiked across the Grand Canyon years ago and my feet slid to the front of my boots for hours. My toenail and the part of my toe next to the nail turned black. I lost both nails. I don't remember if the thick nails began with those new nails.

Later: Both of my parents, several aunts and one of my close friends have/had toenail fungus. I do not have a fungus. The nails are healthy but thicker and break off if I try to use scissors to cut them.

Toenail fungus causes the nails to be misshapen as well as thick. There is visible stuff growing under the nails.

For toenail fungus, I've read in many places that there is no sure way to get rid of it and that the anti-fungal oral medication causes nausea. I've not heard of anyone having success with the OTC stuff even in articles about health treatments.

My father's care taker soaked his toes twice a week in a pan containing a strong bleach water solution and within a few months his toes were free of fungus.