General education
What a nail or foot visit may involve
The doctor asks what is going on and your mind goes blank. Here is what the AAD, APMA, MedlinePlus and the NHS describe at a nail or foot visit, and how to have a short summary of your own ready before you go — not a prediction of your own visit.
You have been thinking about this for weeks. Then the doctor looks up and asks, “So what’s going on?” and all of it goes quiet. What comes out is “my toe looks bad”.
Two things make the moment easier. One is knowing roughly what a visit may involve, so nothing on the day is a surprise. The other is a short summary written down beforehand, so the first answer is ready when you are asked. This page covers both, taken from what the AAD, APMA, MedlinePlus and the NHS describe. Every visit is different, and only the professional you see can tell you what your own visit will involve.
Would you rather pick from ready-made wording than start with a blank line? The free question prompts are grouped by topic, so you can borrow the wording that fits. Printing your own question page comes with the free kit.
Not sure yet who to book? Start with who looks at nails and feet.
Before the visit: write the first answer down
MedlinePlus, from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, suggests a few simple steps before any doctor visit:
- Jot down your questions and concerns.
- Write down all medicines, vitamins and supplements you take.
- Note when and where symptoms appear, how long you have had them and whether they have changed.
- If you need support, invite a friend or family member to come with you.
- Have your insurance card with you.
For a nail or foot visit, “when and where” can be as simple as which nail, on which hand or foot, and roughly when you first noticed a change. Use your own words and leave unknown details blank. Our article on what to bring turns this into a checklist.
Give the opening question some edges
“So what’s going on?” is hard to answer because it has no shape. Give it one. Write a single short line for each item below, on the same page, in your own words:
- What I noticed, and which nail or foot it is on.
- When I first noticed it, as close as I can get.
- What has changed since then.
- What I have already tried, and roughly for how long.
- What I most want out of today.
If you freeze on the day anyway, you can say, “I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget,” and read from the page. Our guide to writing a symptom description takes the same lines further, and working out roughly when it started helps when the date is fuzzy.
“I first noticed a change in my right big toenail earlier this year. It has looked thicker, and the color has changed. I tried a product from the pharmacy for a few weeks and then stopped. What I want today is to know what you think is going on and what the next step is.”
Record keeping only. Not a patient case, not a symptom list to copy, and not a health result.
At the visit: what sources describe
These are the parts the sources describe. They may come in a different order, and some may not happen at all.
Questions about your health.
Describing how a dermatologist looks into a suspected nail fungus, the AAD says the dermatologist will ask about your health and may ask whether you could have been exposed, for example at home or at a gym or pool.
An examination.
The AAD says the dermatologist examines both your fingernails and toenails, checking for things such as color change or buildup beneath a nail.
Possibly a small nail sample.
The AAD says a dermatologist may take a sample from a nail, by removing some buildup, clipping off a bit of the nail or scraping its surface, to look at under a microscope. APMA says a podiatrist can perform a lab test to find the cause of a toenail problem. In the UK, the NHS says a GP might take a sample of your nail and have it tested.
Why a sample? The AAD explains that another nail condition, such as nail psoriasis or a nail injury, sometimes looks like nail fungus, and that the microscope view helps make sure of the cause. A description alone cannot settle the cause, which is why the sources describe a sample rather than a guess.
For an ingrown toenail, the NHS describes a GP checking the toe and, if it is badly ingrown, referring you to a podiatrist, who may offer to cut away part or all of the nail after numbing the toe with a local anaesthetic injection. If something like this is offered, it is a good moment to use the questions below.
These are examples the sources give, not a list of what will happen to you. Your professional decides what is needed.
Questions to ask about anything you are offered
These come word for word from our free question prompt bank:
- “How would you check the cause, and is more information needed?”
- “What is still uncertain, and how will we find out more?”
- “Could you write down any names or terms you used, so I can find them later?”
- “Is there a printed sheet or summary of today’s visit I can take home?”
- “When should follow-up happen?”
- “Who should I contact if I have a question after today?”
You do not have to ask all of them. Before the visit, choose the ones that match what you most want to know and cross out the rest, so the page stays short enough to read in the room.
MedlinePlus also suggests taking notes during a visit, or having someone take them for you. It is fine to ask, “Is it all right if I take notes during the visit?”
For the things you have already tried, keep the line plain: what you used, roughly when, and what you noticed. One sentence is enough, and you can add more if you are asked.
After the visit
If a sample was taken, ask when and how you will hear about it, and write the answer down with the date. Before you leave, check that you have the answer to who to contact with a question afterwards, and when follow-up should happen.
Record any instruction in the words you were given, apart from your own understanding; the free Care Instruction Capture Template has a column for each.
Organization tools, not medical advice. This page helps you prepare questions and keep notes. It does not diagnose a nail condition, recommend a treatment or promise a result. For an assessment, speak with a qualified health professional. Educational and medical scope
Worries that come up before this visit
What if my mind goes blank when the doctor asks what’s going on?
Read from your page. “I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget” is a complete answer and buys you the moment you need. If reading aloud feels like too much, hold the page out and let the professional read it.
What if it isn’t fungus at all?
The AAD explains that another nail condition, such as nail psoriasis or a nail injury, sometimes looks like nail fungus. That is exactly why the sources describe a sample and a microscope, and why it is worth asking, “How would you check the cause, and is more information needed?”
Will they take me seriously if I turn up with notes?
You do not need permission to bring your own notes. MedlinePlus suggests writing your questions down before a visit and taking notes during one, and it is fine to ask first. What the conversation covers is settled in the room by you and the professional.
I don’t know when it started. Is that a problem?
Write what you do know and mark the rest as unsure, for example “noticed in spring, not sure of the month.” A rough note labeled as a guess is more honest than a date you invented. Working out roughly when it started gives you places to look for clues.
I’m embarrassed about how my feet look.
Say so at the start if it helps: “I’m a bit embarrassed about my feet.” It is a sentence, and then the visit can get on with why you came. There is more in embarrassed to show my feet to the doctor.
I have already spent money on things that did not help. Why go now?
Whether to book is your decision, and no page can make it for you. If you do go, take one line with you: what you tried, roughly when, and what you noticed. That way the appointment does not begin with trying to remember it.
Sources and editorial notes
- MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine), Make the most of your doctor visit, retrieved October 19, 2026.
- MedlinePlus, Talking With Your Doctor, retrieved October 19, 2026.
- American Academy of Dermatology, Nail fungus: diagnosis and treatment, retrieved October 19, 2026.
- American Podiatric Medical Association, Toenail Fungus, retrieved October 19, 2026.
- NHS, Fungal nail infection, retrieved October 19, 2026.
- NHS, Ingrown toenail, retrieved October 19, 2026.
General education only, written from the pages above. Not clinically reviewed. See our Editorial Policy and Educational and Medical Scope.
Keep preparing
Who Looks at Nails and Feet
Podiatrists, dermatologists, primary care and nail technicians, in sources' own terms.
Three Questions to Write Before a Nail-Care Appointment
Describe what you noticed, choose three questions, record the answers.
Care Instruction Capture Template
Separate received wording from what you want clarified. Free with your email.
Turn this into your own three questions.
Browse 42 free question prompts and write the ones that fit in your own words, on one page for your folder.
Free to browse. Making and printing your question page comes with the free kit sign-up.