Hi MrsD. Nice to see you too.

This is actually a problem that pre-dates shoes. Within his first year of life his toenails were curving sharply downward and it was very bad by the third year.

Even now, we homeschool, so he seldom wears shoes, if anything, usually his soft leather, native Canadian slippers. In the summer, he wears those open-toed slide-on-shoes when we go out. And he insists that summer runs, generally, from April to November.

They used to be much worse but are definitely improving. His big toenails (I took another look last night) are no longer curving downward at all. The two that are now the worst are the 2nd and 3rd toenails.

I just don't want to start going backward. He's come SO far!

Actually, I don't want to end my note in a negative way. He's come from being a fatigued boy who could barely walk a block, an immunological mess (almost always 'sick') and only grew 1/2 of what he was supposed to - to not 'needing' any medicine or doctors for almost 6 years now.

So, he's still (knock on wood) doing fabulously! Playing the guitar, got plenty of energy for Aikido, vaulted all through the summer, his buddies come over on Fridays and they spend ALL DAY running outside, sometimes he goes to their house on Wednesdays and their Mom tells me they run all day there too. So, life is really great.

I'm nitpicking now, I suppose. But so many things improved for him, including his toenails, that I never expected to improve... that I think if I keep looking, I can do even better for him. And lately, the two toenails have seemed a little worse and his hair seems a little more straw-like... so these kinds of threads really catch my eye.

Am I letting too much sugar and grain into his diet now? I have relaxed a lot about it and we do know that his system really just doesn't do well with a lot of grain/sugar. Is it due to cutting out biotin, thereby reducing ability to process protein???? (I went out and bought some more yesterday to get us through the grain/sugar filled holidays.) Not enough epsom baths to reduce toxin levels? We've really dropped the ball on those baths, which were/are really miraculous on those really challenging days? There are very few really challenging days now, so we don't do the baths very often any more. I've dropped the ball on gelatin too. Could that be it?

I think nails/hair really do reflect where a person is at. Finding the magic formula to counter whatever's going on is worth looking for, but a very challenging journey. Sure beats sitting in Emerg. at midnight, every other week though.