I Just Learned More People Have Six Toenails Than We Realise – Here's How To Spot Yours

First, I found out that alligator penises are almost never flaccid (oh, hello, by the way).

Then, I discovered that under the surface of the water, crocodiles are often dorkily floating with their body almost upright, their heads acting a bit like the bulbous part of a fishing float.

But somehow, neither of those affected me as much as learning that more of us have a secret sixth toenail than we realise. 

A double nail of the fifth, or “baby,” toe is “not rare,” though it is “underreported,” the book Clinical Cases In Nail Disorders shared.

I’d never heard of them, but after telling a couple of friends about the phenomenon, a couple discovered they had one. 

What is an “accessory nail”? 

In this case, an “accessory nail” of the baby toe is a whole other nail (though far shorter than the main part of your nail: researchers put it at around 2-7mm).

It seems to be congenital, meaning you’re either born with it or not. 

Because so few people report their double toenail, a 2016 paper revealed, it’s hard to work out how hereditary it is. 

In fact, many people discover they have an “accessory” baby toenail by accident. A lot of people on whom researchers noticed the trait had no idea about it until they pointed it out.

People once thought the trait was limited to people from China, but it has since been spotted in individuals from Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Benin, and Thailand. 

“This is certainly not a special racial or ethnic feature,” dermatologists say.

How can I tell if I have an accessory nail? 

Most commonly, the 2016 study said, people have what seems at first glance to be a very wide toenail base. 

But in all cases, there will be a split, subtle or very clear, between the bigger “main” nail and the smaller “accessory” kind. 

About 75% of people recorded had the same nail split on both sides, though the rest might notice it’s more pronounced on one foot. 

The change doesn’t seem to affect people’s health, and it should be painless.