Ingrown toenail infection
Discussion
I had an op last year to remove my ingrown toenail (not the whole toenail, but they cut the edges or something). It was fine since then, but trouble is that over the last few months I seem to have an infection - the side of the toe where the ingrown toenail is now has a quite large swelling with red-coloured flesh inside, and I've noticed clear liquid and pus inside (doesn't come out). I'm going to the GP to get this sorted and probably private after that.
Does anyone know what is done to treat this infection? Antibiotics? Surgery? I hope it is the former as I have exams coming up and they CANNOT be missed.
Thanks
Oh, and I hate pain (well don't we all)...
Does anyone know what is done to treat this infection? Antibiotics? Surgery? I hope it is the former as I have exams coming up and they CANNOT be missed.
Thanks
Oh, and I hate pain (well don't we all)...
Oh god.
At age 12 I had one removed.
At age 13 I had another removed.
At age 13 I had both big nails removed and both nail beds to stop them growing again.
Mutant bastard toenails grew because the doc
ed it up (I'd sue them these days).
Then they got infected again.
Then they removed both again including the remaining mutant ninja nail beds.
Then they got infected again and the bitch nurse tore off the dressings leaving me screaming in agony.
Now I have no big toe nails and every few years a bit of remaining toenail shrapnel rises to the surface and pops out.
Seek advice - don't let 'em fester!
At age 12 I had one removed.
At age 13 I had another removed.
At age 13 I had both big nails removed and both nail beds to stop them growing again.
Mutant bastard toenails grew because the doc
ed it up (I'd sue them these days). Then they got infected again.
Then they removed both again including the remaining mutant ninja nail beds.
Then they got infected again and the bitch nurse tore off the dressings leaving me screaming in agony.
Now I have no big toe nails and every few years a bit of remaining toenail shrapnel rises to the surface and pops out.
Seek advice - don't let 'em fester!
PetrolTed said:
Oh god.
At age 12 I had one removed.
At age 13 I had another removed.
At age 13 I had both big nails removed and both nail beds to stop them growing again.
Mutant bastard toenails grew because the doc
Then they got infected again.
Then they removed both again including the remaining mutant ninja nail beds.
Then they got infected again and the bitch nurse tore off the dressings leaving me screaming in agony.
Now I have no big toe nails and every few years a bit of remaining toenail shrapnel rises to the surface and pops out.
Seek advice - don't let 'em fester!
How familiar that all sounds Ted. I had mine done 3 times on each big toe and finally they pulled them out completely and burnt the roots out. Now I have strange growths of either hard skin or nail on my toes which I have to cut back sometimes, but it isn't normal toenail.
From experience any infection usually gets treated with Fluxocillin (or something like that) which doesn't do much as far as I can tell.
wedg1e said:
PAIN etc.
Maybe having my eyeballs hacked to bits when I was 3/4/5 wasn't so hard after all...
Ian
The people in white coats took sharp impliments to my eyes too around that age....."shudder"
As for the toe nails, sounds nasty, can ya look it up on NHS websites or someplace. Lets face it most nasty conditions and their treatments can be found on the web!
Oooh, when I was a junior surgical trainee I used to do a "list" of toe nails every Friday morning. A most satisfying operation.
It sounds like you have had a Zadek's procedure. The sides of the nail were removed but not the whole nail. The theory is that when the nail grows back all will be hunky dory, unfortunately as you have found out it doesn't always work. As Ted has unfortunately found out the only way of guaranteeing that you won't have further problems is to remove the whole nail and obliterate the growing part of the nail bed (phenol works nicely), so that the nail never grows back.
Good luck at the docs.
It sounds like you have had a Zadek's procedure. The sides of the nail were removed but not the whole nail. The theory is that when the nail grows back all will be hunky dory, unfortunately as you have found out it doesn't always work. As Ted has unfortunately found out the only way of guaranteeing that you won't have further problems is to remove the whole nail and obliterate the growing part of the nail bed (phenol works nicely), so that the nail never grows back.
Good luck at the docs.
Had a similar painful edge of toenail swelling that didn't seem to want to drain. Solution proposed by my doc over the 'phone, and it worked, was as follows. Wrapped offending toe in cotton wool liberally soaked with surgical spirits (alcohol). Covered cotton wool with a plastic bag taped up nice and tight around the dressing, to stop the alcohol evaporating away. Left this on overnight.
The next morning my toe was chronically pissed and looked like it had spent a week in the bath, but the pain and infection was gone and has not returned.
Good luck
Nel
The next morning my toe was chronically pissed and looked like it had spent a week in the bath, but the pain and infection was gone and has not returned.
Good luck
Nel
chim450 said:I had it done - worked fine for me. Toenails intact and no more pain.
It sounds like you have had a Zadek's procedure. The sides of the nail were removed but not the whole nail. The theory is that when the nail grows back all will be hunky dory, unfortunately as you have found out it doesn't always work.
I had my left toenail trimmed when I was 12 or so, and it hasn't been a problem since even when it fell out cos of bruising. It was the second most painful thing I have ever had done as the anaesthetic didn't seem to work til they were putting the stitches in.
The most painful thing I remember was my other ingrown toenail, when someone thought it would be funny to pretend to hit my toe with a hammer. He thought I'd move, I thought he'd aim to miss Blood everywhere.
The most painful thing I remember was my other ingrown toenail, when someone thought it would be funny to pretend to hit my toe with a hammer. He thought I'd move, I thought he'd aim to miss
Blood everywhere.mechsympathy said:
Blood everywhere.
Yuck. Had a similar experience about 15 years ago - dropped a rather large box of something heavy (sounded like a job lot of nuts & bolts) on my big toe.
You know that sensation that you get when it feels like your foot is welling up with blood, but it isn't? Well, it was! Ouch.
mmmmmm.....memories. I had the zadek thing....can still remember the smell of cooking flesh as the doc worked away with his soldering iron thing....However, touch wood has be fine since. Strangely enough one of things that helped loads was swimming in the sea. That salt water works a treat to kill off nasty bugs, which the Antibiotics did nothing for.....
Good luck.
Good luck.
Same here, though I do mine myself. Whenever they start to hurt just cut the sides back. The important thing is to get to the very bottom as if you don't do this it will grow back and across into your toe and hurt even more.
My god is it painful!!!! the feeling of comfort after is wonderful though! lol
All this cut your nails straight across the top malarkey.... pah, never worked for me!
My god is it painful!!!! the feeling of comfort after is wonderful though! lol
All this cut your nails straight across the top malarkey.... pah, never worked for me!
I had my toe sliced when I was 14. They basically sliced the side of the toe open, trim the nail and stitched it back up.
A friend of the family who used to work as a mercenary in the Congo (don't ask) recommended cutting a small v notch in the nail as this releived the pressure pushing the nail into the sides and so far has worked a treat.
Initially Ingrowing nails are really disgusting.
When I first saw the red lump on the side of my toe, i poked it and te amount of pus that came out was enough to make you vom.
A friend of the family who used to work as a mercenary in the Congo (don't ask) recommended cutting a small v notch in the nail as this releived the pressure pushing the nail into the sides and so far has worked a treat.
Initially Ingrowing nails are really disgusting.
When I first saw the red lump on the side of my toe, i poked it and te amount of pus that came out was enough to make you vom.
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