***WARNING***
THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES. PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU’RE SQUEAMISH
If you’d rather read about a more successful ingrown toenail trimming story, read my previous from almost three years ago. That was my second surgery, the one you’re reading here was my fourth.
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After three visits to two doctors to try and save both my big toenails by trimming the edges, my Portland podiatrist recommended the nuclear option: complete removal of both toenails, along with acid-burning the cuticle to prevent them from growing back.
After three shots in each toe, refilling the needle and three MORE shots in each toe, the extraction began, as shown in the video below.
Yeah…gross, but I didn’t feel a damn thing. Next the doc dipped a big toothpick in some sort of acid and shoved it into the cuticle, from left to right. I didn’t take pictures because, well, it’s a big stick inside my toe and I couldn’t see anything. The imagined pain was worse than anything else.
Next, the doc wrapped up my toe with instructions not to unwrap it for about 24 hours, and then after that, soak it in Epsom salt and/or the shower twice a day. I gingerly slid my shoes back on, turned down the doctor’s painkiller offer, and sorta limped home (this was stupid and me moving so much would come back to haunt me).
The next day, which I refer to as day one, I soaked my feet and took the following pictures.
You’ll notice my left toe seems a bit more torn apart than the right. Remember that, as this will matter later.
I was expecting a ton of pain by this point. I could barely walk, but I was determined to keep moving around, so I waddled on the outsides of my feet often.
Day 2 was more of the same. Still not much pain, but my toes were very, very tender.
Apologies for the weird angles, I was trying to balance while holding my leg up on the sink, which is tough with one bad foot, let alone two. Still no problems.
Day 3 was a different story, as my left toe started to feel way more tender than the right. It was more painful when soaking, hurt to flex it, and was a bit stiff. I made an appointment with my podiatrist and asked for pain pills to get me through the weekend. Here’s Day 3, in the morning:
And my right toe:
It was especially odd to see the gouges on each side of my toe, where my nails had grown down instead of out. Seeing as how my toes have hurt much of my life, this makes complete sense, but I never had any idea how bad it really was.
Day 3 hurt more. It was a Saturday, so I did my best not to move while my wife waited on me, but the aching wouldn’t go away. I kept to my soaking and bandaging routine, careful not to move much.
Day 4, the Sunday of the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, had my toe aching even more, but downing twice my pain pill dose helped. Sadly, that left me with one pain pill to use that evening during the game. Here’s the morning of Day 4:
Compared to my right toe below, my left toe above looked different. There was something covering the red skin, which I assumed was new skin or the beginning of a scab.
My right toe also looked much “juicier”, instead of swollen.
That night, I made a huge mistake. Because I think I’m tough and that pain won’t bother me, I downed my last pain pill and walked/dragged my left leg two blocks from our parking spot to my buddy’s house to watch that football game. Every single step hurt, as I couldn’t put much weight on my left foot. I declined my wife’s offer to be dropped off closer to the house because I’m stupid. Anyway, I spent the game in agony, as every time I clenched or celebrated, my left toe hurt again.
That night was awful. I tried cider, liquor, wine, Tylenol, and nothing worked. Every movement in bed hurt my toe, as the pain had started to radiate into my foot and ankle. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t move, and couldn’t distract myself. When I woke up on Day 5, my toes looked like this:
Actually, my right toe looked pretty good. Little bit of gross, skin-like stuff, but the wound cleaned easy. My left toe, however…
…now looked infected. Note the redness and pus, as well as the fact I couldn’t move without nearly crying out in pain. It was so bad I almost laid in bed and cried. Thankfully, my wife stayed home from work and drove me the two blocks to my doctor.
The walk to the car hurt. Being in the car hurt. Walking less than 100 feet to the podiatrist hurt. I was still worried that I was just being a pansy about the pain, as my doc said she had never 1) had toenails grow back like mine did over the previous year and 2) never had a patient’s toe(s) get infected. Something like 7% of toenails grow back and fewer still get infected, so I was more than slightly worried I was just a wuss.
Annnnnnnd infection confirmed. Doctor was surprised, apologized (totally wasn’t her fault), and wrote me a script for super-strong pain meds with antibiotics. She wrapped my toe back up and my wife drove to the pharmacy.
Upon arrival, I wised up and requested my wife drop me off near the front. I also took pity on myself and asked the greeter for access to one of the carts for the handicapped, as I couldn’t hop or limp the 200 feet to the pharmacy counter. While I could have just had my wife pick up the prescription, I worried we’d have trouble, as the pharmacy had phone my doctor the previous time to make sure I wasn’t an addict forging prescriptions.
Man, did I feel like an ass in that cart. Scooting along at maybe 2mph, I couldn’t help but imagine everyone was staring at me with contempt, as a healthy-looking, somewhat athletic, not-old dude puttered along. The real embarrassment came when I realized my cart had a back-up siren, which startled me so much at first that I bashed my left toe into the front wheel. After what seemed like forever but was only 15 minutes, we had snacks and drugs in hand and were on the way home.
The painkillers didn’t help much. I gobbled down two every 2-3 hours day and night, as the pain was so intense I couldn’t sleep, sit, move, or read without it hurting. Day 6 is next:
My right toe was looking pretty good. Healing nicely.
Buuuuuuuut my left toe was still infected. The doc said it would take 2-3 days for the antibiotics to work, but I was worried I’d run out of painkillers before then. You know that feeling when your foot falls DEEP asleep and then comes back with pins and needles? The pain felt like that, except the pins and needles felt like they were piercing my skin. It was not a happy time.
Day 7 seemingly had my left toe regressing.
While my right kept on healing.
Saw the doc again later on Day 7. She gave me more, stronger, pain meds, told me it was time to apply iodine at home, and wrapped me up. Oh good, now I get to touch my horribly painful toe more often! Here’s my left toe before, then the iodine packet, then my left toe after application. Also, my right toe’s skin was starting to get all loose on Day 8.
That gross infection look had started to come back.
My very own swab sticks. One-time use only.
Oddly, touching the wound itself didn’t hurt at all. My toe, joint, and foot ached, but the iodine was no big deal. Whew.
Go right toe! You’re my favorite.
I was still on painkillers every hour I was awake and double dosing at night to fall asleep, which sucked because they made me dizzy. (Pro-tip: cannabis counteracts this, though I chose not to pursue that option).
It had now been over a week and I started to wonder if I was going to walk normally again.
Day 9 wasn’t much better, though the terrible pain had subsided substantially. Thank you antibiotics!
Pinkish instead of reddish, which indicates progress. My right toe looked far worse than it felt, as the healing process had super kicked in. Note all the dead skin around where my nail used to be.
Crazy to think my nail was actually embedded in my skin. What kind of idiot puts up with that for 30+ years?
Day 10 brought more of the same and you can see, on my left toe, the patterns of the bandages.
The aforementioned left toe:
I assumed the new growth was a response to the infection (apologies for the out-of-focus pictures, I swear they looked good when I took and checked them). Day 11 showed more obvious improvement:
And now my right toe skin started to get really flabby, meaning it was almost time to leave the bandages off at night to let wound dry out:
Side note: I once had a callus on the outside of my right big toe (you can sorta see it above) so deep that I caught it on a concrete block anchoring a buoy while playing in the Columbia River at low tide (caused by the dam). Sliced the callus clean off, didn’t bother my toe a bit. There’s no reason you need to know this.
12 days later, I was still getting some seepage, right where my cuticle used to be:
Little rivulets of blood, nothing to worry about. I though about squeezing it, but I was worried about hurting it again.
But hey, not much pain. Day 13 brought lots of dead, flabby skin on both toes:
All the white or yellowish skin was loose, like a blister from running shoes. Trimming it was an option, but meh.
My bandage needs had really leveled off at this point. Minimal seepage and pain allowed me to get away with simple non-stick pads (buy the big ones and cut them) with heavier duty bandages during the day.
I neglected to take pictures on Day 14. There is no reasoning behind this.
Day 15 brought more ugly, dead skin in more danger of falling off. I also started only bandaging my left toe at night. My right dried out pretty well.
All the white-ish skin you see is loose and dead.
All the reddish-pink is gone! Screw you, infection. You sucked.
Day 16, more dead skin and the healing of where my toenail dug down into my toes.
Bottom right of my left toe, above, is where you can see that divot.
Similar to my right toe. Geez, no wonder my toes hurt all the time, even if they weren’t infected.
I stopped taking pictures at this point, as I was no longer worried about infection and honestly, there wasn’t much to show that didn’t look like a normal wound. At just over two months, my toes looked like this:
Still a slight divot on the bottom right and left here, as some sort of nail/skin hybrid grew back. It’s not deep and doesn’t hurt, so I dismissed it as just a troublesome spot.
My previously infected left toe looked better:
Pretty clean heal there!
I hadn’t worn any bandages for weeks, but was still protective of my toes. I was running about two miles a day and had zero problems even playing softball and sprinting full out. But around that time I discovered what it felt like to stub your toenail-less toe on a table…
…and it didn’t hurt much. Seriously. Sure, I felt it and was bothered, but that horrible, fall-on-the-ground and then limp around pain didn’t kick in. Why not? I assume because it’s really the toenail being pushed into our tender cuticles that hurts, not the actual toe stubbing.
My toes were still sorta sensitive to being stepped on, but no more than they were with nails. Touching it did feel weird, as did pushing the nail bed area into the ground while doing ballet-style toe stretches. But it was more of a sensitivity than a pain and didn’t affect me at all.
At the time of this posting, it’s been nearly eleven months since I had this surgery, infection, and recovery. IN that time, I’ve run almost 900 miles, completed three quarters of a marathon, and jumped/ran/played tennis/sprinted/kicked a garbage can and just about everything else I could physically.
Happy to report things are only getting better. Here’s what my toes look like today:
My right toe didn’t heal totally clean, but I don’t care because I never have to worry about it anymore. No pain, no digging, no sensitivity.
My left one healed better and like my other, is fantastic now.
While I’ll never win a pretty toes competition and my family still thinks they look a little weird, I’m definitely happy with my decision and am glad I no longer have to make trimming my ingrown toenails a yearly doctor’s visit.
If you’re on the fence about this, the only reason I can think of not to do it is if you’re super worried about how your toes will look. I’m just as active as I was before, though this time I have no pain afterwards, and it’s a relief never to have to worry about when my nail will grow in wrong again.
Here are the products I used and how I used them:
Amerigel Wound Dressing Tube, 1 Ounce
Apply directly to wound 2x daily until seepage stops, then mornings only. I was told not to use Neosporin until the wound was small enough for a bandaid, which was about two weeks. The only time I used Neosporin right away, I developed an infection, though there were contributing factors.
Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, 20 Ounce
Mix with warm water and Epsom salt in bowl, soak toe at least 1x daily before bed until wound closes (2-5 weeks), ideally 2x daily until seepage stops (5-10 days).
Dr. Teal’s Salt, Detox, 3 Pound
Mix with warm water and baby shampoo in bowl, soak at least 1x daily before bed, for 2-5 weeks. I’ve found that soaking in the morning is more pain than its worth, and the evening soak really helps with pain overnight.
Curad Non-Stick Pads, 2 Inches X 3 Inches, 20 Count
Cut these diagonally and use to wrap wound. Bandaids work okay, but tend to be overwhelmed easier by ointment, seepage, and general sweatiness. You can get the regular ones to save a few bucks, but be prepared to rip your scabs off if you do.
Ever Ready Self Adhesive Non Woven Cohesive Bandage 2″x5 Yards Pack of 12 FDA Approved
Don’t bother with the bigger wraps, paper options, or reusable stuff. It’s a pain in the ass to have to worry about. These self-adhering bandages, when paired with non-stick pads, make for a far better protected area. If you need to use the whole pad to cover the tip of your toe, this tape can easily be extended to wrap that area, too.
J.CROW’S® Lugol’s Solution of Iodine 2% 2oz
After seepage stops (5-10 days), apply once daily either directly or as drops in soaking bowl, in the mornings. Can be used at night to dry out seepage, but I like this in the mornings and Epsom salt at night.
If you have any questions, I’m happy to try and answer them below.
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493 Comments on “Ingrown Toenail Removal Surgery & Infection (GRAPHIC IMAGES) (NSFW)”
Wow have seen this surgery 6 times now. When your toes stop hurting its a freaking miracle! Good job tyfor your info
My big toes have been infected for a few months now! I have type 2 diabetes and in scared to go to the doctor I don’t wanna be put in the hospital! My husband is a marine so all expensive will be covered but I’m scared! How long was recovery? Both of my toes are red, swollen, sore to touch or even wear tennis shoes. Will you ever have a toe nail again? Help idk what to do or where to start
Recovery is 3-6 weeks, depending on how well you stay off your feet and rest.
I understand your fear of hospitals, but every day you wait, the worse it’s going to get.
Go! Go to your doc! It may be as simple as an outpatient procedure (most of them, and all of mine, were) and you’ll be done and home.
Go!
Did the redness ever away please answer me?
Around the surgical area? Yes.
How long did it take cause I had ingrown toenail surgery 11 days ago and redness on the side and bottom is still there won’t go away I been doing the salt and water and antibiotics cream every day. I need your help.
The redness will be there for weeks.
Your recovery is 3-6 weeks.
Any pain?
No pain if I touch it yes but it’s like purple and red like a bruise I don’t know if that’s normal
It was normal for me.
Remember, you did have a doctor shoot numbing meds into your toe, cut and rip out a nail, and then cover it up.
The discoloring faded for me, but keep an eye on swelling and pain (or numbness, which is just as bad).
What did you do for the redness?
Nothing. Your body is healing. It takes time, there’s nothing to do for it.
How long should I wait I had it done 2 weeks ago?
I don’t understand what you think you’re waiting for.
The discoloring is your body healing.
If it doesn’t hurt and it’s not numb, it’s unlikely that there’s anything wrong.
Ok thank you for helping me know I feel better I was getting worried!
I have a question about what you were calling the whitish dead skin…. I am having drainage from wound site I had both nails done and cauterized, but I’m confused if I’m supposed to be attempting to wipe this drainage away, but looks like what you described as dead skin. I soak my toes and put silvadene cream and wrap them like instructions say but the drainage appears like skin and hurts if I actually attempt to clean it all out of the open wound area. I dab it up and wrap it. Hope that makes sense. I’m only a week out. Thanks.
It’s dead skin, new skin, and some combo of nail/skin.
If it hurts, I always left it alone. When I could, I clipped the edges to make sure it wouldn’t catch on anything.
If it really is dead skin, and at a week out it definitely was for me, it sounds normal. I had used a toothbrush to clean out the wound area (once), but I didn’t try too hard to remove skin, and I’m not sure if it really helped anyway.
I had parts of both sised of both big toes today removed and i had it done before. It is paining really bad. Even just laying in bed. The doc said take normal Tylenol but it isnt helping. Any ideas what to do?
Alternate between icing your toes on the ground and elevating them.
I added every single anti inflammatory food and drug (cannabis & ibuprofen) I could find.
Try soaking them and keeping them moist. I usually put a band-aid with neosporin antibiotic cream on it and that keeps them moistened and pain-free. When they start to dry up is when the throbbing pain comes and nothing you do will help except keeping the toe moist.
Tyler.
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. I had tow nail removal exactly three weeks ago. While I have very little discomfort in the area, the area surrounding the initial growth of the toe nail is red and very sensitive to touch. i can walk barefooted but I can not even think about wearing any type of shoes. I still discharge a little bit of blood and clear liquid on one side. Dr. said it is normal but all websites I visited said that recovery (i.e., wearing shoes) would be within 1 to 2 weeks.
I’ve never had an ingrown toenail surgery, whether partial or full, heal in 1-2 weeks. It’s always taken at least 3-4, in one case 6-7 weeks.
Blood and clear liquid have always been normal for me, it’s the yellow stuff that is concerning.
OMG, it has been a month and I still can not wear my shoes ! I managed to get a double bacteria, I had to go to the ER on Thanksgiving and they scared me so bad I believed they were going to have to cut my foot off !!!!
I am on heavvvvyyyy antibiotics. And I have pain. To top it off, my husband and aI play play Mr. and Mrs.Santa Claus, I can’t wear my proper shoes. We plan on telling the children I got ran over by a reindeer, lol… It has really been a painful experience for me. The burn has been terrible as well.
I even had a piece of gauze that had grown into my wound 3 weeks into recovery that the doctor discovered and he had to pull out. That managed to relieve some pain but the pain is still there along with the ooozzing, everything is so tender to touch. I am kind of sorry I did this. Hoping when I finally heel , I am happy.
Yikes. I’m guessing the reason I was told to use a toothbrush was to make sure stuff like gauze didn’t get stuck in the wound.
Hope you feel better soon.
Dude go to the podiatrist right away. Believe me I waited and it got super bad. It was pussing and it smelled, also it was very sore and I couldn’t touch it without being in pain. The procedure isn’t bad at all, I had my boyfriend there with me for comfort and it made things better. Once I got that toe nail removed I felt so much better. Waiting around is the worst thing you can do. Don’t be like me and wait so long, especially since you have medical insurance. You’ll be fine, I wish you luck 🙂
Tyler,
Thanks again for sharing your story. I mostly appreciate your photo documentation of your healing. A week and a half ago I had one big toenail removed with the chemical burn. Zero pain, including the infamous injection. I’m also taking toe pics every day.
There seems to be very little information online about this procedure and recovery. So thanks for being one of very few resources. Any suggestions on how I might share my story as well?
Great! If you want to use blogspot, tumblr or wordpress.com to publish a blog post, I’d be happy to link to it.
But you’re right, not much out there.
i didnt have time to worry about the removal of both big toenails, because the first removal station i went to said he could see me in an hour-they had a cancellation, several week wait otherwise- okay , they gotta go, both are tube shaped going almost into the bone, and ive been “enjoying” them in steel toed boots for 40 years – the 4 little shots felt like 4 mosquitoes , i needed one more shot because of a rare extra nerve he said – i dont have diabetes yet but edema and was nervous – keeping covered and triple antibiotic on them , is nice to not have them stabbing me while i walk now – triple antibiotic cream has a painkilling element in it too, my favorite-
High fives!
Soak, change bandages, and stay off them as much as possible.
I know what you mean about tube shaped. It’s weird for the tucked-in sheets at the end of my bed not to hurt my toes anymore.
its been 6 weeks now, ive seen posts concerning infections and resulting antibiotic pills-no posts indicating antibiotic cream- i hate antibiotic pills, they are indiscriminate and kill billions of good stuff in the body- my Dr. said any over the counter triple antibiotic cream directly on affected areas (cuticle to cuticle) is the “cats meow”, and keeps the growing of new scar skin healthy and timely .-
epsom soaking, topical triple antibiotic cream , and bandaids till they quit leaking (sorry for the word), pus – i almost have to relearn walking without “wobbling” because the nails not poking anymore – triple antibiotic cream, folks! zero infection, happy toes-
@ 6 weeks mine are still leaking, so i need to stay off them, and continue the 15 minutes epsom soaks ) and continue with the triple antibiotic cream
I had to re-learn how to run, too. Took me months.
I just finished reading a previous blog of yours and them stumbled on this. Sorry to see you had to have them fully removed. After a VERY BAD pedicure over a year ago, I cannot take the pain on both sides of my big toes any longer. The embarrassment I have very time I go get pedicures to try and manage this has also become unbearable. I am terrified of toe surgery and I truly thank you for sharing your stories. I will be calling a podiatrist tomorrow.
You’ll be fine, eventually. One of the best decisions I ever made. Totally worth the short-term pain and hassle.
I am due to have this procedure done in 2 days time. I am terrified of getting an infection as prescription medication doesn’t agree with me. I also don’t want to take strong painkillers either. Do you know why you got an infection? Can you recall how long it was before you could wear shoes /trainers? Have looked at pics but not video too scared. Thanks
Two weeks before I was moving easily again.
When you can feel the pain in your ankle, calf, knee…you have an infection.
its not a big procedure, and the little needle feels like a mosquito bite- and im THEE biggest scaredy needle cat
Omg finally someone to show and give detail. I got my big toenail removed 3 weeks ago and last week it started painin a lot. I feel like it’s a nerve or something. It’s yellowish thick squishy skin on top of where my nail is suppose to be. When I touch it it doesn’t feel like much just throbs. I want to take it off. Should i?
Hi Tyler. Can you tell me how long after the procedure you were able to wear shoes and do you have any idea why you got an infection? I am having both toenails removed this week and dread getting an infection as I detest prescription medication. Thanks
Two weeks and I got an infection because I moved around waaaaaaayyyyyyy too much during my first few days.
Also, it was my fourth surgery, so I’m sure I was a little irresponsible in taking care of my foot because I took healing quickly for granted.
over the counter triple antibiotic cream -antibiotic pills are no fun , killing everything in sight- some creams include a pain killing agent too – ( the Rite Aid version has Pramoxine HCI as a pain relief agent)
Good call on that one.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this. Well, I just did mine yesterday. Only one toe cuz I’ve had the other done since 10 yrs ago, never came back cuz the dr removed the nailbed.
So they cut off 1/3 of the nail plus the nailbed. I still have nail in it. The dr told me yesterday not to open it till 48 hours after surgery. I’ll go in for cleaning and changing. Thing is, I’m terrified cuz I had the same proc don in December and it never got better. When I went in yesterday, he said it’s because previous dr didn’t remove the nail bed, just the nail, I’ve seen 7 months of hell.
This is the second time and I’m trying to do what the dr said, not move and stuff. He stitched it too, 3 stitches. I’m hurting again it’s like beating pain. Trying not to take many painkillers. Last night which was the first night post surgery, only a voltaren 100mg suppository could help me to fall asleep. Pain pain …
I’m hoping it will heal properly this time cuz I’m exhausted from pain
Holy crap. Sounds like yours may have been already infected and/or they needed to dig deeper than normal to get at your nail bed.
OUCH.
I only had one removed, but not permanently. It was two months ago and the first few days were terrible, with no pain killers and just tylonal every two hours, three at a time. It didn’t however make the pain stop. It could have been that I am not able to stay of my feet due to the fact that I am a mom of three and my husband works from early morning till late at night. Anyway like I said it has been two months and it still oozes and has terrible looking scab. I still cannot where shoes with closed toes. I doesn’t hurt though, unless someone steps on it or I kick something. When I left the doctors office I was told not to sock it at all.
Hmmm…that’s a long healing time, but you’re right in that not staying off of it will prolong the time needed.
Do you wrap it with gauze and wound dressing during the day and leave it unwrapped at night? That worked for me, but only after it stopped oozing.
hi I had both my toe nails remove a year ago from ingrown toe nails on one toe is scab how can I get this off as it’s not nice to look at
The scab? Probably plastic surgery.
Help !
I had my right big toe, toenail removed with the chemical to burn the ends or so that my toenail will not grow back again !
I had this to nail removed last August and it grew back ingrown. Any way the post op says for my to soak my foot in warm water with Epson salt the day after surgery…! Omg, omg…I tried last evening and the pain was excruciating ! !! It felt like my foot /toe was on fire…I rinsed it with plain water and it was if someone put hot sa use in an open wound !
It swelled up big time and I was ready to go to the ER…It finally settled down enough for me to bandage it back up and I put ice on the bottom of my foot.
I don’t know why this happened ? ! I will call the Dr today . ..the pain is driving me nuts…I can’t walk , correctly , or even wear shoes…any advise ?
Might be infected, but the Epsom salt definitely hurt the first few times.
It’s fine when it’s not being soaked, right?
three days ago i had both of my ingrowns removed from both big toes. I was numb for tbe first two days so i didnt feel anything. I kept both elevated as much as i could. Today is day three an sp far so good. Tho i noticed that my left toe is spre, almost lime i still have the ingrown. How long before that nerve stop sending that pain sign? I also have pics as well but not sure how to share.
Takes about 3-5 days before that pain starts to subside.
If it starts to creep up your leg, go in.
Hey sharon i had the laser done on mine to, but my doc gave me amerigel. I dont have to soak at all just used the first aid cleanser then applued the cream an then wrapped it. I will say tho the first two days my toes felt like they were on fire. But doc says its from the laser an the heat did go away. However, if your in pain id see a doc.
I used Amerigel too, though I did soak. Same thing as you with the intense pain that went away after 3-4 days.
Just an update. Went to doc and indeed my toe was infected! On antibiotics now. Another warning sign of infection is the toe being hot to touch compared to other toes and redness spreading beyond the wound. Mine made no progress with healing and kept oozing and bleeding 9 days along. Not sure why it happened as i was extremely careful and did everything they told me. Hopefully will get better soon…. Tyler how long did your infected one take to get better? I seem to be on a different trajectory now. Any additional tips for an infected toe after surgery? Thanks again for all your help!
Well here i am 9 days later. So far my healung is coming along nicely. I have been siaking in warm plain water once a day as my cuticles are sore . No more drainage but very itchy an slight swelling. My neighbor an RN told me to use peroxide on tbe cuticle to draw put any debri as its been raining an flooding alot recently an haed to keep my feet dry. Anyone else done this?
Hi Tyler,
Thank you for all this information. Your pics are great and I can compare mine to yours to gage the stages my healing is at.
My story, I had both my toenails removed on Monday 03.08.2015 (UK way of writing date as that’s where I am). My pain started soon after the surgery once the anaesthetic had worn off. All my toes, souls of my feet just about every part of my foot was in pain, to the extent I wanted to throw up. My daughter (the Angel) had taken me and stopped to pick up food and mess for me. The advice given by my Poditrist was to keep my feet up, take some paracetamol and rest. I popped a microwave meal in, made a cuppa and took two soluble paracetamols ( the ones with caffeine) and slept for a few hours. On waking I felt ok so decided to start to tidy up – not a good idea. It was only for a few mins but I learnt early that standing = pain. The next day bought seeping of reddish/yellowish fluid each time I walked. The advice given over here is to leave bandage on, keep toes dry, just add more bandage on top. The Wednesday (05.08.15) I went back for my follow up appt where I had the bandages changed and toes redressed. Nurse said healing looked good and I needed to keep it dry for the next 3 days. Then start bathing in warm salt water. By that evening seeping had returned,even though I kept movements to a minimum. By Thursday afternoon the fluid was leaking through the additional bandage and was very sticky Pain had returned, although nowhere near day 1, it felt like the pain you get when your feet have been frozen solid from snow and was thawing out, to the ladies reading this- pain was like the one you get after wearing tight heals and dancing all night ?. I called Poditrist one option was to go see them or GP next day. In the end I went to my GP Friday morning (7.8.15) who gave me a course of antibiotics, which I started immediately. Having been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I know I cannot take the risk of having infection set in. The GP did not change my bandage – I did that myself – ended up having to soak foot with menolin dressing still on in order to loosen it from my toe bed.
My toes seems to have waves of pain whether I’m sitting or standing. The seeping has stopped though. I will be changing my dressing again today (Sunday 9.8.15) so will take pics then. I go back for my 2nd follow up visit on Wednesday 12.8.15 and can see what they say.
Thank you again Tyler, especially for the time line and pics. Your toes look great ?- hope my ones turn out as good as them. Ladies I’ve been told that you can still put nail varnish – so I’m looking forward to that?
Nice work!
The doctor only told me to elevate my foot the first day. Nothing about staying off it. Sent him some pictures of it and he called in a prescription for antibiotics. It’s been 10 days and the twice daily Epsom salt soak still burns. Thank you for posting your pictures. I now have something to compare to.
My doc said I’d be playing tennis in less than a week, too.
Sigh.
I had a procedure done almost a week ago to get the roots of my toenail cut and burned my nail was also ingrown bit not that bad I haven’t shown the signs of infection (I think at least the obvious ones) I’ve been soaking my foot and changing my dressing daily and staying off my feet but is my toe supposed to still be warm to the touch it doesn’t have pus coming out of it or anything like that it’s just warm to the touch is that bad? It doesn’t hurt to walk or anything though but it is sensitive
Warm is fine, your toe is just traumatized.
It CAN be a sign of infection, but the pain will tell you.
I had my ingrown toenail removed from my left foot (Big Toe) Friday Aug. 14 2015. I was very nervous and before the doctor started I asked him if he could make it so my toenail will not grow back. He said yes he could but it’s a much bigger deal and in looking he didn’t think it was necessary in my case. I felt disappointed saying how I have even as a child suffered and as a senior I’m done with this. Again the doctor said the nail should come back in and be in good shape. Well for starters it didn’t want to freeze on the side I had so many times operated on it at home. Doctor said there was a lot of scar tissue due to my operating on it over the years. Finally it’s froze and doctor says now he’s convinced this nail has to be gone for good!!!Says this is the most sever case of ingrown toenail he had seen. The procedure took 1/2 hour and I left the clinic with my toe heavily bandaged with Elastoplast bandages. The toe nail had to be removed in pieces. I asked then why my toe was hurting so bad and doctor said because of the chemical he had to use. I didn’t sleep all night it didn’t just hurt it throbbed and I do mean throb all day to day as well. I was told to keep it covered and Do Not get it wet. I have to be at the clinic Monday Aug 17 at 5:20 PM. OMG talk about painful. This toenail had better Never grow back or I may turn ugly. This is so painful and it never quits. I did finally rest my foot on an ice pack. I froze my foot and the dam toe still ached. I tried elevating my foot all night I tried sleeping in my chair I tried it all. Not Pretty. I really find it confusing why I’m having so much trouble, many others brag how easy this was. I’m happy for others because I sure would not wish this on anyone,
It’s a super tough surgery, especially with your scars. One of my toes was infected, so I sorta know your pain.
It’s worth it, I promise.
Thank you for your response. I have had a few of very painful days. I am happy it’s done that’s for sure.
hi
i did my in growing nails surgery last thursday it is almost 4 days from now after the surgery. but 2 days after surgery i went back to the hospital and they did the cleansing only, i didnt feel anything and in my four days now still i feel numb but the thing or the problem here my toe is swelling, swelling like anytime it will explode,. what will i do?
Any pain, outside of your toe?
Throbbing?
Does ice help the swelling at all?
Are you moving around on it much?
Oh Yes my toe did throb for 8 days before the pain was bearable . I was amazed to know that my pain really wasn’t on the outside of my toe. I held my toe in my hand and I could literally feel the throbbing from the inside and yet the outside of the toe was only tender as you’d expect. I am bathing my feet once a day starting the fourth day after surgery using a foot bath with warm water and dettol . The dettol in the water has stopped any chance of infection. I did finally wrap ice packs around my foot. Yes the ice did reduce swelling but did nothing for the pain. I had the surgery on Friday Aug 14 and yesterday and today have been my best two days. (Aug 31 today) I have not been walking around much at all. I am a retired senior so thankfully I didn’t have a job or children to care for. I’m not sorry I did this I have suffered more than 60 years but thank God I’m on the mend. Best Wishes and Thank You.
You know what makes an excellent ice pack is mix a little bit of rubbing alcohol with water then fill a surgical glove with this mixture tie the top with a tight knot and freeze the glove. You will find that you have an excellent gel pack freezing. It comes with trial and error to get the right mix but keep in mind it takes only small amount of rubbing alcohol. Good luck. I strongly recommend you bath you foot once a day using dettol in the water opposed to Epson salt. Dettol was used in hospitals for many many years and it protects against infection.
I got my toe nail removed from an infected ingrown toe nail . I was wondering , when can I put my toe in Epsom salt??
I was told to leave my bandage on until the next night. The I soaked in warm water and baby shampoo, changed my dressings, and soaked in epsom salt the morning after.
So about 36 hours. From what I understand, the Epsom salt promotes healing but is tough on the area, so waiting for surgery trauma to die down and doing it once a day is enough.
I wouldn’t bother with Epsom salt. I used dettol in my foot bath and soaked my feet once a day. You won’t get infection as long as you use dettol and it doesn’t hurt to use it.
I wouldn’t bother with Epsom salt. I used dettol in my foot bath and soaked my feet once a day. You won’t get infection as long as you use dettol and it doesn’t hurt to use it.
i went through a procedure on my right toe due to an ingrown toe nail. its three months now and part of the wound is still not healed. its really disturbing coz pus and blood comes out when i press it and any time i wear closed shoe its more painful. i took antibiotics but still it doesnt change. am wondering what would be wrong with the toe
Three months? Yikes, something didn’t heal correctly or it’s still infected.
Go back in, right away.
I’m so grateful to have come across your site. I can’t say thanks enough for the information and the pictures and the other comments. I finally feel a sense of relief. After nearly ripping my toenail off September 8th while on vacation (it had to be removed at the clinic later that afternoon), I had to fly back home on a 4-hr flight, then drove myself to work the following Tuesday, September 15th, and it’s September 20th and I’m still whining about the discomfort and sensitivity. To read that 2 – 3 weeks is not “that” unusual for relief helps me to feel less crazy! I don’t have an appointment with my doctor until next Monday so I’m changing the dressing daily and putting triple antibiotic ointment on it, and really being gentle with it. After reading your post though, I think I should let it air out a few hours a day, but the nurse said it was okay to keep the telfa Band-Aid thing and dressing on it. Regardless, THANK YOU!
You’re welcome.
It took me six week before I could job again after having my big toenails removed.
My wife says I’m pretty tough, so I’ll tell her about you.
Thank you for documenting this. I just had my toenail removed because the portion of the nail had died. I’m now worried it might be infected because, I was doing quite a bit of walking like you did as well and I’m starting to see some yellowing. I don’t know what it is, truthfully. It has been about 4 to 5 days since the surgery and there is still a little pain in the evening after walking.
Based on your info, I think I’m going to get it checked just to make sure. Thanks again.
Good luck!
Hi, I had my procedure done on Sept 23rd amd was given very different instructions from you & everyone else that’s commented, which makes me very nervous!
The doctor told me to keep the bandage on for 48 hours and then I was told to keep it very dry and if I was able to be in a clean environment to leave it undressed. They didn’t tell me to soak it or dress it and to be honest my toe looks like a zombie’s toe. I wish I were able to post a picture to get some feedback because I’m not sure if that’s normal or not…I’m not sure if the doctor cut the nail bed out either, I was not told. It’s too tender to try and wash it off if it’s dried blood at this point. I am getting some yellowish discharge from the wound but I’m not sure if it’s infected or just healing. I feel like the best decision would be to go to my family doctor and get it checked out because I have type 2 diabetes and have to be very careful about infections. One thing I was good about was staying off my feet with my foot elevated. I have been able to do that since I got the surgery and am able to continue to do that until Oct 1st. Thanks for posting this information as I too am in the dark on how my toe is supposed to heal, feel, etc…
Your doc isn’t off, the two-day thing is normal for some.
Yellowish pus is normal.
You’re in the middle area, almost in the clear!
I got both my big toe nails removed this Tuesday and it burns everytime I soak them in Epsom salt and water and they look to have yellow puss on them ??
Normal.
Unless the pus gets super thick or the pain radiates up the leg, it’s successfully fighting off bacteria and such.
You’ll know it’s infected when it hurts to move your leg at all.
Hello, I just got my big toe surgery yesterday. I thought the doc would take the whole nail off, but he only took out what was digging into my skin, and he put a string swab inside/ under my skin to soak up the infection. I took off the bandage today, ripped out the string, and I’m terrified that it won’t help my toe at all. It just looks worse than before the surgery. Do I wait a few days and keep soaking and bandaging it, or should I call the doc up right away? Thanks.
It’s going to look weird for a while, that’s normal.
Keep soaking and bandaging it, try to not worry about how awful it looks (soon you’ll have blister-like spots near the cuticle, they’re because the deep skin is repairing itself and pushing out the dead parts), keep it rested/cleaned/soaked/bandaged, and go to the doc if you feel pain without direct contact.
It took two years after my first “trimming” before my entire nail needed to be removed, and that sucked (I had both big toenails removed at the same time).
My daughter had just a section removed from the side of her big toenail and then deadened at the base of the nail. As soon as the numbness wore off, the injection sites began to hurt immensely. This was just 2 days ago and now her foot is swollen and her toe is really red. The injection sites are still horribly sensitive and she said it feels like the bone hurts. The doctor said she’s never had any of this happen and she’s had kids go right out and play soccer. I find that really hard to believe. I’m taking her back in tomorrow morning, because I looks infected. The doc says that it takes more than 2 days to get infected…. I don’t know.
This happened to me the second and fourth time.
The second time it was just a reaction to the surgery (lots of cuts were made).
The fourth time it was an infection. Can she feel it up her foot/leg?
Can I use peroxide? And what antibiotics will help it ?
NO PEROXIDE. Ever.
Antibiotics only help if it’s infected. If your leg hurts too, it’s infected.
What’s the best thing to do. I have been soaking them in Epsom salt and using neosporin
That’s what I did. Worked for seven of my eight toes.
I say keep it up.
I took my daughter in yesterday. One of the problems was some type of an allergic reaction to the lidocaine. We’ve been doing Epsom salt soaks, ibuprofen and Tylenol 3 and she’s doing much better. Also Polysporin instead of neosporin. Ditch the neosporin. There’s something in it that doesn’t work well with a lot of ppl.
I was told to use wound dressing instead of neosporin. Amerigel?
That’s what we did, except we switched to polysporin.
And it worked well? Cool!
Hello, I had some of my toenail removed about 11 days ago due to ingrown toenail and infection. Yesterday, I was on my toe almost the whole night and now this morning the pain is unbearable. Is this because I walked on it so much or is it something I need to get checked out. It hasn’t hurt like this before now so I’m curious as to what to do. It hurts so bad!! Thanks in advance
If it hurts right at the toe and doesn’t radiate up your foot/leg, it’s just sore from you being on it so much.
But if it’s radiating (moving your leg at all hurts), it’s likely infected and needs a doc.
Good luck!
Hi !
I did my both toenail removal surgery 10 days before it looks yukky still fluid drainage no tough pain at all but today suddenly see that left toe nail which I thought already tried to heal much better way than the right toe has fluid which is greenish but right still has reddish fluid drainage I am a type 2 Diabetic and they only put me on oxcycodin as I see a greenish fluid I already took a appointment for tomorrow morning but as I saw all your pictures its so clean and clear as the time by but mine is from day 2 I was advice to keep in the open air its draining and try to dry and its piling up really worried.
Nah, you saw it after the bandaid came off, which ripped most of that green stuff off.
So is green ok? I’m on day 10 and green discharge seen, also wondering if I’m keeping it too moist all the time. Also still hurts when not elevated on day 10. No intense pain, no pain at all unless not elevated is this bad?
Green discharge isn’t a good sign and the only time I still had pain on day ten (unless it was stepped on or something) was when it was infected.
I’d recommend getting it checked out.
Keeping it moist helps it heal, healthy discharge should be done after 10-14 days.
So I believe I’m good it’s been over two weeks no pain I can walk normally no more discharge but still a lot of dried stuff should I keep it moist still cuz I been leaving it dry? Thanks for still responding.
Once the discharge stopped, I also left it dry.
Worked great.
I did continue to soak, usually daily, if I could.
Hey Tyler,
I must say, as with everyone above, a massive thanks for the write up.
I had surgery on both big toes just over two weeks ago.. It went well until I played out one night like an idiot thinking they were well on the way to healing…
So, my right toe is the hero, like yours, but the left toe is a villain!
Not immediately the day after, but in the late afternoon, my toe had enough.. I was in absolute screaming agony! It seemed no matter if I walked on my heal or my full foot I got excessive pain. It was the type of pain that would make you cry.
I tried taking cocodamol (I usually use for my back) to take the edge off the pain, to no success. I had this crazy pain for over a day and a half.
The pain has subsided, but recently ( a few days later) I noticed a pain around my cuticle area and a yellow substance gathering in the general area. This worried me when I put two and two together, yellow gunge and pain to me says infection. So I bathed my feet in warm water and wiped away the “skin” and gunge that had grown over.
Now I am in two minds, go to the doctor or try and wait this out?
I feel like my toe has gone back to square 1 and I really really need to get back to work ASAP!
All advice appreciated,
Les
Ugh, sorry so late in responding.
When the pain extends up your foot and leg, it’s infected.
The yellow pus may not be an issue.
Tyler, Thank you very much for taking the time to document your surgery. I Took my foot out of the Peroxide & Water as soon as I saw your recommendation!
Have to have my right foot nail removed. How long before I can expect to be up and working as I have no sick time
1-3 weeks before you’re moving around easily.
3-6 to heal completely.
1-3 days until you’re mobile, usually. Not VERY mobile, but mobile.
My daughter’s toe is finally starting to heal after a couple of months. It looks terrible and the skin keeps peeling off of her toe, but it’s finally starting to dry up. I really swear by the Epsom salt soaks and at a certain point, we stopped putting polysporin on so it could dry up.
Yeah! Skin peeling is annoying but normal.
Good work. It can take way longer to heal than the docs say.
They claim it always heals fast, and they’ve never seen this happen before… Yeah right!!! Everyone I talk to seems to have similar experiences.
Heals quickly my ass.
None of my surgeries have taken less than five weeks to heal.
Hey, I know this is way late, but I just had part of a toenail removed 3 days ago. My toe feels like its on fire and is very raw to the touch. The doc said it wasn’t infected but I can’t even wear shoes or socks! How long will that last?
2-5 days.
I rotated between sitting on the couch with ice on my feet on the floor and laying on the floor with my feet on the couch.
The less you move, the quicker it will go away. But yeah, it sucks.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I came on your site looking for pictures showing me if my toes were getting infected, but you assured me everything was on schedule; including still having pain. This as been a process, but it was so worth it. I am happy I made the decision to remove permanently. I have had bad toenails all my life and finally at 53 years of age I had them removed. I have never worn a pair of sandals because my toes were so bad. After I finish the healing process I will buy my first pair of sandals and wait for summer so I can put them on.
High fives!
Weii I had my toenail the great toe nail completely removed I couldn’t wear shoes or boots and my big shephard steeped on it. So last high after the shots wore off I cried like a baby so today I went back to podiatrist pain..lousy gait..so they gave me tramadol it helps some..my next toe will be done in one month thanks for all the great info !!!!!!!!!!
Yay!
I have an ingrown toenail and I am probably getting it removed today but I was wondering will my toenail ever grow back?? I really like painting my toenails and I don’t want it to never grow back. ???
Unless you ask them to acid-burn the root, it should grow back.
Hell, even if you burn the root, it may grow back.
Hello Tyler…I had partial nail removal on my left big toe. I had both sides of the one toe done on 11-12-15. I almost cancelled the appointment because deer season opener was on the 15th and I was going hunting. I was assured that I would have no problem walking on the 15th. The first 24 hours the Dr. said to leave the bandage on. Then I was to soak it twice daily. The first few days it throbbed, but I assumed this was normal. On 11-21 I noticed redness along the left side with swelling and puss like substance coming from where the nail used to be curled and super red all along the cuticle and going down 3/4 of an inch down past the cuticle, plus puffy and very painful. Of coarse the Dr. is out of town until two weeks after Thanksgiving. I am using peroxide to clean it twice a day and using triple antibiotic ointment. I leave it to try and dry out for a few hours everyday. I got my 8 point buck 3 days ago. Do you think I should go to the ER. I have no other Dr. and could use some pain meds. I am forced to use a cane right now so I do not have to put too much pressure on the foot. I felt blessed when I found your site here. Can you please tell me what you would do in my position? I am aware that you are not a doctor but you have been through this before and I would respect your advice. Thanks so much and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Stop using peroxide, use Epsom salt and warm water instead.
Redness/puffiness is normal, as is the pus. It will be tender with pressure, but you’re not infected until you can feel it up your foot and it becomes painful to move at all.
I know you’re not going to like hearing this, but hunting on a bandaged toe was a terrible idea. Only extends the healing time, as you’re stressing it ou.
Hello Tyler,
Interesting to see your photos and read your story. My big toenail was removed 13 days ago WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. I said NO to complete removal –just wanted the side done because it grew back. I didn’t know until that night that he took off the whole nail. Anyway, my toe doesn’t look anything like yours. It is all black along one edge. The rest is varying shades of dark red. I have been soaking in Epsom salts once a day, and leaving it uncovered as much as I can. It was doing ok for a while. Then I thought it was infected, so I used peroxide and then neosporin and it got better. The last two days I haven’t had any weeping, except tonight after the Epsom salt bath, it started weeping again. Do you think I should quit soaking it? I have no intentions of going back to this doctor. In fact, I may sue him. I am wearing sandals and a sock with the toe cut out. No way I cam wear a shoe yet, and it is winter here.
Keep soaking until it stops weeping, even after. It made everything slightly less terrible.
Hi – My wife forwarded your experience to me. I had my right big toenail removed, also “magic” grow-no-more acid, on 11/11. Now 24/11. The podiatrist said that some people play soccer the next day!!! Also saying that they will feel pain, and have blood in their boot, but it’s OK (!). I can’t go out, as I can’t get a shoe or boot on, too tight because of the dressings, it’s wet weather, too. Severe cabin fever. Last week I had a different sensation than what I have been experiencing : v.sore, sole of my foot “spongey”, top of my toe, above the wound, felt like needles going in from both sides intermittently. Went to docs’, said that it sounded like gout. (Taking Cocodamol every 4 hours.) All I needed. Erythromycin prescribed. Still so sore, esp. when getting up at night. Drinking so much water/juice/green tea to flush it through. Back to podiatrist on 1/12. I never expected so much pain/discomfort/disruption. Thanks for all your info.
Thanks for the picture story. Really helpful. I had big toe nail removed on Weds 11th Nov. Kept foot elevated as instructed. Relatively pain free and went to have dressing replaced after 48 hours on Friday. Looked OK and told to soak in saline on alternate days. On Sunday toe aching more and getting red as well as being quite oozy. On Monday changed dressing after one day as oozing and spoke to doctor on phone who said to leave and see how it was on Weds. Started a weeks course of antibiotics after seeing him on Wednesday. By Friday toe generally better but nail bed still oozy. Continuing with alternate day dressings. On weds 25th went back as planned to see podiatrist. She was surprised it was still so gooey. This time iodine applied (and given some to take home) and to carry on with saline soaks. Need to go back next Thursday 3rd Dec to ensure on right track. Put trainers on and went shopping yesterday (Saturday) successfully with no ill effect. Generally not painful, just when dog stands on toe. Hopefully on the upward path now after 2 1/2 weeks and worth it!
Sounds pretty great!
11/30/2015 I got the toenail surgery today. .right foot ..only had the side cut out and the chemical kill. The podiatrist said I could soak it in Epsom salt tonight but my paper instructions say tomorrow. ..I’m confused at this point. ..also starting to feel the numbness wearing off. Question is…should I soak tonight after having it removed today ?
I also have Dettol that a friend of mine sent me from Australia but it looks most likely a hand sanitizer.
I’m in the states so not sure how the Dettol works for soaking
Thanks for sharing your story !!!
Soak after you take the bandage off.
I’ve been soaking twice a day. Not much pain after the first couple of days but I notice there’s a red spot right above my toe , could this be infection or is it normal ?
I notice some pus …or it looks like pus to me , but when I dab it after soaking it doesn’t come off. .im not in any pain though
Red spot is normal. You might have some skin peeling at the cuticle too.
All normal reactions from your body.
The pus-like stuff is just dead skin being pushed out. Nothing to worry about.
No pain is good. Heal well!
Hi Tyler,
Thanks so much for the very informative post. I also had my 2 big toenails removed, but not permanently on 11.16. I was feeling depressed for the first few days until I found this page and it made me somewhat feel I was not alone in my misery. I pretty much suffered the same issues you had, my left toe got infected at week 2 (it was not diagnosed/confirmed by the doc but it looked way worse than your infected toe pic- I had yellowish discharge, throbbing pain and swollen, which I dont have in the other toe — so what I did was I put Bactroban cream twice a day after the epsom&betadine soak, then after 3days the wound has dried up and a scab has formed- saved me a trip to the doctor’s office! 😀
I have read in the other forums that scabs should be avoided as it delays the healing process but I figured it was better than seeing an open wound so I just let it be and went on my regular cleaning process of soaking with epsom and betadine (no more than 10mins) then applied Bactroban, I also stopped wrapping in gauze after the first week because the gauze always got stuck in the nail bed.
I would advise anyone who would go through the same procedure to try to ask their doc about Bactroban cream, I don’t want to directly recommend it cos I might just have gotten lucky and it may not always be applicable for other situations but I really feel that cream has helped greatly in speeding up my recovery. Now at week5, theres about an inch of what I think is nail growth! yay!! anyways sorry this is too long I hope this would help someone. I have read a lot of forums while wallowing in self pity during my first few weeks but I found this post as the most informative one with your pics and also the comments section. thanks again!
oooppss sorry, its not an inch, I meant centimeter!! I got carried away with my happiness!! lol
High fives and I sincerely hope you’re never looking for these kind of pics ever again!
Hey Tyler,
Just wanna compare notes with you–after your first non permanent nail removal, how long did it take for the toenail to grow back fully? Mine just seems like stuck halfway through, and it seems like the nail just gets thicker, but not longer.. There is a thick-ish skin that I think is preventing the growth, like in this pic: http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll154/Pjpicture/Toe/IMG_0133.jpg
A few months ago as I thought I was healing pretty well but now I think my nail just wont return back to how it looked like before. 🙁
None of was supposed to grow back, but the ones that tried to took 18 months.
I am 14 days out from having my whole toe nail removed. Why do the toe itch so badly while healing? What can i use? The toe is not infected or is it? No discoloration, no oozing, no pain. I soak twice daily.
The itching, for me, was from the new skin growing.
Unlikely infected if itching is the only issue.
It helped me to keep it moist with Amerigel and wrapped.
I’m 14 and I’ve had trouble with ingrown toenails my whole life (thanks a lot mom) only one is infected at the moment and is draining orange puss.. it feels like someone is repeatedly hitting my toe with a hammer but I have school tomorrow and have finals, should I get my toe fixed tonight? Or wait until the end of finals week?
Go to your doc and get on antibiotics now, have surgery later.
Hi, thanks for the post! I got a nail excision done 10 hours ago where they cut a little bit nail off from the side. Do you have any idea about how long it’s normal for the toe to be numb? I got 3-4 (I think) shots of anesthetic, I think it was lidocaine. Right after the operation I almost couldn’t feel my toe and it’s not that numb anymore and a few hours ago it started to have a “tingling” sensation in it when pressure applied to it, such as when walking. I’m just a little worried because I’ve read that the anesthetic should wear off in a few hours.
I very much wish I wasn’t about to say this, but you are REALLY going to wish the anesthetic lasted forever once it fully wears off. In my experiences, it took way longer than expected to fully regain feeling back, about 16 hours.
In my worst experience, I stayed awake from 3-5:30am rotating between sitting on the couch with my feet (I had both toes done) under an ice pack and laying with my back on the floor and feet on the couch, all while vaping more cannabis to help with the pain. It’s terribly excruciating and I hated it, but I was fine the next morning every single time.
Give it 24 hours and for the love of everything, don’t use it while it’s still numb.
Ok, thanks for the really fast answer! 😀 Sorry to hear about your experience. I’ll give it time and luckily I have pain medicine ready, just hoping it will be effective enough…
Pain meds did work, just not during that 2.5 hour period.
It you don’t get an infection, the local anesthetic wearing off should be the worst pain of the experience.
Hi
Guess you can tell I am looking for information because I am hurting? If things had gone as planned, I wouldnt have “met” you. Infected big ingrown toenail. Took keflex 5 days, including yesterday, when I had the partial removal with phenol acid. I was wondering how long the anesthesia would last because for the longest time 12 hours) no pain. Lucky me.! Why did the podiatrust give me a rx for 20 vicodin? Didnt even bother to take to pharmacy but did have him fax over the keflex order (3x day times 5 more days). Figured if I needed a vicodin or two my hubby had some. Oh such ignorance was blissful! About 12 hours after procedure severe, burning, throbbing pain. Slit the sides or bandage to help the swelling. Now 24 hours later definitely using the vicodin every 4 hours, sick to death with nausea from it). Due to soak in epsom salts soon times 20 minutes then cover with bandaid. That is it. Hoping when I soak dressing will come off??? and worried about the burning comments I have read about the soaking. I am retired, snow storm outside so dont need to go anywhere for ten days, elevating and resting. Sure hoping things get better. Hubby had four toenails removed with the phenol and no problems. Thanks for the site as I really would have been super worried when all I had to compare was my hubby.
The “burning” from soaking is due to the Epsom salt — it dissipates quickly and almost always felt better. No comparison to the pain you experienced when the local anesthetic wore off.
I covered mine with gauze and tape for a week or two and then switched to bandages. Was easier to soak, remove, and deal with while the wound was still seeping.
I got my right big toe removed and it grew back ingrown and it hurts even more, do i get it removed again??
Yes, but this time you accept your fate and ask them to acid-burn the root so it won’t grow back.
93% of people have no problems after that. My right big toe (I have big toenails removed) sorta grew back in two small spots, I’ll need to get them dug out.
No nails, as long as the look doesn’t bother you, are way better than having nails. Way better.
Hi
I need both my big toenails removing. Problem is i am a chef and my shifts are 9 hours at the shortest and 11 hours on normal days. Its impossible to take more than a week off work for it and that includes the day when its done. Do you think thats long enough to heal before i start work again?
Thankkkkks:)
Heal? Oh helllllllllllllll no.
HOWEVER, the first few days are the most important to prevent infection. When I had my last surgery, I had both big nails taken off. I didn’t rest much (had to help move stuff around at work) and only soaked once a day: my right toe was infected in five days.
But for all the rest of my surgeries, I rested hard for 3-5 days (enough for the swelling to be almost gone and the tenderness to dissipate), soaked 2-3 times a day, and changed my bandages whenever I worried they might be dirty (remember this on a work break). No problems.
So…
1. Soak twice a day and STAY THE HELL OFF YOUR FEET while you’re off work.
2. Change bandages at work if you can.
3. Don’t stop soaking and regular bandaging until the weeping stops, and continue once a day after that.
If you can nail those first few days while off work, you’ll be fine, but if you do not, you are going to haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttteeeeeeeeee life (you’ll be fine, though you’ll be lucky to be able to walk if you get a toe infected). Good luck, stock on on breathable gauze and tape, don’t be afraid of Epsom salts, and change your bandage at least twice a day.
Thanks Tyler,
I go back to the podarist on Monday. I am two weeks post surgery had two toenails removed, but did not do it permenantly. Big soccer player, but had been in pain for a while. Not sure this pain has been the best, One toe did better than the other. Still two weeks post-op having pain. I hope it will dissapte as I miss soccer really bad. Those shots were awful. Man I don’t know how you went through this, what I have gone through seems pretty rough!
I also had one toe (left) heal much better and quicker than my right. It happens.
Pain will dissipate, though it will be weird for a bit longer as your nails grow back.
I made it through because the temporary pain was better than the long-term part.
It’s worth and I’d do it again, though I really don’t want to.
Finally some real first hand info!
I have a pretty nasty infected ingrown toenail and have been on 3 courses of antibiotics to reduce infection and then I’m just on a long longggg waiting list for surgery.
But I am absolutely terrified!! I am pretty phobic of needles and hospitals/surgerys… can you be completely honest and tell me what the worst part is and what to prep for?
Also how long you’d recommend off work? (I do 8-12 hours on feet)
Any info will be massively appreciated!
thank you!!!!
You bet.
The shots to numb the toe hurt for a bit, but less so if the area is sprayed with a cold numbing agent first.
Zero pain during the actual procedure after that.
The worst pain, and this happened every time, was when the local anesthetic wore off that night.
I was in agony for about two hours, and twice I alternated between letting a bag of ice sit on my toes while I sat on the couch and laid on my back on the floor and raised my feet with the couch.
When I woke up in the morning, I was totally fine. Those two hours were tough, but until I got one toe infected one time, that was the worst pain and it was over pretty quickly.
I didn’t take any medication for my surgeries, save for the infected time, so I’m betting a few painkillers for that first night may be all you need. It’s really not bad after that.
The first week is the most important. If you can take 3-7 days off, and I’d take as many off as I can and STAY OFF YOUR FEET, you’ll be walking okay.
Will be about a month before you’re playing sports well again though.
My daughter had the sides of her toenail removed on Monday and when I redressed it today it didn’t look great. Not sure if it is infected .
Well, a doctor did slice and yank a piece of nail out of her skin a few days ago, so… 😉
It will look nasty until the shots heal from the inside. You’ll get a skin-like, yellowish substance that’s will remind you of pus but isn’t.
If her toe hurts when you squeeze her foot or ankle or if it’s painful to move, then it’s a possible infection.
Good luck, keep it clean!
I had one side of my big toenail removed Nov 2015, and now this horrible deformed looking bit of a nail (if you can call it that?) is growing back. It’s not even attached to the big toe nail (if you get my meaning?). The Pod said that only 2% grow back, trust me to be the 2%! I noticed over the last couple of weeks it was throbbing in the night. Now I realise it’s this nail pushing it’s way up UGH! So what do I have to look forward to now?
First of all, my condolences. I am also part of that 2%, as my right big nail is growing back in both lower corners, EXACTLY where it hurt before.
The left side is just a divot, the right side is a mini-deformed nail and I can’t quite clip because it’s somehow attached underneath.
From what I gather, we can look forward to a deeper, more expensive surgery that involves my least favorite “surgical” term ever: digging.
Thanks for this blog . I had my toenail removed permanently a month ago and while it is feeling much better I have a big scab on it. The doctor said that he is pleased with the way that it is healing and will see me in a month. I am hoping that the scab will fall off without any discomfort!
I had my right big toenail removed and phenolised a couple of days ago. Had to have three shots to numb the toe completely, which stung, but not at all unbearably. After that I didn’t feel a thing, and it was all done within just a few minutes. I went straight home by taxi and went straight to bed for a few hours after that, which might have helped, as I’ve felt no pain at all. They’ve told me to keep the dressing on while I shower to keep bacteria out, then remove it and salt bath, then drip-dry, then new dressing. Fingers crossed it’ll all heal up nicely.
Going to bed right away definitely helped, a lot of my first-night pain was because I moved around when my toe was still numb. That was dumb.
I think I took my bandage off right after the shower, then soaked. Easiest that way.
I got my right big toe nail removed. What worries me is I’m on day 4-5 and still can’t bend my big toe or separate it from toe beside it. Someone told me that the freezing they use can effect it but i dont know.
I still get that burning were the nail was and joint of toe plus toe cramps. Is this normal?
Also the bandages no matter how loose I put them on feel way to tight and throb. It’s still leaking so I still need bandages.
Wish I could send a picture lol just for your opinion.
Thank you
Yeah, the toe joint can get stiff. Toe cramps are normal, too.
If there’s still that much pain in 2-3 days, you’re likely developing an infection and should go in.
Tyler,
Like many others, I want to thank you for taking the time to post your story and pictures! There is not much information available online about this kind of thing and you’ve inspired me to look into starting a similar blog to help others.
I have dealt with ingrown toenails my entire life (now 32). I remember having them as a kid and it seemed as though they were constantly infected. As an adult, they did not get infected (imagine that – better hygiene as an adult than a kid!), but they were still a struggle for me. I would try to let them grow out, but once they became painful, I would pick at them until the nail was tiny again. It seemed like my toenails were constantly sore from an ingrown or from me attempting to find relief from the ingrowns. I had multiple nail techs, in the process of giving me a pedicure, attempt to dig out the ingrown nail (which was far more painful than the surgery, by the way) but it would always grow back. I’d always get comments from the nail techs that they had never seen such bad ingrown toenails. Finally, one nail tech told me that her mother had suffered with them and had them surgically removed. In January, I decided to stop avoiding the issue and see the podiatrist.
In January, he performed a partial avulsion of the side of both big toes and applied the phenol so they did not grow back. Because I am a woman, he cut a smaller piece of the nail to try to preserve the look of the nail, but I wound up having issues with the phenol not flushing out properly. When I visited him for my 2 week follow-up, he cleaned up the nail (read as: cleaned down the side he had worked on with a sharp, pointy instrument…OUCH!) and flushed it with water and everything seemed to be fine. I was even back to running by March!
Fast forward to April. My right toe had started to get red around the edges and, when it became too sore to touch, I scheduled another appointment with the podiatrist. I went in yesterday and found out that my nails are unhealthy and that the main part of the nail is not growing back properly after surgery. (I had noticed a ridge on both nails that started with the new growth after surgery, but assumed it was normal after the surgical trauma.). I was informed that this ridge-line is not normal…neither was the softer, more gel-like nail that was growing back on my right toenail and neither was the whitish color on my left big toenail (come to find out – the white color was a yeast infection that had gotten under the nail which he treated with a laser).
The podiatrist removed my entire right toenail, but not permanently with phenol. He wants to see if it will grow back normally and, if so, plans on doing the same thing to my left big toenail in a couple of months. In my opinion, the pain is worse from having the entire nail removed as opposed to a sliver (which only makes sense, right?). I haven’t taken the bandage off yet (supposed to leave on for 24 hrs), so I haven’t seen my right toenail yet (and not sure I want to, if I’m honest).
I had seen your previous post about your experience with the partial nail removal back in January when I was looking for information and now this one about the complete removal as I was perusing for information to prepare me for what is under that bandage. Thanks for posting your experience and providing information as to what to look for as a sign of infection! This blog has certainly helped me to realize this is a more common problem/procedure than I thought and has helped to comfort me.
That’s great! My right big toe, which had its nail removed over two years ago and got infected at the time, has grown back in two spots. In left lower corner, it’s growing straight down, just like it did with a nail there. Thankfully, the skin isn’t as strong as a nail. In the right lower corner, a small piece of the normal nail has grown back.
I’m waiting until they hurt or the end of this year to get them cut out again…ugh. The left one hurts at times!
Hi Tyler! Thanks so much for the information, it is appreciated. It makes me feel better to read all of the stories as I don’t feel so crazy now. Here is mine: I am a 45-year-old, healthy working mom of two. One day my left big toe nail hurt when I touched it, only when I touched it — so, I didn’t touch it and left it alone. I waited a few months and it became notably worse, so I went to see a podiatrist (end of Feb 2016). I explained everything, how it hurt under the nail, couldn’t clip it without unbearable pain, etc. Without really looking at it, he said it was ingrown toe nail. He proceeded to partially, permanently remove one side. Well, recovering from that was crazy painful. I soaked with his recommended Sanifeet and applied the healing gel. I missed two days of work, because I could not wear a regular shoe or even a sandal. Nothing could touch or cover my toe! I ordered a surgical shoe and went to work. I felt better and then one afternoon, about two weeks later…my toe swelled up and I turned really pale and was shivering. So, I called the doc on call and they called in an antibiotic and made an appt to see my podiatrist when he came back from vacation (in 5 days!!). So, I hobbled in there, feeling better, but with the same pain I had originally complained about. Here I was back again, been to heck and back and I am at square 1. Perplexed, the doc took an X-ray (showed a small bone spur, but nothing alarming). He sent me on my way with a prescription of 800 mg Ibuprofen and an appt 10 days later. Well, 10 days later and more co-pays going down the drain, I went to see him. I was still wearing the surgical boot and still could not touch it. He didn’t know what to do, so he sent me for an MRI. The MRI showed soft tissue selling and possible osteomyelitis (bone infection). The doc said, “well, I don’t think it is an infection because you were just on antibiotics…so, let’s schedule a surgery to cut under the nail and take out a piece of the bone and see what it going on…but we will have to wait to schedule it until my assistant comes back from a funeral, so she will call u in a few weeks”. Then he left the room. I sat there and thought…are you seriously kidding me?? I had put up with his gruff and dismissive nature for far too long. So, I got a new doc. He reviewed everything. He decided to remove my entire toe nail (not perm) first to see if that would work. Well, that was last Friday, 8 April 2016. I can honestly, say this is the most pain I have ever been in my life. I have had two kids and two cervical fustian and this is worse. I felt like I had a 1000 rubber bands around my toe. I followed the instructions, took the prescribed antibiotics and pain meds. On Wednesday night, I was so out of mind, my husband made me go the ER as my new doc was out of town. Well, here in Northern VA, I was there for 7 hours! They ruled out infection, I guess, they never really told me and I had been up for 24 hours so I was completley out of it! The X-ray still showed soft tissue swelling, so I really hope this wasn’t all for naught. The ER doc called my doc and he provided instructions to wrap my foot in a soft cast and leave it alone until my appt this coming Tuesday. Also, I have to use crutches. That’s currently where it stands. I have missed this past week of work and am going to try to go in tomorrow. I hope this nightmare ends sometime soon. I know this story is long, however, just know that the pain we have all shared from “just a toe” is real. Thanks for listening!!
Holy crap! My infected right toe (full nail removal) was super painful, but not THAT painful and antibiotics cleaned it up in three days.
Thanks for your story, as my big right toe (again!!!) has my nail ingrown in two places (my right big toenail WILL NOT DIE), so I’ll likely have to do that more invasive surgery that you did soon.
It feels a lot better once the swelling is gone!
Hi Heather, our stories are quite similar, I’m also a working mom in my 40-s 🙂 and I experienced almost the same kind of pain as you. When my infection started, I couldn’t put my foot down because it started swelling, became dark blue, felt like wrapped very-very tightly and like exploding. It lasted for about 3-4 weeks with fever and elevated crp, then started getting better. It was in last November and I’m still suffering from the consequences (arthrosis), while my original problem has not been solved. It’s crazy that such a small bodypart can cause such horrible pain.
Real quick, I was wondering if my toe is ok
I did just get a good third removed because of an ingrown toenail, and it’s been about a week and not really red, but there is some pus on the edges and some dead skin. Not sure if this means there’s an infection, or that it’s just healing. One thing I do know is it’s not painful but more tender or raw feeling to where it’s smooth and soft and only hurts a bit if I were to press on the area near the remaining piece of nail. Thank you for your time
*where (sorry for the spelling mistake/mistakes, it’s like 12am and my brain is sorta dead)
That sounds normal. The pus goes away after 7-14 days, usually.
Go by pain…your body will let you know if it’s infected.
You won’t be able to shrug off infection pain.
I am in constant pain, due a low pain tollerance. I am scheduled to get my nail fixed up tomorrow. I am autistic as well and forced to be out of the house on my feet due to a day program and on my feet at home due to an Independent Living Skills program. IF I stay still or sit down/lay down doing nothing, my mom (also conservator) yells at me to stop being lazy.
All the advice I see says “Stay off feet, soak in Epsom salt and water”….the Epsom salt I lack, and cannot afford it due to being not allowed money by the conservatorship. By following the doctor’s advice, I may open myself to more abuse. What should I do?
Tell your doc about your concerns, please. They should be able to help.
Wow! I can’t believe what you went through. But I’m so thankful that you documented and shared the experience. I had serious pain in my left big toe; it actually felt like someone bashed it with a hammer. Hard! I finally went to a podiatrist who told me I had fungus & he gave me some stuff to put on it for a year! Seriously! Days passed, my pain increased to the point it was waking me up at night. I knew this couldn’t be normal. I set an appointment with another podiatrist & it wasn’t fungus. I had an abscess growing under my nail that was pushing up on it, causing the pain. He had to remove the entire nail. I said when? He said now. Yikes! He said it would hurt for a couple of days. So of course, I said ok. That was May 3rd, 5 days ago. It’s still painful and feels so icky! Here were my instructions:
Wait 4 hours after procedure and remove bandage and soak in warm water & Epsom salt. (OmG!!! I was shaking, sweating, crying, screaming and hyperventilating from the pain! Seriously! I thought I was going to pass out! Last night was the first time that soaking my foot wasn’t a big deal. Just uncomfortable, but nothing so bad.) Then soak twice a day in warm water with Epsom salt & take antibiotics for a week. After 2 nights, leave bandage off at night, but still put the neosporin and that oily mesh “gauze” on it.
Every day I have been noticing more and more white stuff on top of and around where my toenail used to be. Why so much? What the heck is it?! Can’t just be skin bc it’s also on top, not just the sides.
Also, I go back to the doctor on Tuesday (2 more days), can I put my foot back in my sneaker? Should I go with flip-flops? I’m thinking it’s more dangerous to go with open toed shoes. But can I handle the pain of putting my foot in my shoe?!
It’s May 8th & I have a movie premier to go to at the end of June. Will I be able to wear heels?
I was concerned about how ugly my feet would be. I had such nice feet. But now I just want the pain to go away.
How long before I can put my sneakers on and just walk normally?
This really stinks! I had to put my Pom in boarding bc my husband had to fly out for work.
sigh. I would’ve never thought this would happen to me. Who the heck gets an abscess under their toenail?! Doc kept asking if I had trauma to the toe. No. But I did fall while running last summer and fractured that ankle. But that was my ankle, not my toe.
Ouch! I’ve had an abscess under a fingernail once, but nothing like yours.
Your recovery regimen sounds similar to mine. The gooey stuff is just extra cells. Looks weird, but it dries up as wounds close fully.
Heels…yikes.
Hello Tyler I have ingrown toenails on both my big toes and have for almost two years now. I’m hopefully finally getting them both removed and I mean fully removed. I was wondering how long the procedure took? And if u were working or not during the healing process? I only ask because I work and I’ll need to get back to work as soon as possible so I was wondering g if u worked while healing and if u have any tips on how to make it a little easier on yourself!?
I did work during the healing process, but I have mostly an office job, so I was able to stay off my feet a lot. The first 3-5 days seem the most important, as any issues I had stemmed from me using my toes too much immediately after the surgeries.
What worked for me:
Epsom salt soaks, 2x daily. Once before my morning shower, then at night right before bed.
Non-stick gauze and breathable tape to wrap the toe(s). Practice doing this correctly (no loose tape, firm but not tight).
Keep toe wrapped until seeping stops. It will look like pus and get clearer over time.
After seeping stops, remove bandage at night. I made sure to use pillows to elevate my feet and a light blanket to protect them from my dog and wife.
STAY OFF YOUR FEET for as long as you can during those first few days and keep an extra bandage around in case you get sweaty or wet. Pain wise, aside from the infection I contracted once because I didn’t bother to rest even a day (seriously, I helped renovate an office because I’m dumb), it was pretty pain-free after the shots wore off that first night.
Oh, and that weird skin/pus/discharge stuff is just new growth, and the blister-like bubbles around your cuticles are from the shots. They’ll go away. Bad signs are lots of redness and pain beyond the toe (like, say, when bending your knee somehow hurts your toe real bad). Everything else is just part of the healing process and might look bad, but isn’t.
Hi! I had my toenail removed (non permanently) 4 weeks ago bc of a cuticle infection. Seems like permanent removal is a lot more invasive. Healing is going along slowly but my toe is sometimes still slightly pink and inflamed. Just yesterday the scab fell off. I also just learned about Amerigel and started using it. Finally it’s beginning to look somewhat decent. Sometimes it feels itchy. Did you experience any itchiness? I get paranoid that it’s infection but I also heard itchiness is a sign of wound healing.
Thanks for posting your progress. I was wondering why it was taking me so long to heal but now I see that this is normal.
Itchiness is part of the healing. It’s infuriating, but nothing to be concerned with.
From what I can tell, infection almost always sets in within the first few days or not at all.
Redness around the wound is normal, redness extending into the foot isn’t.
Good luck!
Ok. Thanks so much for your post. Can you tell me why not use peroxide? I’ve been using it the past 3 days which make days 10, 11, and 12 post surgery.
Toe is finally looking and feeling better.
Why do doctors and now this post say no peroxide?
I was told that it kills healthy skin.
I used iodine to help dry out.
I had removal of both my large toenails 8 days ago. I called my Podiatrist 3 days out and the receptionist told me redness was normal and to take tylenol for pain (Luckily my GP did give me some trammadol that day or I would have died) I am still having pain and really red. I am doing epsom salt soaks twice a day. It is hurting in my foot and my ankle. Could I send you pics and get your opinion? I am Diabetic too.
You very likely have an infection. Can happen any time during the first 1-3 weeks, depending on healing.
Go to the doctor, now. Like an Urgent Care or something, not an ER. But go.
Thanks!
I waited until the pain hit my knee. Almost had to crawl. Antibiotics cleared it up, but it was a tough 30-ish hours before the pain was lessened to the point of not needing painkillers.
Well I called Podiatrist and he is out for the week. The receptionist assured me this all is normal. I am so afraid it is infected. 2 years ago I had an infection in my thumb that cost me 1 week in the hospital and 2 months on IV antibiotics, because of my diabetes. I cannot get through to my Dr. either….UGH!!!
Can you walk?
Yes and I got into my Dr. and got antibiotics and pain meds. It is much better today. I follow up with the Podiatrist tomorrow. Thanks for your help.
woohoo!
moderation.
I had both big toenails removed. Suffered intense burning pain. Went to a and e told to suffer it went back to podiatrist who tells me iv had a really bad reaction to the phenol. Got huge blisters around the wound it’s been a month now and still have lots of pain and blood blisters where the cuticle was. Wondering if I should go back to podiatrist x
The blisters are part of the healing, but if you have pain and blood a month after the surgery, you need to go in.
I also had my ingrown toenail (partially) removed last year. Then it grew back. Then they removed a larger portion but left in a small piece which grew out of my wound. Then they decided to cut even bigger and deeper. Got a huge bacterial infection that led to a long hospital stay, IV antibiotics and another surgery. Meanwhile the infection ate up the cartilage in my joint, AND a small piece of nail grew out again. I’m in constant pain, waiting for a joint fusion surgery and hoping for a permanent solution.
And the bonus: while I tried to protect my hurt, aching toe, I overburdened the other foot so my other big toenail got hurt, fell off, and the new nail grew right in the flesh. Just had the surgery, hopefully it solved the problem but I’m not too optimistic these days.
All these happened in the last 15 months, I’ve never had this problem before.
I have a infected foot i got my toe nail pulled from a ingrown on my left toe, its been 7 months just about and i have a nail growing but my toe is fat my toe naid is no longer growing and i cant feel my toe itz numb and my whole foot is cracking up like skin wise what im wondering why i cant feel my big toe nail its numb and my nail is half way grown but its not growing anymore….it worries me because my toe is fat i have no ingrown eaither…..
You may have a nail growing directly downward. I did, on one corner. Really, all I need to solve is that one part, but I had to take the toenail off to get at it.
Anyway, go get checked out, you may need a deeper surgery.
Daughter just had to have this done (partial on both big toes). Day 4 and pain is almost gone but there is severe bruising on left toe. I had mine done years ago and just can’t remember the bruising. She’s only 11 so I’m worried about her. Following all post-op instructions. Also left started bleeding at nail bed today.
Bruising is from the pain killing shots (has to regrow from inside out, so that’s what you’re seeing) and may look like blisters, eventually. Also made worse from moving too often with a numb toe (I did 2x, I assume your 11-year-old would as well).
It may shed like old skin, eventually. As long as there’s no pain, I wouldn’t worry about it. Mine faded in color and disappeared, just like a black eye.
3 weeks a go i had both of my ingrowns removed from both big toes. I was numb for tbe first two days so i didnt feel anything. I kept both elevated as much as i could but i dont rest i did for 2 days but i am always on the go and I got an infection because I moved around too much i had dressing on every day i put them in water but the pain is bad and i cant sleep at nite i keep my feet out of bed and i put the fan on them and them small so bad so i when to see the nurse she said keep on your feet them did not give me nothing for the pain just dressing to put them on but my toes r red and black and keep weeping its my right toe is bad pain killing dont help
1. Stop moving around. You’re making it worse.
2. Find Epsom salt. Soak your toes in it at least once a day.
3. If you’re still hurting, something is wrong.
4. Go back to the doc.
Hi I had mine removed on 30th June this year.i have been going for dressing every alternate day now I just do the warm salt water soaks at home and was told by my doctor to live the toes open when I am home.My problem is that the toes still drain out pus and it really sucks.After the soaks the dried layer comes off and it looks fresh again.How long will this continue ?I will see my doc today to check for any infection
The pus thing is normal. Your body is trying to heal itself from the inside out.
Goes on about 1-2 weeks.
Thanks a lot.so do I still use a bandaid on it coz of the pus ?or just live it open?
When I could, I used non-stick pads and gauze instead of bandaids, and I left them off overnight once it stopped seeping.
Thank you so much.You have helped a great deal.
Hi, I had a partial nail excision on 8th June. Everythun looked more than great for 2 weeks, then someting started but nothing really bad. Then, after 4 weeks my toe became purple and the wound was also quite nasty. My dr told it looked great, no worries. I cleaned it as deep as I could and started taking antibiotics. Now, one week later the wound looks very good, it’s dry and getting smaller, but my toe is still purple-ish and swells up when I stand too much. The joint is more or less mobile so I’m not worried, it’s only the funny color that bothers me. It’s not warmer or colder than my other toes. Do you have a clue what it could be? Thank you so much!
Yes, the purple is the damaged skin from the shots and/or the acid used to burn the root.
Your body is pushing it out, while building skin from the inside, and having what is essentially dead skin there is irritating a bit to the area.
You may see blister-like things there too, same issue.
The pain was likely from an infection that the antibiotics cleared up, but now your body has to push that part out too.
Thank you for your answer! I’m having a joint fusion surgery in my other big toe (due to complications from the previous nail surgery, that’s why I’m a little bit paranoid) in ten days and if this one is not healed nicely by then, it will be postponed.
Had both nails removed and toes treated with phenol to destroy matrix 35 days ago, found and this web page on day 3 (post surgery), bookmarked it as “light at the end of the tunnel”. As by day 3 my left toe was quite clearly infected as I faited having the dressing changed, it was only on day 9 i was informed I would need an antibiotic. Similarly to some of the above stories , these were my darkest days…. Never felt pain like it. The infection continued and am now on my 2nd course of antibiotics. But today (day 35) I now feel relief….no shoes yet, but I could finally put my feet under my bedcovers last night. Not sure I would recommend it yet but it’s still early days for me….. Just thought your story helped me get through it. Thanks.
Yikes, but good to hear you’re better.
And yes, it feels so good right now I’d go through the pain again if necessary.
This has been great. Thanks for your story. I have a question about the peroxide. I had both big toenails removed 9 days ago. They still hurt but bearable with tylenol. My podiatrist said to rinse them once a day with 50/50 peroxide and water. But you say no peroxide. Why? Thanks.
Peroxide is too drying, and usually made it tight so it almost throbbed.
Epsom salt in warm water has always worked really, really well for me on foot/toe injuries (I’m a runner, so I’ve long experimented with various options for healing, epsom salt has worked better than peroxide for soaking purposes).
And by “runner”, I mean 30-ish mile weeks in those Vibram five finger things, so any discomfort I’ve had has always been magnified because I don’t have cushy shoes.
Hope whatever decision you make works out well for you, though I’m sure trying both isn’t going to hurt anything too terribly.
I forgot to add that I also had toenail fungus. Maybe that is what the peroxide/water rinse is for? Thanks again.
Possibly!
I did not consider that, I’ve not dealt with both of those issues at the same time.
Wow what a fast response! Thank you alot! Yes the peroxide rinse does throb for a few seconds. Less than last week though. Again thanks for your fast response! I will ask my podiatrist about me doing the Epson salt soaks on Monday when I go for my two week check up.
I so wish I’d had something like this when I had my surgeries, you’re quite welcome.
I’m really scared to get my ingrown toenail removed. I put some medicine on it and now it feels fine. Should I still remove it?
What’s scaring you? The pain is less than what it feels like now, and you’ll likely (93% chance) never have pain again after it heals.
I literally just read through allll the comments. Amazing how many different after care experiences everyone has had. I had my entire big toenail removed yesterday. I was told to leave the bandages on for 24 hours. Today I soaked first to make removal easier. Yeah right. Insanely painful, as the bandage was stuck to my nail bed. My recommendation was to soak in a white vinegar/Epsom salt combination once a day. Do you have any idea at what point the soaking stops being insanely painful? I’m hesitant to do it again tomorrow. I was only given ibuprofen as pain pills (probably because I’m nursing my twins). I should add that my toe was infected before removal and has a fungus as well.
The soaking hurts less after day 2, though it may take slightly longer because of the fungus.
But it’s not as painful the next time, every time.
Good to know. Haven’t tried it yet. Glad it’s only once a day though. My doctor mentioned being careful in the shower, but didn’t say when to start washing it with soap and water. Any idea?
I started washing with soap and water after the soaking was over, but most of the time, the run off would clean it decently.
The shower doesn’t hurt like you think it would, except for getting in and out.
I am on day 8 of a full removal on my left big toe. Looking through your pics, I do not think its infected, but today hurts worse than any pain I’ve had so far. The throbbing is intense. Initially, the numbness took a couple days to wear off and until today I’ve only felt slight pressure. I did a lot of walking and mountain biked about 8 miles on day 2.
My instructions were to soak twice a day in 1/2 c white vinegar in 1 gal warm water. Neosporin and bandaid after morning soak and clean out with qtip and peroxide then dry bandaid after night soak. After the first week I’m supposed to leave bandage off at night and as much as possible during the day. I still have some seeping of yellowish (mostly clear) liquid. I’m wondering how much Epsom salt and water you guys use for your soak because I want to try that. After reading one of your recent comments about peroxide I wonder if that causes some of the pain I’m having also where it feels tight and almost like how a nail feels if you break or rip it off in the “quick” and you get that burning stinging feeling. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. I also was told most people are back to normal and wearing normal shoes in a couple days but I’m finding out that is NOT the case here. Like everyone else, thank you for posting about your journey so that the rest of us do not feel quite so alone in thinking that we are progressing extremely slowly or not at all, when in fact, I think we’re doing just fine.
I helped a buddy move on day 2, and that resulted in the only infection I’ve had.
Peroxide is likely contributing to the dryness and throbbing, though I can’t be certain.
1/2 cup of Epsom salt, mixed in warm water with baby shampoo is what I used.
Stung less every time and felt GREAT the morning after a night soak.
Throbbing sounds like the beginning of an infection, though.
Well at least I know what to expect now. I had my nail removed a couple days ago and the pain had has spread to my entire lower leg. But at least not gonna last that long
Are you on antibiotics?
If not, you probably should be. Pain up the leg is how I knew my toe was infected (my most recent surgery).
Yeah I have clindamycin which helped clear the infection before they removed it and I’m continuing to finish getting rid of it. The most pain is coming from the silver nitrate they used to kill my nail matrix. It burns like crazy lmao.
Ah, okay. Pain should subside quickly and there’s really no worse pain than the infection at this point.
Good luck.
I just had the surgery today, now it is hurting, is the pain normal??? how long i have to feel like this???
So the local anesthesia just wore off? Yeah, it’s going to suck for a couple, maybe a few, hours.
Use whatever non-alcohol pain reducer you have (anti-inflammatory too) and rotate between icing your toe and keeping it above your head.
I sat on couch with feet on floor with ice on top, then laid on floor with feet on couch every 15-20 minutes, while consuming cannabis (my painkiller/anti-inflammatory of choice). It wasn’t fun, but I’d do it again if I had to.
My pain lasted until I fell asleep, and I was fine the next morning (save for my one infected toe, but that was caused by a separate issue) for the next few weeks.
I’m sorry it sucks right now, but this is about the worst it will get for most people.
thanks, I don’t know what the hell I thought, I assumed there will be no pain after surgery which was stupid of me. But it did hurt like hell, but now a constant throbbing pain happening, taking my medicines and hoping for a fast recovery. Resting my toe is tiresome and boring. But I am feeling positive for now.
Two of my surgeries were painless, one hurt a little right away, and the fourth hurt right away and again after a few days.
Make sure you’re not wrapping anything too tight.
I have had partial toenail removal on my big toe. The surgeon cut down the left and right sides into the skin and it was pretty painless. Now the remaining nail is starting to peel away & I am not sure why that it is. Doesn’t hurt or anything just seems a bit strange!
Could be dead, maybe?
I trimmed mine, as I could.
I just had this procedure done 3 weeks ago. Last week at my followup appointment, the podiatrist said it looked good and was healing nice. That I would have drainage for 2 months and to always keep it bandaged. Well, the other night I took a shower and afterwards my toe just started throbbing. I took ibuprofen as the podiatrist didn’t prescribe me any pain killers and it didn’t help. It took over 6 hours for my toe to somewhat stop hurting. However, when I changed my bandages tonight, there was a green glob that came off on the bandage. Is that a sign of infection? I haven’t been able to rest my leg/toe much as I have a one month old who I need to take care of and I am a single mother. I’m usually on my feet or sometime sitting down. Especially the first few days I had it done. I don’t have anyone that could help me with the baby. And now I’m concerned that me being on it too much and/or my body wash may have gotten on it somehow and has caused an infection.
Being on your feet too much won’t necessarily cause an infection, as long as you’ve been good about changing bandages regularly.
Your body wash is okay, too. Nothing in there that would do this, unless you were soaking in it daily.
The green is likely dead bacteria in the wound (that’s okay) itself if it came off easily.
I’ve had that happen before, prior to having surgeries. It sucked, but I drained it and it was fine. I was told it was discharge that was caught in the wound, not a deep infection.
Unless the pain is coming into your foot and up your leg, you’re fine (you will KNOW when this happens, as walking will be super painful all the way up) for now, at least.
If you can, try soaking your toe in Epsom salt right before bed for a few nights.
Yes it came off easily in the bandage. The bandage was a little stuck to my toe. I have just been soaking my toe in warm water. They never told me to use Epsom salt so I will have to get some. My toe and part of my foot hurt, especially at night or when I walk around too much, like walking 2 blocks to the store. I’m still kind of walking on the side of my foot because it hurts to have my toe completely on the floor/ground. It is constantly throbbing and feels like someone is taking a pin needle and sticking it in my toe in different spots. It hurts to touch my toe or wear shoes or sandals. I also can’t bend my toe but just barely. I just don’t want to end up with an infection of any kind.
Yeah, get to soaking that. That should help with that pain.
If you can’t stay off of it, make sure your bandage is changed more regularly.
8 days ago I had a partial removal. There is now a red color under the toenail and my toe started throbbing tonight. The PA said only keep the bandage on if it was bleeding other then that let it air out. I haven’t had a bandage on it since day 2. It’s hard for me to stay off of it as I’m an officer. So I’m assuming the constant sweating from my boots isn’t helping. I don’t know what to do. Is it pain from healing or pain from the start of an infection?
If you haven’t been wearing bandages inside your boot, I’m guessing it’s getting infected.
Is the pain in your foot or leg at all? Does it hurt to put pressure on that side?
If so, you might need antibiotics and a few painkillers.
The only time I had pain after the first few days was because of infection, but We’re all different. Get it checked!
I had toenail surgery two weeks ago, it kind of looks like you explained.. Dead skin, blisters, puss.. I’d like to know if it’s infected 🙁
Does it hurt anywhere but the toe? Any pain up the foot or leg? Any difficulty walking that can’t be explained solely by your toe?
My infection hurt so bad I could barely walk, I’m told most infections come with pretty telltale pain.
I’m guessing that if you’re asking after two weeks (infection usually sets in earlier), you’re fine.
Not really, just the surroundings hurt.. Since it’s all purple.. But in that case I guess it’s not infected. Thank you for your time and the advice. I appreciate it ☺
I had my big toe toenail removed around 5 weeks ago. It’s now starting too bleed again an my toe is turning purple in some places.
Any info would be great thanks
Is the purple around the cuticle, where the shots were? If so, that’s a normal part of the healing. It looks terrible, but didn’t hurt me at all.
The bleeding isn’t necessarily bad, if it’s slightly leaking from the unhealed cracks and not seeping into the bandage.
If you have pain, go in.
I had to gather up some strength to watch the video. My dtr (13) has an ingrown toenail-we have tried all conservative treatments and nothing resolved the symptoms. Today 9/30/16 we have an appt with the Podiatrist to remove the toenail. She cried and cried; my heart hurt so much. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Hi! I had my toe nail removed 2 weeks ago. Had an infection but it seems better now. Although sometimes it still seems wet. I leave it out to dry at night.
My concern is I seem to have developed a blister on my wound. Do you have this problem? If yes, do you pop it? Or do you consult your doctor? Or just leave it to dry out after a few days?
Are the blisters around the cuticle area, maybe where the shots were?
I had some there, and they went away after a few days. It felt like the blisters were protecting the skin while it was healing from deep where the root-killing stuff did its thing.
I wouldn’t pop them, but if they hurt, definitely go in.
Now that you mentioned, there are blisters round the cuticle too! I didn’t realize it cos it look puffy to me, doesn’t look like blisters. But that is not bothering me, the blister I had is at the edge of my toe nail (if I still have any).
Maybe it’s because I wrapped it too tight and walked around too much. The friction caused it. Will loosen my bandage and see how it goes. For now I’ll leave it alone.
Thanks for the reply and for the article. I’m tracking my progress (& taking photos) by referring to your article. Really helpful! 🙂
Good plan and nice deduction about the wrap.
I’ve just never had good luck popping blisters that show up in surgical areas (I’ve had a few cysts removed, too), so I’m glad to have hopefully saved you some pain.
Hope you rest and heal well.
Hi,
I have another question. At what point did you stop wrapping your right toe (infected) with bandage in the morning? What about wearing shoes? Which week did you start wearing shoe?
There is still a bit of blood whenever I open up my bandage after a day at work (with slippers).
As soon as I had a day with no seeping, I stopped wearing the bandage the next day.
I started leaving the bandage off at night after about a week, and the doc used iodine to help dry it out.
Wearing shoes was based on pain.
Hi there! I had partial nail removal and the phenol to prevent grow back about 4 days ago. I live in Florida where the hurricane just hit so yesterday (day 3 post op) I was moving around doing clean up. My doctor told me I could return to walking normally the day after. I didn’t do anything excessive just walking mostly. I haven’t really experienced any pain so far. My post op instructions were to shower normally then apply amerigel and a bandaid for the first week. They said don’t soak. I’ve been doing exactly what he said. It’s seeping a yellowish color which I expected. But what I’m concerned about is my skin right around the base of the toenail is a chalky white color. Also I seem to have a blister on the bottom/side of that toe. Should I be concerned? It’s a little sore and tight but not painful. And it’s a little warm to the touch. Should I go to urgent care or wait until Tuesday to see my podiatrist? (I can’t tomorrow since I work) Thanks so much for posting. There is nothing on the web to help besides this blog!
Did you have shots just below your cuticles? That area is likely traumatized, i had blister-like things and dead (white) skin there because the skin underneath was healing (the area where the nail was ripped out was the worst and my doc confirmed this for me).
If there’s no pain, there’s likely nothing wrong. Yellow-ish color, also normal.
That blister away from your surgical point could be some rubbing on a shoe you’re wearing awkwardly now.
(I had a different surgery that involved a two-day monsoon in AZ, which knocked out my power and forced me into a hotel to continue my recovery. That was 1% of your storm and it suuuuuuucked to deal while hurt, I hope you’re staying rested!)
The storm ended up moving away from us a few miles so we got lucky ! Only lost power for about 6 hours. I think he did put a shot there, to be honest I looked away a good portion of the time because I didn’t want to freak myself out lol. Thanks for getting back to me so fast, I feel a lot less stressed now!
I had surgery 3 weeks back where removed just the small part of left side of toe nail. It still hurts a lot and I feel like lots of rubber bands around my toe. A very tightening feeling. Also a burning sensation not only on toe but finger next to it.
Right side is red and swollen .(Not the surgery side)
so went to podi. he says its allergic reaction to Amerigel or Bandage !! Is that even possible?
He put me on the antibiotics.
He took my xrays. saw swelling on right (again not on the surgery site)
I started antibiotics yesterday but not seeing any improvement. when can I except getting better?
Should I see another Doc? As I am getting very nervous? Has he pinched my nerve or something or is there Bone infection or something and he can’t figure it out from x ray? Please advice.
Yes, definitely possible! Antibiotics take 1-2 days to start working (this has been consistent for me throughout my life).
If it was a reaction to the bandage, it would explain the tightness in the toe and the burning of the toe next to it.
Yikes!
Hope you’re better today, if you’re not by tomorrow I’d think about going in again.
Thanks so much!! The shot place is blackened . Is that normal too?
My shot areas turned black, then purple, then lightened up as blister-like stuff formed.
That part is just the dead skin being pushed out, which was killed as part of the numbing/cuticle burn process.
Watch for seeping or smell on those parts, because they may not hurt.
Mine healed fine every time, though.
I had the same sensation after my third surgery. Turned out it was a huge infection in the joint so 20 months later (this July) I had to undergo a joint fusion surgery in my toe. Where my joint used to be now there is a long compression screw holding the bones together until they’ve healed. All this because if an ingrown nail 🙁
Oh man…that sucks. Ouch.
Ok. Here is the follow up. Went to different podi . He cleaned up the wound. It still hurts. But skin where the nail was removed looks pink. Does that mean it’s getting healed ? The toe still hurts. Is that normal? It is 5 weeks. Podi says no infection. Thanks
Pink is good, pink means healing.
By hurts, do you mean aching inside or sensitive to touch?
Aching, if there’s no infection, is likely soreness from five weeks of your toe being handled differently than it ever has before. Pay attention to the pain, and go in if it gets worse.
Thanks so much for your replies. I can’t express my enough gratitude.
So after 3 days of taking medicine the redness in turning into darker color. throbbing pain is still there. But reduced a bit. still have that rubber band tightening feeling though. The surgery side is getting blackish so I think that might not be problem anymore.
If Doc has used chemical to burn is it possible to have reaction to that stuff?
Would ameirgel/bandage reaction will be similar to Chemical they put ? I never had the reaction to that stuff before so it’s kind of hard to trust on this Doc.
The acid is burning and killing your skin, so I’m not sure what more of a reaction there could be.
My doc was a little rough with one of my sides on my third surgery, and it took longer to heal and started darker than the rest.
How are you doing staying off your feet? Moving around can cause swelling/throbbing, too! Ice and rest is your friend there.
What are the best medications can you recommend to me..please reply as much as possible..I really need to know immediately..Thank you..
I soaked in Epsom salt and No Tears Baby Shampoo.
Used AmeriGel under my bandages.
Iodine (from doc) to dry out surgical area after a few days.
Ice and cannabis, as necessary, for pain — are what I did.
i just got both toenail removed, im on day 3 and its really moist. Is that normal? I soak, dry and put cream and bandaid daily. Its so moist that the band aid slips off is that normal?
Yes. I used gauze and wrap during the first 1-2 weeks, as my bandage kept sliding off, too.
It will stop seeping/oozing in 4-7 days. Totally normal.
Hey Tyler this blogs a goldmine, well done!
I had surgery on both outside nails on each big toe a bit over 2 weeks ago now.
ie: both cut down to nail bed on each left/right and treated with acid to kill the nail bed
(Warning: This is pretty graphic)
In recovery there was quite a bit of swelling on my left outer toe and I started to squeeze it a bit to see if anything would come out.(This is after a week of putting up with red/itchiness behind the cuticle area)
What came out I describe as a paste like substance with a consistency of very fine cous cous. (Assuming this is the nail bed all chewed up by the acid?)
But a sliver of dark red beetroot looking flesh also appeared, about the size of a small rice grain. I tried to pull it out with tweezers but it was all mushy, so thought best to leave it. Since then a week later when redressing they appear to be healing quite well but I still experience quite a bot of aching/pain where I previously did where the nail grew down. And quite a bit of sensitivity when the nail is pressed down by shoes when walking etc… Just wondering if this is normal and a residual effect from having had the surgery. Also if you could give me a ball park of when this would start to decrease and go back to normal?
Yes to the fine cous cous. Maybe also sorta like a mixture of nail and skin?
I played tennis, poorly, after two weeks. The aching pain where the nail grew down makes me sorta worry about infection, so keep an eye for any increasing pain there.
Sensitive nails in shoes is totally normal (your shoes may not be helping your situation, but you likely already know that), and went away permanently after six weeks. I can stub and smash my toes now with far less pain than before.
My comment got posted as a reply. It should be at the end of conversation.
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I’m back again. I had both big toes, medial edge cut out and burned about a month and a half ago. First time for the left toe, second time for the right toe. Left toe is finally okay. But last night I examined my right toe closely as I still get a bit of shooting pain. I think that nail is trying to regrow yet AGAIN. There is a hardness at the corner (although it is a very dark brown) coming in and growing where the nail was cut out from the nail bed. I thought it was hardened skin but felt it after a long shower and it is hard…nail like hard. My toenail is also turning a yellow/brown color like it is decaying or something. No odor but it looks nasty.
I’m still not in regular shoes because of the right toe-Ugg boots and flip-flops is it.
Also, a BIG recommendation to those getting the surgery or healing, allow the toes to dry after a week of antibiotic cream and bandages (unless you had an infected toe). At night, put your feet up and air dry the toes. Mine didn’t start really healing until I let them air dry.
I will cry if I have to get the right toe done a THIRD time! It’s not the pain of surgery but rather the healing time and I’d just like to wear normal shoes again.
Ugh, that sucks. I too know the frustration of having that damn part grow back.
Good tip on when to put your feet up. I waited too long the first time and recovery took almost two months.
Thank you for the advice! My son just had his right big toe done yesterday! I’ll follow your recipes. Again, thank you so much!
Jamie
I have been trying to decide if I can get it out myself. Did you ever try to remove the nail growing back in yourself? If not, did it make matters even worse when it fully grew out? Mine did when it grew back the second time.
I just have to determine if I should go and get the surgery done yet again because this time my insurance may cover some of it. Not the case when Jan. 1st starts. And I’d like to see the same podiatrist so he can maybe use extra burn chemical knowing my history.
Yeah, I tried for years. It always hurt worse.
My doc accepted cash at the rate of the lowest medicare reimbursement, which was nice.
Hi ,
It’s been 8 weeks after my partial nail surgery with phenol . The bottom part of the nail has a gap between nail cut and skin. Although wound seems to be drying up. Will there be permanent gap ? I have a phenol reaction on right side of toe . Skin is still very pink there. I m not able to walk more than 20 minutes. It gives me hot burning sensation. 8 weeks is too much time passed and something serious going on ? Is it normal to feel stiff leg after 8 weeks?
No, that does not seem normal to me. A stiff leg and burning would indicate infection, especially since you can’t walk.
I wasn’t fully healed at eight weeks every time, but I was definitely walking without issues every time.
Go to the doc, that phenol reaction may be covering up something else.
Went to the ER today. Doc says it’s because I didn’t walk properly for 8 weeks and limping is causing the issue. Once I start walking properly issue will go away. I was limping because that phenol burn making me . So basically I need to relearn now to walk. I will wait for two more days and see how it goes.
When u said u were walking properly at 8 weeks does that mean It didn’t hurt u to walk at all . thanks
Thanks
Well, at least we now know the problem!
When I said walking properly at 8 weeks I mean I was able to walk at eight weeks without pain, not that I could walk any way I wanted to without it hurting.
I was lucky to be able to wear flip flops and other toe-less shoes during my entire recovery.
I got my big toe nail removed a few days back. My pain has decresed but
What um worried about is:
1. the stiffness of my toe . I cant really bend or move my toe much, especially after i take off the bandages n my toe comes in direct contact with air (as it dried out)
2. My toe is now turning pink with some yellowish ( fat like ) patches in between. Is that normal or some sort of infection?
3. My nail bed is getting pink when covered with bandages but as soon as i expose it to air , it gets red again.
Really worried cox of all this.
Hope it heals up asap 🙁
Speaking from my big toenail removal…two years ago now?
1. You’ve been walking different and flexing the toe subconsciously for days. You’re also likely manipulating the joint more than ever before to put bandages on and it’s getting sore. Rest and ice!
2. Normal. The yellow, pus/fat-like stuff is skin that’s being pushed up to protect the growing skin beneath. If it gets darker, it could indicate infection, but lightish-yellow was normal for me.
3. That skin has never touched air before, just like how Neo’s eyes after he was pulled from the Matrix. The pink turning into red is your body rushing blood to the skin to protect it, because it’s not yet able to deal with temp fluctuations. This went away for me, and now I can stub and get my toes wet/cold with less pain (I know it sounds weird, but it’s consistency true for me, as I run barefoot).
This sounds a lot like how my left toe turned out, and it healed perfectly. My right toe got infected, but everything you described holds true for my good toe.
Rest!
Thank u so much for the instant reply
Um much relieved now… finally some first hand info. 🙂
You bet, I very much understand the anxiety involved in not knowing.
They took like a wedge out and a little bit of tissue out about 4 days ago. I was told to leave the bandage on for 3 days and I took it off and where they took the nail out was like dried blood that was black and my toe is really swollen and red all around. I cannot bend my my toe down and I cannot walk on it. Also feels a little numb underneath the toe. How long until I can walk again? And also, should I be soaking it in Epsom salts and wrapping it daily?
All of that sounds like what I went through, as the time the first bandage should stay on depends on how deep the incisions had to be.
Swollen/redness is also normal.
Sore toe joint is also normal (you’ve likely been flexing your toe a lot, unintentionally)
Numbness underneath the toe should go away as the swelling dies down.
Say off of it as much as you can for the first week, and ice as needed. Your joint will calm down soon.
I soaked twice a day for the first week, once a night (with a shower in the morning) for the next week, wearing bandages 24/7.
After the seeping stopped during the day, I used iodine after my soak and left my bandage off at night.
I had two ingrown toenails removed. One on each big toe. They put the chemical that is suppose to prevent it from coming back. The doctor warned it would take about 6 weeks to heal. It’s been 7 weeks and my left toe is red and has yellow and red leakage. I made an appointment already but they did not say what to do. I’ve been washing it with soap and putting neosporin.
At seven weeks, that sounds like an infection, which will require 5-10 days of antibiotics.
Soaking in Epsom salt once daily helped a ton, and while it stings a lot at first, the few minutes of discomfort turned into a more comfortable night’s sleep afterwards. It won’t hurt as much as the surgery or the initial wearing off of the painkillers did, though!
Besides that, ice and rest. If it is an infection, don’t be surprised to feel pain radiating up your leg. That will stop as soon as it’s addressed.
My big toenail was forcefully removed by a door last week, and there is only a sliver of nail left on the side of my toe. It looks dreadful and hurts more today than when it met the door.Your post is great and I am calling my Dr so I can start some antibiotics. The pictures and details have been very helpful. Thank-you.
Hi, I had both big toenails removed 9 days ago, nurse said they were healing fine on day 3 however this morning I woke up and just under my left toe where my toenail would of been is really purple and sore? No pain up the leg but very sore and a really dark purple, I can’t get to my doc till Monday and it’s really concerning me 🙁 anybody else ever had this? Looks like a bruise but didn’t appear till after soaking in warm water this morning on day 9
Mine did that too. It’s the dead cells from the incision point and/or needle that are being pushed out for new cells growing from the inside out.
Mine faded just like a bruise does (eventually faded to green-yellow), and was tender but not painful.
You may also notice dead skin and/or what looks like blistering flaking off, that was part of the same thing for me.
Yours sounds like this, and I freaked out the same way the first time I saw it.
Thanks for replying so quick, it only happened today and I’ve been freaking out!! It’s so purple and sore I was sure my toe was going too fall off lol!
I freaked out the first time, too!
Hello…I really appreciate this post although i couldn’t bring myself to really look at your pictures. I’ve been having pains in my right big toe nail for like 5 years. I stubbed the toe like 3 years ago & the nail came out by itself. I was relieved hoping it won’t be painful when another grows but i was wrong. The new nail was more painful to touch & i get this painful achy cramps from the inside most of the time. I was later told last year that it’s an ingrown nail,i’ve been wanting to apply for a week leave at work to get the nail removed & rest because the pain is getting too much to bear but i’m so scared of the pains i’ll have to pass through after the surgery especially after reading all this because i’ve never undergone any kind of surgery before…Really scared!
My dad said the exact same thing to me, ended up getting the procedure, and said it hurt way less than I’d made it sound.
From my experience, I can tell you the only time it hurt was then the anesthetic wore off the first evening, and it hurt for two hours. After that, besides the infection that was mostly my fault because I was walking around on it the two days after surgery, it felt FAR better than it ever did BEFORE the surgery.
I had this surgery four times, and I’d have it again even if I had to suffer through an infection, for the pain relief I feel right now. My shoes feel better, my sheets don’t hurt, I can stub my toe and it doesn’t hurt (the pain comes from your toenail digging into the cuticle, and I don’t have toenails anymore).
Treat yourself. Be ready for some pain the first night, but it’s super short term and after that — IT FEELS SO MUCH BETTER.
I had my right big toe nail removed when i was 14 and it grew back and is infected. I’ve lived with it and got it on my other big toe as well, also infected, because i’m too scared to relive that procedure. I don’t know how todays’ world could differ but i had 6 needles in my toe, and remember feeling the first 4 vividly! I get shook just thinking about it however i can see how a fear of anything near my feet has had a huge affect on my development since then – poor me going through puberty and dating with toes that make that awful odeur lol. I’m now at 23 closing in 24 in march and i’m still terrified of the procedure. i know i’d be able to get probably about 2 potentially 3 weeks off work and just live in my bed while i recover, it just seems like it’s only worse from the first time i had it so maybe that’s why i’m sceptical.
My feet and toes have hurt my entire life. I have wide feet, but no one ever noticed, so I wore too-narrow dress, school, and sport shoes for decades. I switched to Vibram Five Fingers in 2009 and my toe problems lessened, but the damage had been done.
I remember crying at night when the sheets touched my toes. I remember stretching and stretching my calves, not knowing their spasms were caused my too-tight shoes. I remember not being able to run all that well, as I always had to buy shoes a little big to deal with the width issue.
It was a days, weeks, months, and years long struggle in dealing with the annoyance and the pain.
I can understand how the procedure looks scary, and it definitely is. But it’s worth it. I’ve gone four times now, and while it hasn’t hurt any less each time, it’s always been worth it for the relief I feel right now.
It’s going to hurt, but it’s not going to hurt much more than it does now, and it WILL substantially subside over the course of healing.
I appreciate you sharing it all, and for taking the time to reply to me thank you ^_^
Only other thing is you say you’ve gone four times, so are they not permanently fixed like once and for all?
I’d hoped for a permanent solution needing no more attention than a healthy foot does =O
I hadn’t yet figured out some other shoes I was wearing were the real problem, and my doctor wanted to be conservative in trimming the nails. By the fourth time, another doc agreed that trimming wasn’t going to work for me and she removed the whole nail.
Hell, she even said that only 7% of patients ever have any re-growing issues, so I’m an outlier.
Ah i get ya, i’m hoping to have a whole nail permanently removed i care not for it’s aesthetics of it after, and to be honest the recovery pain is consistent and gradual which i’m pretty used to, it’s just the initial op, poking stabbing slicing pulling etc i can watch it no problem but to feel it makes me wanna hurl. Guess i’ll just have to go talk to my doc more and see what’s my options.
Thank you for it all, and to everyone who’s written their experiences here.
I received a numbing spray, then four shots. Then I got another four because I’m sensitive to pain.
After that, even while watching her cut me up, I didn’t feel a goddamn thing.
The scalpel cut wasn’t as deep as I thought, and really the only problem area is at the cuticle where the nail will be pulled off.
That night, once the anesthetic wore off, it throbbed. After ice and rest, the next morning I was fine.
Only pain after the initial surgery was my infection, which was caused by me moving around way too much.
Good luck!
I am 2 weeks post op and healing is slow . Was on clindamycin for 7 days . I still am wearing post op shoe as a I work in health care and tennis shoes are not fitting right because of non stick pads and Coban . No redness at all but side of foot is stiff and I think it may be from favoring the left side of foot ( toenail was taken off big toe ) on right foot what do you think
Healing for me was something like five weeks. Good on you for wearing looser-fitting shoes.
Have you elevated and iced?
Thanks for the fast response. I’ll drop an update as soon as i get it done.
Hi, I removed my toe nail 8 days ago. Two days ago Dr told me stop wrapping it with gauze and leave it unwrapped at home during the day and night, and only wrap it when I have to wear shoes. He gave me a cream, which is for skin infection, to use 1-2 times per day. There is a yellowish thick squishy skin on top of my nail bed, but I dont have pain. Is that normal or it may be infection?
That’s the new skin. I trimmed the edges slightly, but mostly left it alone and eventually it fell off, painlessly, as it healed.
Mine wasn’t painful, either.
Thanks for the reply.
Since from the beginning I didn’t use any epsom salt or cream I was worried 🙂
The epsom salt usually quickens the healing process (not always necessary), any cream is usually antibiotic for infection (not necessary in all cases).
Sounds like you’re doing well!
Hi Tyler, thanks for your post, pics and explanations 🙂 I’ve been removed my left toe nail yesterday morning and, apart from the shots, I had no pain at all and slept well.
This morning I couldn’t feel my toe at all so I cut the dressing (thought was too tight and 24 hours had been pass already)… I almost fainted because of the excruciating pain… this last for one hour, crying non stop and after subside slowly, but pain is still there after 10 hours (and taking iboprufen). Still don’t remove the forward part of the bandage because just think on soak it in water (is stick to the flesh) make me shiver as mad.
I will dress it again and will soak and remove full tomorrow 🙁
I have sick leave for 7 days but start thinking I am going to need more…
Yikes!
That gauze is going to hurt when you’re finally able to pull it off.
Too-tight dressings have hurt me, too.
Hello. Finally had my toenail removed few hours ago…Was given five painful shot before it was removed & right now i’m feeling this crazy throbbing pain that goes on & off even after using the prescribed drugs…This is like the most painful experience of my life.
That’s the part that sucked for me. I alternated between ice and raising my foot until I fell asleep (this took two hours, I slept for maybe three).
In the morning, I soaked and took off the bandage, and it never hurt like that again.
But yeah, your toe has been through a lot!
It’s been over 2 weeks since my toenail surgery but i still feel dis burning/ache/cramp/throbbing pain in there not everytime but most of the time. Is this normal? If yes,how long do you think it will go away completely?
Those are a lot of pains.
Most of the time? If it hurts most of the time, I’d go have it checked out, unless you can tie that to a shoe or specific activity that may be causing flare ups.
Also, your toe should still be sore, mine was for six weeks, but shooting pain or anything super constant is a red flag.
Yea,it doesn’t look infected at all infact d skin looks like it’s healing up nice. I can’t just explain what’s causing the pain
1. Check your shoes to make sure they’re not too tight.
2. Remember your toe experienced massive trauma pretty recently.
3. Have you been walking on it more than you should? Be honest.
Ice helped me.
1. I’ve not worn any kind of shoes since the surgery. I’ve been wearing flip-flops slippers & a sandal which also look more like flip flops.
2. I’m a teacher & i resumed to work 5 days after d surgery. So,yes,i guess i’ve been standing & walking on it more than i should.
& it’s like d pain medication i use doesn’t seem to help much anymore.
1. Cool.
2. Yup, this happened to me the time I got infected (happened right way, you’re well past the worry stage now).
3. Yeah, I used plant-based options, because mine stopped working, too.
See if foot exercises for runners help. Your toe is just in pain and your foot is still tensed up, so it might be as “simple” as massive soreness from a tensed, sensitive area.
Are you soaking at all?
Well, i soaked just once & that was lastnight.
By the way,what plant-based options did u use?
Cannabis for pain. Vaporizing during the day, smoking before bed, high-cbd edibles as often as possible.
Helps with the relaxation and tenseness surrounding the area, which is the majority of the pain reasons.
Hey again! Already 3 weeks since I removed my left toe nail and this is going so slow… still in pain but just in the afternoon when I come back from work. Yes I walk and yes maybe the shoe is tight… but I have no choice 🙁 Just five more days and will get 2 weeks vacation so hopefully will get some rest.
I’m a bit worry because my toe is still numbing and don’t know if it’s normal after 3 weeks… looks dark pink ( was almost purple-black before) and a little swollen. Doesn’t look infected though.
My next appointment with the doctor is on Wednesday, let’s see then 🙂
Yeah, shoes are always tough, I was fortunate to be in AZ most surgeries.
Dark pink from purple-black is very good, that means healing.
Numbness wise, are you talking the wound area, the toe, or the toe and the area around it?
The toe, but focus on the shots area (I had 6) even more on the left side.
Okay, that sounds very similar to how mine felt and my toe healed great.
In my case, the numbness lessened as the color changed to normal and the swelling went down.
It sounds like you’re right on track.
Great! Feel more released now. I think the main problem is the lack of information, your experience and answers are being really helpful for me.
Patience is not my best virtue neither…
I freaked out constantly during recovery from my first two surgeries, so I totally understand.
I also didn’t heal as quickly as everyone else’s doc seemed to say they would, either.
Glad to at least quell some of your worry.
how much did this cost u? im on a very fixed budget and need to get mine taken care of
My doc let me pay in cash at the lowest Medicaid reimbursement, which was either $125 or 175 at the time.
I paid in installments the first two times, but after that, I had insurance.
Hi i had my big toenail removed and the 3rd toenail removed on my left foot 7 days ago now im in extreme pain feels like my foot is on fire with daggers in them! The pain killers aren’t helping much.The surgery has prescribed me antibiotics which have been taking for 2 days now how long do reckon before the pain eases?
Sounds like an infection. Ugh.
I started to feel better in either 3 or 4 days, but I know it hurt for a week after I started the antibiotics. Less so each day.
How did it take for you to be able yo walk without pain from the surgery?
Three days to two weeks, depending on how much rest you get right after the surgery and the amount of nail removed.
Is it good to soak your feet in some sort of bath?
I had good results with Epsom salt soaks.
Ok i have been back each day for re dressings do you think if i had the bandage off to dry it out when home would that help as of since the surgery it has always been kept in a bandage?
I left my bandage off at night after it stopped seeping during the day.
That accelerated the process a bit, I think.
great resource here! Did you have major itching and black skin near the nail bed after your partial nail removal? My nail bed where the phenol was applied is so itchy but I am trying to leave the area alone because messing with it irritates it. no throbbing so I don’t think its infected.
Yes. For me, that was the skin killed by the shots and phenol, which was pushed up and out by new skin growing from within.
Mine faded like a bruise.
I had one side on both my second toes removed about a month ago. Very slow in healing. The side of the surgery is dark blue. There is no seepage and doesn’t smell. Hurts a little now and then. Been on antibiotics for three weeks now. Still soaking and or washing daily. Let it air about half a day and the other half I bandage with triple antibiotic.
Seems to be healing so slowly that it concerns me. I am 63 years old and know that you don’t heal so quickly as you did when younger.
That’s a long time to be on antibiotics, I hope there’s not some raging infection below the surface you’re still fighting, but that would explain the slower healing.
Do you leave it unwrapped at night? Iodine packets helped dry up my wound.
It’s been three months now and healing at a snails pace but certainly hasn’t gotten worse. I think I had an allergic reaction to the liquid applied to stop the growth from coming back. I’ve tried to let it air when I am home, both day and night and still bandage them when I leave the house. I fear getting stepped on again so I try and protect them when going out. BTW I love your page.
Yeah, that can get frustrating. My full toenail removal took six months before I considered it fully healed.
Glad they’re not getting worse, progress is the key part, especially if you’re overcoming an allergic reaction.
And thank you.
I just had my toenail completely removed (yesterday), the doctor only told me to remove the bandage after 24 hrs and to keep the wound dry, he didn’t said anything about soaking it or dressing it; after removing the bandage I washed it quickly with water because it hurts a lot and since it’s saturday I’m resting without sock in my house but I realized that the wound is weeping (not blood), is that normal? do I have to dry it with a gauze? can you give me your opinion please
Weeping is totally normal, is likely more pronounced with a full removal.
I soaked at least once a day with warm water and Epsom salt, and covered my toe in gauze and tape until it stopped weeping (5-14 days).
After that, I left the gauze off at night.
I am 6 weeks post surgery. Had the three smallest nails on my left foot removed and acid killed and had a partial on my right foot middle nail. Been terribly painful but seemed to be ok until i went on a trip. Walking all around the airport irritated everything and the flying and all, my feet started swelling. the whole foot not just the toe. It keeps doing this 10 days now. the one with the three toes is much worse than the other. I could understand if only the toe swelled but why the whole foot. no pain or redness around nails but they are still scabbed over and can’t wear shoes. I am getting concerned. Anyone have any input?
You’ve likely changed the way you walk on your foot to compensate, and maybe needed more time to heal?
I’m def start anti-inflammatories immediately and head back to the doc. That would concern me.
thanks!
Okay so I got my ingrown toenail fixed, so I didn’t have to take the nail off, but I started to notice that the nail was taking a while to heal. I went back to the doctor and they said that it was healing properly, so I kept soaking it and putting medicine on the nail. Eventually, something yellow started to appear under the nail. Now it has spread around the top of my nail. I’m afraid to go back to the doctor because I don’t want to have to get it removed. What should I do?
That could either be something healing, or yellow/green means an infection.
How’s pain? Any swelling?
There’s no pain and no swelling and the very bottom of my nail has kind of sunken down
Oh, yeah, that’s the skin that’s going to die and be pushed out as it heals.
Or the skin will start to overlap the nail a bit as it adjusts.
Watch out for pain or swelling, but absent that, that’s what my first did.
I had both of my big toenails removed and acid used as well. I too was told to do Epsom salt soaks but found it to be WAY to painful. They made my whole foot swell and become hot to the touch. My Dr couldn’t explain it, so I switched to just soapy water for soaking but the pain and redness did not leave. After about 3 days of routinely using Neosporin I noticed a trend. After each application my toes would feel better but then get drastically worse. Turns out, i am allergic to the Neomiacin in Neosporin and it was literally burning my toes and the Epsom salt was like, well, salt in an open burn.
So for all those having this done, fair warning, don’t use neosporin (triple antibiotic)! A lot of people are allergic and don’t know it until they use it for something like this.
But, I found that Bacitracin zinc ointment works wonders! And thanks to someone else on your page I tried the Dettol soak. That stuff is GREAT! It has caster oil soap, pine oil, alcohol, and chloroxylenol (an antiseptic) in it. It doesn’t burn and it sped up the healing after all my set backs.
And praise be for this awesome page Tyler! It was nice to see someone else’s journey and all the comments and info to go with it in one place. So glad I found it. 🙂
My first doc told me specifically not to use Neosporin. I never asked why.
Thanks for sharing, and you’re welcome.
Hey Tyler its Tyler I’m seriously considering this procedure feel pretty confident that it will be the best thing for me . I only have one question if the nail is infected from the ingrown effect can they still do the procedure or would I have to have it treated and healed fully then do the procedure ?
Also funny story of how my 5 year pain begun . I was 17 highschool getting ready for class and I had one of those computer chairs witch rolls arpund on wheels but this one was lowered all the way to the ground as far as it could go. And siting atop the seat of the chair not a foot of the ground is a hallow small wooden chess set my uncle carved himself. And I must have bumped into the chair but that harmless little1 ft fall landed the exact right way to cause me to loose the entire nail but not before weeks of pain and about 5 times of seriously( and I mean for real I had a knife ready in my hand.) Considerimg choping off my whole toe. So when it finally fell off the underneath had what I’m asuming noe was the start of the reforming nail but to me at the time was just a red swollen ball of pain on the toenailbed of my toe. And once that healed fully back my nail had started tubing toward the inside left of my toe and has since became a monthly visit to the foot doctor to have it trimmed every month after and infection for 5 whole years! My pain has been here so long I just ignore it half the time but since I’ve read your article and learned about the procedure from my friend who had it done I wish I would have looled up a cure sooner. Thanks for your article Tyler
I think it depends on swelling, but the doctor would have to make that call.
The numbing stuff will help with the initial pain, but if it’s already infected, it’s likely to HURT a lot once the initial numbness wears off.
An infection definitely wouldn’t stop me from asking though, as having the nail out feels sooooo much better.
I wish i had never had this procedure done! The pain and trauma from having three toenails removed has sent my bodying an uncontrollable spin into an autoimmune disorder. I have developed intractable nerve pain at the site of the toenails and neuromas on the bottom of the foot. almost 6 months out and I cannot walk. This was the worst thing I could possibly have done to myself.
I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ve never heard of that happening before, do you have any idea what caused it?
Some people have a small amount of ain with this procedure and some people have terrible pain. I feel into the latter category and it was very traumatic to my body. Sometimes this is all it takes to drive your body into an autoimmune response. The autoimmune response aggravated the nerves in the foot as well as joint pain and uncontrollable all over muscle weakness with swelling of ankles and feet. I will have this for the rest of my life. the trigger was the toenail surgery.
Yikes. I have an autoimmune disease too (celiac) and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
So sorry you have to deal with this.
Was there any sort of warning sign or is that the problem?
not sure what you mean by warning sign. I had infected toes for months. Finally had 3 smallest toenails removed. Excruciatingly painful.. Could hardly walk for 4 weeks. Walking funny created more problems. At the 8 week point i decided to go ahead with a trip i had planned. Walking to the gate at the airport was more than I could handle. Pain pain pain. by the time I got to the gate, my feet were swollen, and that was the beginning of the current autoimmune nightmare.
I’m sorry you have to deal with that.
I had partial nail avulsions on both big toes on 7/20/17. Phenol was used on all 4 corners of each. Healing was progressing and then on day 7 I had a reaction to Phenol. My podiatrist trimmed the sides in further to allow better draining on both toes. Healing continued on left, but right was swollen and weeping. Went back to podiatrist on day 12 and he removed the nail. He said it wasn’t healing right and would heal better with the nail off. Put me on oral antibiotics just in case. I have been worried about all of the things you discussed: Purple color, red showing band aid lines, blister on injection site, white gooey “skin” on cuticle, crusty lines where side of nail used to be, shriveled flesh around wound, etc., so I’m glad you had pictures and said they are part of the healing process. Relief! I soak in Epsom salt/water 2-3 times a day, and rebandage with bactriban, gauze, and a large bandaid cut to size. Day 7 of complete removal of right nail today, elevate as much as possible, dressed/bandaged when not soaking, and still on oral antibiotic for 3 more days. Then i see podiatrist again. He said it wasn’t infected, it was more a reaction to phenol that caused inflammation, swelling, redness, burning, and itching, but the inflammation wasn’t allowing proper draining and healing. That’s why he removed the nail. Wish I could send you a pic (for extra reassurance).
Very much appreciate you sharing.
That phenol reaction sounds painful and a little scary.
Went back to the podiatrist today. He did some more cutting, scraping, and digging. He said it was definitely a reaction to the Phenol. My toe isn’t infected, and it’s healing fine now that the nail has been removed. It’s less and less painful each day now. Today is day 11, since the nail was removed, and day 24 since the first procedure. I think I’m on the mend.
I am the all too lucky person that get’s to have ingrown toenail surgery tomorrow. The day before thanksgiving. I scheduled it that way so I’d have a few days off. I’ve been through much worse physically so I’m hoping it’s not that big of a deal for me and I can be back in the gym by Friday. It’s just the left big toe, about 1/3 inch on outside that has to go, or at least that’s what I think. Nervous a bit though and not about to wear ugly boots lol.
Best of luck!
Resting a lot in the first few days is super important, I’ve noticed it shortens healing time by quite a bit.
I’m getting my toenail removed permanently during Christmas break which is two weeks for me. I have had three before and two on the exact same foot as right now. Do you have any advise about what to do if it isn’t completely healed be the end of Christmas break when I go back to school? The real thing I’m worried about though I’d how it will heal. Please help me feel better about doing this.
Don’t do anything but rest over break.
Every time I’ve rested a lot, eaten well, and slept a lot in the first few days, I’ve healed much quicker.
But if it’s not healed, I wrap my toe in stretchy tape that clings to itself, sometimes with a pad I cut into a smaller piece.
But yeah, two week for a full removal? That’s tough, but it’s definitely your best option.
Seriously I needed to get this done. Try having a 750 lb horse land right on that toe and then come home to find your sock covered in blood. I’m done with ingrown toenails. I’ve had them for the past four years.
It will feel so much better when it’s gone. I don’t even think about my toes with removed nails anymore, nor does it hurt if I stub the big ones.
Last time i went they said I hade mrsa. I just hope I don’t have it this time.
Good god.
That suuuuuucks.
ok i will be honest i have 1 toe(my big toe) and both sodes have an ingrown toenail i had it for a year what should i do? its really bad and hurts and bleeds when walked on with socks and shoes on
Go get it trimmed on those sides, at least.
Nothing else helped me, save changing the shoes I wear and how I moved.
Hi Tyler,
My Son has had toe nail surgery on left/right sides of both big toes (phernol use to prevent nail regrowth). He bumped it on day 5 and said it now hurts like an ingrown nail again. Could this be that the Podiatrist didn’t cut enough of the side off?
Maybe.
If it’s throbbing, it may be an infection.
Especially if it still hurts.
Hello Tyler,
Quick Question: After Surgery, is it normal for the skin to grow/lay over the area that the nail was partially removed? I had my surgery 5 days ago.
I was told that was normal and it did happen to me when I had them trimmed.
Thankyou for doing this thread Tyler. I had both my toenails removed and the nailbeds phenolised 5 days ago. Yesterday I was very worried right toe was infected but was able to read here that what I was experiencing was normal so you saved me a journey to the doctors. Ot had been very reassuring to read what others have written Can I just ask when it is ie how long after surgery that the threat of infection goes away ? Thankyou
You’re welcome.
From what I understand, the threat of infection lingers as long as the wound is still seeping, so anywhere from 7-21 days depending on the person.
My left toe healed up much faster than my right, every time.
Had 2 permanent nails removed walk ok in sandals put trainer or boot on can’t walk
Oh, yeah, that’s going to take a while to heal.
My complete removals weren’t okay for about two months.
Back doctors tomorrow more sick time
Thank you for posting these because I was worried for infection. Now, the very first time I have ingrown was because my brother accidentally step on them, yes them, it was both of my big toenail. I leave it for 3 years. But when I was 16, I decided I didn’t want to bear with the pain anymore. I removed them myself. Mind you I only cut and pull away the side that’s ingrown. My God, it’s really really really painful and I repeated that again. Now the good time was that after almost a week, both of them turn out well. It’s only painful the first day. Then nothing. I know the basic about medical, so I was lucky there were no infection or whatsoever.
And then,
4 days ago, my mother brought me to the clinic to remove my ingrown toenail. HE told my mother that its best to remove the nail (my right) completely. After removal, doctor ask to come back the next for redressing and to keep it dry. I don’t feel any pain of any kind. Not even a little throbbing, so I went my merry way and walk/hobbled to the salon and then grocery shopping the same day. The next day, when the doctor took off the bandages and all, I was pretty happy because it was healing nicely, well according to him anyway. Then came the worst experience I ever have. He rub the antiseptic lotion on it. It burns and I was already in a lot of pain. And I ate painkiller prior to this. He keeps rubbing and rubbing on my nail bed with a gauze until it bleeding heavily. The excruciating pain doubles, I wanted to just end everything. I never went back for anymore dressing. Instead, I did it myself. I was really worried whether I should soak my nail bed, so I thank God when I found your post. Kudos to you. I couldn’t find any Amerigal here, but the pharmacist told me to buy Solcoseryl Gel or Betadine. Is it alright to use any of the two? Does forcefully pulling out the gauze prolong the healing period because I did that before finding this thread. Thank you so much.
Yikes, that sounds terrible!
I bet he was trying to clean it like I initially did with the toothbrush, but oh man I bet that really hurt.
That gel is just like amerigel, while the betadine is another antiseptic which might burn.
Pulling off the gauze rips off some scabs, but that’s going to happen anyway.
Try non-stick pads!
Thankyou Tyler. My toes are still oozing on day 7 but pretty sure there’s no infection as no redness except at the bottom of where the nail was which Im pretty sure is down to the phenol as it has been there from the start. A bit of pale yellow non smelly liquid coming from it still. Also pain is minimal and I feel ok I just need to be patient and that is hard !
I’m a month in my healing process and it’s dead skin on top of it but there’s some green tint to it. Do you know if that’s normal?
Mine faded to yellow, then to white, then fell off.
If there’s no pain, it’s probably similar.
Mine almost looked like a healing bruise at times, with all the colors.
what should i expect after 7 days. it doesnt hurt but i bumped it not hard at all and that didn’t hurt. there is like a scab at the bottom of where the nail used to be.
Pain should be mostly gone, but I’d make sure to soak it.
Did your doc say anything about brushing off the scab?
So I had this done on my left foot about 5 days ago….both sides of the toe. I got the amerigel stuff to use by the doctor and he prescribed me strong pain meds. The day after my mom made me fly to Philadelphia. I was walking around in socks half the day. The next day I had to go to work which was way too painful. My question is my whole toe is red and swollen and had spread up the my foot but my doctor just gave me yesterday a prescription on antibiotics should I be worried about the redness and how swollen it is?
Yikes, you’re definitely not going through an ideal recovery!
It will take 2-5 days for the antibiotics to get rid of the infection.
It really, really sucks.
So it came back, two months after plucking the bloody toe nail from the bed…Now on both sides of the same damn toe? It hurts , I can barely move my toe without feeling that stabbing pain…it look really really ugly with pus and bloody oozing out of it every single darn day. Im sick and tired of it. Three years and i found courage to pluck it out now this!? What should I do now…its a no ending cycle of pain and yet more pain? My Bf, friends and family looks so disgusted after looking at it. I want to die (Don’t take this seriously) looking at it?. I can’t do sport, wear sport shoe and I’ve been bearing the pain to work every single day because I’m required to wear closed toe heels………..
Ouch! Sounds infected.
I would highly recommend having a doctor clean that up, and apply acid to the root so it doesn’t grow back.
After 2 years of dealing with my ingrown toenail I am pleased to say I’ve finally removed them suckers! 8 days since I’ve had them removed. My toes are red and and sort of tender to the touch but I’ve been taking Tylenol for the pain and elevating as needed. I try not to walk to much but if I have to I waddle and take my time. BE GONE TOENAILS! 🙂
The redness and tenderness lessens, for sure.
Stubbing your toe will now hurt FAR less, but watch out for getting it caught under things.
I’ve managed to do so twice, under swinging doors on hardwood floors, while barefoot.
My fault totally, but a weird thing that’s not been an issue.
Would definitely not go back, though.
Hi Tyler, That’s one thing I definitely fear too being caught under things or having things fall on it! Ouch! But yes you are right, the redness and tenderness does lessen as it heals. So far my toes are healing great and have formed scabs now but I’m worried the scabs will stay on forever. In your pictures I didn’t see either of your toes in scabs so I started to question myself if in fact did my toes heal correctly lol. Every once in a while I still apply ointment and wrap it up, not sure if it is necessary but I do it because again I’m not sure if the scabs are a good sign.
My scabs fell off the times I didn’t brush them off.
Have you used iodine on your toes at all?
I did, that helped dry everything up.
I had ingrown toenail surgery done. The shots they give you is like being at the dentist. They numb the foot so you feel absolutely nothing. They apply a tourniquet to the toe. Then once their finished they will apply an ointment and wrap your toe up and tell you to go home and put your foot up. How to care for your wound I was told do not apply any cream just run soapy water over the toe and pat dry let it air out. So It’s been five days and my toe is red and swollen, warm to the touch, leaking. I am pre-diabetic so this freaked me out. I have been to the ER twice on antibiotics and the podiatry nurse told me “the type of acid they use will give you the same symptoms like an infection”. Needless to say I was PO’d. So I have an appointment day after tomorrow to see what is going on. Folks if your toe is red and hurts don’t wait go to the hospital and get it checked out.
Yikes.
Epsom salt helped with the pain for me, a bit.
Hurt like hell at first, but definitely better in the morning.
Has the pain crept up your leg?
I had my left toenail permanently removed last week (Had the right one done a few months ago and it’s looking good) right now it feels like something is burning right into my bones, the skin under the nail is inflamed and red and the pain seems to be taking over my entire foot and ankle, I can not put shoes on, I stopped keeping it covered because I thought I was keeping the skin too wet, I go back to the doctor in 2 days, please tell me he won’t put another needle in my toe, I can’t take it anymore, I’ve been dealing with ingrown toenails for 20 years and thought this would be the best for me, no more painful nails but I can’t take this burning, it’s making me cry, would love to show you a pic of it
That sounds very much like an infection.
Try ice and any kind of anti-inflammatory/painkiller you can find, and get into the doctor earlier if you can.
I highly doubt he’ll inject you with anything, though Epsom salt soaks did make my infection feel a little better.
After two years treating onychomycosis on one big toe (two different lasers, 2 different Rx topicals), I had the nail removed yesterday. Like others, my doc made it out like it would be no big deal. I am off this week and intentionally rushed to get it done so I could accomplish all my projects and plans this week. After the lidocaine wore off, I was writhing in pain and screaming into a pillow. I’m on 600 mg ibuprofen 3x p/day, elevating it almost constantly and icing it. And sleeping a ton b/c of the ibuprofen. Your opinion on pain, mobility, and healing timeframes based on this?
I’m also supposed to take Lamasil for a month to treat any fungus left in the area but am hesitant since I saw that it can cause depression.
I just had toenail removal on my left foot and half on my right. Its been two days and the pain is such as throbbing, stinging and burning with some reddness on my left toe. The dr. said I could return to work in a couple of days, but being I can hardly walk and my job being physically demanding, I am not certain I will withstand the pain as I am on my feet 7 hrs straight. My manager was upset cuz she had to change the schedule although I did tell her I was having them removed. Guess she didn’t realize the whole toenail was to be removed. What can I do to not get fired? Im afraid of it getting infected.
I’d be extremely honest with your doctor about the pain and ask for a note.
I’ve noticed that nearly every single healing time estimate I’ve heard from doctors has been wrong, always takes way longer than they say at first.
Sorry you’re having to deal with this, being sick/hurt at work is the worst.
Thank you. My doc has been great and I’m using iodine instead of antifungal cream when I rebandage it, which made a significant difference. Then again, I started doing that at one week and your timeframes of pain, mobility, and healing so far have been spot-on. My doc stood by his own statistics of pain level and healing time and he wondered if my fibromyalgia played a role. I might consider that if everyone else on this thread also had fibromyalgia. 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve thought about that, as a lot of us (well, me anyway) have had painful toes for years or decades, but sorta wrote it off as normal.
But yeah, every healing estimate I’ve ever received has always been way off regarding healing time.
Do doctors not understand that we have to wear shoes and move around while still healing?
I’m not sure what state you’re in but there are state and federal laws that protect you from losing your job due to health confusions. Look into FMLA. And you don’t need to tell them specifics. Your director would answer certain questions verifying your level of temporary impairment and then approve you to return to work.
FMLA is what I used for another surgery, I’m pretty sure it saved my job.
I was considering having one or both of my big toe nails removed but not so sure after reading this thread . The main reason is because of ugly nail fungus. I don’t have any pain from in-grown nails because twice a year he trims and scales my nails down with some kind of electric spinning scaler. He scales them down almost to the bed and After that he uses a lazer that’s suppose to kill the fungus but it doesn’t kill it.
He has been telling me for a couple years now to let him take the nails completely off so that they never grow back. He has told me that it’s not that big of deal and that the first few days there’s some pain and after a week or so I should be fine – can go skiing etc.
Not sure what to do
It took way longer than a week for my toes to heal from a complete big toenail removal, but it was a fantastic decision that I’m glad I made.
Even stubbing my toe hurts way less now, it’s glorious.
I’m thinking about getting my little toenails removed too, they’re pretty squished.
Everything Tyler wrote here was exactly as mine went. I had one big toenail removed after years of fungus that wouldn’t go away. Removed on a Saturday and was screaming into a pillow that night after the anesthesia wore off. I cancelled important, long-standing plans that I had for the rest of that week. I was in blinding pain for the first 5 days and hobbling around just doing basic things like making instant ramen or using the toilet. I went to a job interview on the 5th day wearing a walking boot. I could finally put a real shoe on after exactly two weeks. You’re not going to be skiiing until at least 2 weeks in my opinion. I personally regret the timing at the very least, and maybe the entire experience because of how it impacted my life.
Hello I know this post is old but I’m scared and need advice or just words of encouragement..I’m getting my toe nails removed in 2 weeks ! Either partial or the whole thing AGAIN . My first time I was in agonizing pain and waited until I couldn’t walk anymore so I kinda don’t remember the injections for the local anesthetic.but this time it grew back and now I’m DREADING the injection shots !! I’m sos scared it’s going to hurt like hell .hiw Cna I prepare myself for the painful a$$ shots!?!
There’s a numbing spray that was used for me before the shots were done, which helped a ton.
Did you get the acid at the root to prevent the nail from growing back?
I did and it’s been delightful not to have two big toenails.
the dead skin is stuck under the middle of my newly grown toenail and has turned black. how do i remove it?
Any pain or swelling?
It SHOULD go away, but be careful to monitor it.
You can try soaking in Epsom salt, but no way to directly get it out unless you can dig under the nail.
Good day Tyler,
I hope you can shed some light on this situation.
I had a permanent surgical removal of the fibular border done a month ago. It was the 2nd surgery in 6 months.
That said, I was back in today and the Dr. said he thought I had a cyst in the area that was causing ongoing pain occasionally throughout the day. (No infection from what the the Dr. can see) I had an x-ray done today also to confirm the cyst etc… (I guess). If it is a cyst, what can they do or what can I do to help this along. Pretty frustrated…as I’m typically busy coaching kids soccer and the last 6 months have been brutal.
Do you wear a lot of pointy-toed cleats?
As for the cyst, soaking in Epsom salt usually helps bring that stuff out.
I had a partial removal Saturday at the ER but prior to this I had infection and the top of my toe was blue (not at the nail bed).
I went back to the podiatrist yesterday and he removed more. He told me I would need a full removal at some point after the infection was gone. Will the partial removal not do the job? Any risk not getting the full removal? The toe is still blue at the top of my toe and I’m having slight pain at my toe going into my foot. But pain has tremendously improved along with swelling reduced. They put me on two anabiotic‘s and a ointment and I’ve been soaking it
Nice! Sometimes a partial removal works, I tried that three times before getting my nails totally removed.
It was a longer recovery, but I honestly haven’t had a single painful issue since I’ve healed.
It looks a little…weird, but I’m glad I did it.
Sometimes the whole nail has to go because your toe shape is just too far gone, that was my case after wearing too-narrow shoes (mostly Nikes) for most of my life.
Should there be concern with the bruising at the toe (where hair would be)?
Also, I still feel swelling in my toe after standing a few minutes. I have to return to work tomorrow and I stand a lot. I’m required to wear closed toed shoes. Should I be concerned with swelling still and bruising since Saturday?
The “bruising” is the skin dying from the injections.
It should fade to green, then purple.
There might be some bubbling, but unless there’s pain, it’s always been completely normal for me.
Rest your feet when you can, wear bigger shoes and/or take them off as often as possible!
Hey Tyler! Wow, still a super active post since 2015! Not a lot of info out there on this, lots for partial removal, but not much with the whole enchilada. I had my right toenail completely removed yesterday (gotta say I was stunned they literally pry it off of there). Numbness lasted until about 10am this morning, but after that, yeah felt like they took it off and cut out the cuticle stuff, and jammed a steel rod in there, Pretty damn sore. I think I was up n movin too much today cuz got some oozy blood kinda eeking out (don’t you love hearing everyone’s toe stories now?) but nothing too alarming after reading everyone’s experience. I noticed there is a lot of variation in time to take the bandage off the first time. It’s driving me so insane I want to just take it off and give it air, but doc told me 48 hours so I will do it in the morning. I am calming myself with fact that he slapped a bunch of post surgery kinda stuff on there before he wrapped it so I am sure it’s clean, I am just wondering if its gonna hurt like hell when I pull the bandages off. I see that soaking the foot WITH the bandage first helps? To kinda loosen it all? Thanks SO MUCH for the pics because I was always thinking “gooey” meant bad. When I had my partial avulsions (2015) it was always pretty dry and clean looking, never gooey, so if I didn’t have your take on it, I would be thinking I had some sorta infection going on when everything was pretty normal. I also noticed the pain is more intense where my nail was really dug in, maybe pain receptors from what was, or the fact that it was in there pretty good, not sure. Just wanted to say thanks, looks like you reached a lot of people, I look forward to not having to wince in pain when I put on shoes, or scream profanity if I bump my toe on something.
Hope you got your bandage off!
Soaking, especially in Epsom salt, ALWAYS helped me.
The more I soaked, the less pain there was.
Except for the time I got my toe infected because I walked around on it a bunch, way too soon.
Hi Tyler , I broke my toe 3 months ago and jammed the toe nail so it fell off . The new one grew in about half way but was growing downwards . So 12 days ago they removed the nail . It got infected and have been on anti biotcs for 7 days now . I was wondering when yours was infected did the pain get worse when your foot was down as in sitting or standing / walking ? Mine gets super tight/ numb when standing or sitting. I have a trip in 5 days and am hoping this will subside as I will have to be walking a lot .
Yes, my foot always hurt worse while infected if it wasn’t up.
I assume it was the blood flowing to it that inflamed and added pressure to everything?
Try to wear open-toed shoes as often as possible, that really helped me.
Hi Tyler,
I just had my left big toenail removed 3 days ago. There isn’t really any pain but my nail bed feels weird. My question is about the white/yellowish “puss”. Should I just leave this alone or should I try to wipe it off? I really don’t want to mess with it if I don’t have to. Also I don’t soak my foot because the doctor just said to let it dry out while I am at home and keep it covered while I’m going to be wearing shoes (and when I go to bed, if I want it covered). Thanks so much for this post and for keeping up with comment years after you posted this.
Sincerely,
Jacob
I brushed the pus off, because it helped dry it out.
No epsom salt soak, huh?
That surprises me, it really helped my toe.
It always helped clean it nice, but go with what’s comfy for you.
I just had my left big toenail surgically removed 9 days ago. I am a type 2 diabetic and am worried that i might have an infection. Is it normal for the joint and bone in the toe to have severe burning and pain as well as that pain traveling up my foot to my ankle? I’ve been having chills and fevers as well but it doesn’t look infected?? Not sure what I should do. I’m scared to go to the ER. Any thoughts on what I should do please?
No, that isn’t normal in my experience and is usually the sign of an infection.
Mine didn’t really look infected either, it was just red and everything hurt.
I would highly recommend checking in with a doctor about antibiotics.
I had both of my big toe nails removed last Weds. Both of my toes look like they are covered in dead skin and I dont have any red showing. I do have a small scab in the corner of my right toe. I dont have any pain just soreness. Should I scrub the dead skin off or just leave it alone? My husband says everything looks amazing and I am healing quickly.
I gently scrubbed the scab, but only because my doc told me to.
Unless it’s catching on something or it hurts, I’d just leave it alone for now.
Hi Tyler,
Thanks for your post and all the replies. I had my toenail partial removed 3 weeks ago. One week ago, my Doc checked the would, the wound was healing. She told me I can go back to my normal life. However I still have swollen skin around the wound. How do I know if it is infected or just inflammation? When I pressed down the swollen skin, there is a watery/red fluid.
Thanks.
Swollen skin was normal for me. Yellow or green pus was a sign of infection, but clear or red was not.
A lot of docs seem think toes heal far faster than they actually seem to
Hi Tyler
I realise this is years after this post originally went up but I’m so glad I came across it. There’s so little info online from personal experiences! Anyway I had both my nails removed Wednesday morning and the pain is still almost unbareable. Specially at night. I can’t lay down in order to fall asleep, it’s like a shooting pain through my toe and into my foot. It has not at all eased since having it done nearly 3 days ago. No pain meds are helping. Does this sound like infection or am I just being soft? I’m in so much pain and now it’s bank holiday weekend and my doctors is closed until Tuesday I don’t know what to do.
Thank you in advance.
That’s exactly how my infection felt. Until you can get in, try ice, elevation, and anti inflammatory foods.
You’re not being too sensitive!
I had an ingrown toe nail …surgery 5 days ago…it looks good…but I have blisters filled with clear liquid…did you have this while healing?
Yes, happened every time. Never hurt, and the spots faded like bruises.
I’m pretty sure that’s just the new skin being formed as the dead skin from the roots is pushed out.
Was never anything to worry about, I didn’t bother popping them, just covered with gauze.
I got blisters on the tips of two of my toes. Real thick ones with almost like a calloused skin covering them . Today they peeled off and left very red raw skin underneath. I’ve not come across someone with blisters on the tips of their toes. Did you ever have those? I’m wondering if it’s a reaction to the phenol or maybe even the bacitracin. They are now super raw and red. There was only a little fluid in them. More like a separation of the skin layers. I know this is an old post but maybe you’ll see it. I’m trying to figure out what to do with them since the ointment might be the problem. Not sure. I’m leaning more towards a phenol reaction though. They looked exactly the same on both toes.
Ouch! That definitely sounds like a phenol reaction, though I’m curious as to how it got to the tips of your toes. From my experience, that’s typically seen at the cuticle but it sure sounds the same!
I’m almost 5 weeks post op full phenol removal of toes 1,2, and 3 on left foot. The two smaller ones have healed over and have a purplish pink scar now. The big toe is about 80% healed with some normal skin and some scar tissue. One spot about 0.5 cm x 0.7 cm left to heal. Kinda scabby there and occasional liquid coming out. I’m doing a balancing act to continue to let the liquid come out with amerigel ointment and drying open to air. I’ve twice had a scab form over and trapped liquid and basically lost the scabby skin like a blister so yeah that’s fun. Anyway. What were your signs you were having regrowth? When did this happen? If the skin is healed down and sealed, how does the new nail growth come through?
Those liquidy scabs are tough, but you’re definitely treating it correctly.
I had my doctor use phenol to burn the roots, but I had two spots where the nails started to grow back.
That took months, though.
that’s exactly what I did… wrapped gauze around it. thank you for your quick response. I appreciate it.
Hi,
I just want to applaud you for answering practically every single person’s question on toe nail avulsion surgery since you started this post in 2014!! And your other post in 2012!
I had my two big toenails surgically removed 8 days ago. I was seriously not prepared for this painful recovery! My doctor made it sound like I would be back to work & exercising the next day!
Anyway, just wanted to ask — when I stand and walk around, I get so much pressure built up in my toes that it is incredibly painful. Feels like something is squeezing my toes super tightly. Did this happen to you? It tends to get worse at night. I know I am improving though, because there are small periods in the day where I can walk without pain. Toes appear to be starting to dry up a bit and scab, although I still get a bit of oozing. If you got the pressure build up, how did you deal with it? Am I almost around the corner to recovery?
Thanks again.
–Ecomi
Yeah, the squeezing sounds like pretty normal inflammation. Are your socks or shoes tight? I found raising my feet up and just straight staying off my toes helps a ton.
For pressure, I use ice and elevation, along with some kind of anti-inflammatory (food and cannabis worked for me).
Clear oozing is fine, it’s the think colorful stuff that’s an issue.
You do sound pretty normal, my full nail removal took weeks before I felt anywhere close to normal.
Hi, I had my right toenail removed 5 weeks ago (35 days now) it’s never been painful at all apart from the day a full bottle of Mayonnaise fell from fridge shelf right onto it! It was also treated with Phenol. Advice from podiatrist, (I am in the UK) was keep initial dressing on for 48 hours then wash and rinse in shower or soak in warm water once a day, then apply a non adherent dressing on it. no follow up appointments unless problems occur. I find now though after 5 weeks it’s still oozing a lot of yellowish pinkish fluid and sometimes I have to change dressing it twice daily. There is a yellowish film on the wound site too, but still not painful only tender if I touch it. I am not diabetic, but just want to know if this is normal as it seems a long time to heal compared to other comments on here. I’ve found all your photos and comments very helpful.
My full nail removal took about twice that to fully heal.
I moved around a lot, and I was in a humid environment.
Have you tried iodine and/or leaving the dressing off at night?
That helped dry mine out a little quicker, but not much.
can i ask what antibiotics are u using? my GP prescribe me antibiotics for infection for 5days.. but im on 11days of antibiotics but my ingrown surgery is still swollen and painful to walk.. feels like my antibiotics is not really working at all
I wish I knew. 11 days and still painful definitely means something is wrong.
Tender, sure, but you shouldn’t still be in pain.
I had mine partially removed last Friday. Dr didn’t offer antibiotics or pain meds. I asked for both. Was told I would need them. I think it would hurt less if I had my entire toe cut off. Pain in unbearable. Especially at night. I’ve done soaks, ice packs, even sprayed lidocaine on it.
Yikes. Try anything you can that’s inflammatory, including diet changes or whatever medicine you can get your hands on.
If it continues to get worse and/or the pain moves up your leg, that’s like an infection.
Thanks for your reply Tyler, it’s now 8 weeks and I’m still having to soak and bandage this toe! It’s healing very slowly apart from a bit around 1cm right at the base of the nail bed. I’m assuming that’s where the chemical burn was. Still oozing yellowish fluid from there, mind you podiatrist did say it could take up to 12 weeks to fully heal. Starting to forget what life was like pre toenail removal 😂
Glad your podiatrist was honest about the extended healing time, I keep getting told half that and it’s always been wrong.
Hi, Tyler….I’m wondering what your big toes look like today, several years later. My late mother had both toenails removed several decades ago, and her toes ultimately healed into smooth ball shapes. They didn’t remain flat on top. Have you had this experience?
I just had a skinny sliver of ingrown toenail removed yesterday and it seems to be doing okay; I was told to exchange the large bandage that same night for a band-aid after gently scrubbing the wound with a soft toothbrush (!) dipped in hydrogen peroxide, drying it with sterile gauze, and following up with a coat of antibiotic cream. I need to do this twice a day for two weeks before seeing my podiatrist again. Believe it or not, the toothbrush treatment doesn’t really hurt!
Mine look pretty flat, though I have one piece of re-growing toenail that I’m going to get removed soon.
Yikes about the hydrogen peroxide, I was always told never to use that!
The tooth brush was surprisingly gentle for me, too.
Thank you so much for posting the detailed information, and continuing to keep up with comments/questions over the years! There is nothing this helpful anywhere on the Internet.
I’m three days post-complete removal, and I feel like a total pansy about this whole thing!! It hurts SO BAD. The first time I took off the original bandage made me almost pass out, until I started vomiting from pain. I tried the Epsom salt soak last night and wanted to cry. I expected the initial burn, but normally, the burn on an open wound eventually subsides…. and it never did! I was supposed to keep it in there for 15 minutes, but could only tolerate 5. What did the addition of the Baby Shampoo do to your soaks? Just for additional cleansing? I wonder if that would help make it more bearable.
What kind of shoes did you wear during healing? I have to go to work everyday, so I’ve been wanting a sock on it for extra precaution against germs/infection, but I cannot put on a shoe. Suggestion for a shoe during this tender healing process? How long until I can wear a tennis shoe or expect to workout comfortably?
The baby shampoo helped with the burn, yes. The burning also decreased every single time I soaked, which gave me a lot of hope.
I wore wide, flat and/or open-toed shoes during recovery, which helped a ton.
I couldn’t wear tennis shoes for almost six weeks after, as I figured out that they were part of the problem. You may find a lot of the shoes you’re wearing contribute to the issue. I only buy super-wide shoes now, which helps a ton.
Thank you so much for this blog Tyler, you are a Godsend…your info is beyond helpful when there is so little (and conflicting) advice on post-op care out there.
My daughter is day 10 post-complete removal with phenol applied.
She’s had lingering redness around her nailbed, nothing alarming, doing well, but today her nailbed itself looks deep red with black edges (!)
No increased pain or warmth. I’m thinking this is just the healing process, but wondering what you thought? Do you think any scabbing needs to be removed in your experience? She soaks each day with epsom salt baths, covers when out and about, and leaves open to air when at home.
Without pain or inflammation, that sounds like part of the healing process.
Mine all went through that phase.
It will start to fade like a bruise, possibly turning yellow and/or blue, too.
Softly scrubbing my scabs with a very soft toothbrush seemed like it was helpful, but the soaking and leaving to open air when at home are really the key parts.
Thank you, that makes me feel better, we tend to panic a bit, lol.
You’re great to keep responding, btw, it’s so appreciated!
I had my big toenail removed 3 weeks ago for something called “pincer toe”. Alas, the antibiotics were making me so sick to my stomach that I stopped taking them and I now have the infection of the century. I’m lying in bed crying in pain right now, but I have an emergency dr. visit tomorrow morning. I am overwhemed how bad the pain in 1 small area can be so intense. Moral of the story…finish your antibiotics!!
Thanks for sharing your stories! Glad you healed, Tyler!
Oh no!
Antibiotics tear up my stomach too, and I’ve definitely come close to stopping them.
Hope you feel better very soon!
Hi,
I had my toenail completely removed permanently 4 weeks ago. It seems like it’s still healing but frankly I’m not sure. The top of my seems to have formed a scab…. Maybe? It’s still a wee bit throbby. I can wear moccasins but mostly still wear flip flops and it weeps a bit from inside where I assume they burned the root of my toenail. I guess my question is…. Does the minor discomfort seem normal? Dr’s tell you it’ll only take few days, maybe a week to get back to normal, which I know is silly but discomfort, scab or hardness + some discomfort I hope is normal.
The scab is normal, it will fall off.
If it’s weeping, be sure to keep it covered.
I don’t know why so many docs keep saying days to a week for healing, I’ve never had even a trim take less than 2-3 weeks to feel okay and I’ve have four trims and one complete removal.
As long as the pain doesn’t go up your leg, there’s likely no infection.
Be sure to consider that shoes themselves may be squishing the area.
Hi Tyler,
I had a removal of my left toenail performed on Tuesday morning October 14, 2019. The doctor sprayed some nitrogen while injecting the anesthethic solution into my toe. He removed the toenail completly and inserted a couple of Q-tip swabs with a special acid on the inner edges of my toe, to permantly destroy the roots, so that the toenail will never grow back again. No stitches, or anything of a sort utilized as others have mentioned in previous posts.
I was instructed to soak my toe in some Domeboro solution daily, followed by a small aplication of neosporin, and covered by a bandage. I was scheduled to return to the clinic seven days later, as a follow up.
The doctor told me everything was fine and that I no longer needed to wear a bandage unless I go out and needed to wear shoes to run errands. He also told me the more I leave it open and air out, the quicker the healing proccess will take place.
No pain was ever present and I believe no infection ever occurred. However, after cleaning and rinsing off the top middle area, a pure white, crusty looking film forms a few minutes later. I’m not sure if this is normal in the healing proccess but, to give you an idea of its overall appearance, the very top part of my toe is smooth and bald. On the slightly lower area, the outer edges are dark red/black and completely surrounds the inner area bordering what appears to be a white crusty film.
What would be your intake on my particular case as far as the healing procedure. Thank you.
I get that, too. In fact, I have it right now because a little portion of my big right toenail grew back (doc must have missed a small part of the cuticle with acid).
I think it’s just very new skin, as it removes easy if I brush it.
It’s never been an issue for me, though it certainly looks weird.
How long did your doc say it would take to heal? Mine too almost eight weeks, my partial little toe removal and the aforementioned big toe clean up were done at the end of September and they’re still not totally healed.
I had my toenail completely removed friday it’s now tuesday.
Had no pain 1st 2 days no pain cleaning it or any thing 3rd day pain and throbbing started sleeping was horrible yesterday was day 4 and pain was come and go until I get in bed woke with horrible pain even the toe beside it aches so bad.
It was pulsing so bad I thought maybe the wrap it too tight took it off and no change it wasn’t tight at all the doc told me I shouldn’t have any pain that’s shit.
I had to work today I’m on my feet for 10 hours then hour drive home washed omg burn burn burn. It fucking hurts wish I could send pic. Pus is clear still so do you think im just being a wuss? I fear the doc won’t listen to me when I tell her how much pain I’m having.
Go in as soon as you can. My toes didn’t hurt at all, save for some slight discomfort, except for the one time it was infected. If pain is radiating beyond the wound, I’d guess it was infected.
My pus was still clear when mine got infected.
Ice, and anything anti-inflammatory that you can eat, will help in the short term.
Go in and don’t let the doc tell you it shouldn’t be hurting when you KNOW it does.
Tell him you’re having trouble walking, standing, that it’s throbbing, etc.
The more info, especially specific info, you can give will give you a much better chance of convincing him.
Even if he still doesn’t think it’s infected, painkillers for a few days will help.
Be sure to rest when you can!
Just an up date I called doc several times finally got her on her cell told what was going on and sent pics she freaked and called me in antibiotics and pain killers.
For sure infected. Didnt even have to go into office after hearing about all that was going on and seeing it in the pics.
Thanks again for all your help.
That’s great! Hopefully you won’t have any more issues.
Take care to soak your toe and REST as often as you can!
Wow, what a thread. Tyler is amazing keeping this going so many years. I am an old guy 73 in Phoenix (Tyler mentioned a few years ago on the thread was in AZ).
I have a bit of so far a very positive outcome vs some of the painful stories here. I was expecting the worst from reading all the stories but so far 3 days post-surgery no pain.
Starting about 3 months ago had cut down ingrown big toenail but got infected. Red maybe extending down half-inch below toe bed but no other signs and did not spread. However, painful to walk on. Dr gave me two rounds of Cipro and did Epson soaks 1-2 times a day. Some days the soak seemed to make it worse. Always hurt to walk but varied in pain There was also fungus growth under the nail that stayed about the same. Neosporin didn’t do anything and Dr said it is pretty useless for stopping an infection.
So 3 days ago had surgery to remove nail but decided not to do the killing the nail bed part. Dr has 35 years of experience and done many nail removals.
I felt no pain with the needles going in to numb the toe and felt nothing when he pried the nail off the toe. I had seen two youTube videos of the procedure which looks gruesome. He had me lying on a table so I didn’t directly see the prying off the nail etc which is probably good!
The nurse helped me my sock and shoe on over it. He used lots of dressing and kept wrapping lots of tape around and around the dressing so surprised could get into the shoe. Walking was awkward with such a huge toe. Was concerned about the pain after the lidocaine or whatever the injected stuff was wearing off.
Dr directions were to keep his dressing on for 48 hours and then remove and soak in Epson foot wash twice a day for 2 weeks and redress it. Let air dry the 3rd week whenever not wearing socks/shoes but with socks should protect from infection with dressing. In 3 weeks’ schedule a follow-up visit with the Dr. For dressing he recommended Telfa which I ordered that night on Amazon and receive the next day. He also had me start immediately on Cephalexin instead of Cipro – 1 every 6 hours for 10 days and do not have to take with food since it doesn’t irritate the stomach like Cipro.
In doing lots of research on would care products there are some great reviews of both “active skin repair” and Amerigel., which often mentioned here. Both had great reviews on Amazon by some with nails removed. I ordered both.
On Day 3 (tonight) had quite a time unwrapping all the dressing without pulling on it. I first soaked it in the footbath and had to use scissors to start attacking the tape. Part of the dressing was slightly stuck on dry blood near the top of the toe and hurt just a bit trying to get it off.
At this point, no pain at all as long as don’t touch it. Then did Epson soak for about 30 minutes. Slight initial sting but only for about 10 seconds and then fine. I let it air dry and applied some active skin repair. For someone not very mechanical hardest problem how to get the 2×3 Telfa (non-adherent dressing) to cover the top of the toe and around and below the nail bed. Then tape it up. It is much less bulky than the Dr’s dressing Amazingly so far. no pain and can walk normally on it with socks and shoes without the bulky dressing before.
When the toe was infected it was quite red down slightly below the nail bed. Now its a lighter pink skin almost like he also got the infection out. Who know if will get painful later but for now I am walking pain-free for the first time in 3 months. To complicate matters I also have a torn meniscus in my knee mostly painful when going up or down steps or getting up from sitting. However, it has been gradually healing and almost no pain now doing steps etc. When I had both left knee and right toe being painful I kind of waddled like a duck trying to walk! The odd unnatural gait cause some calf muscles to tighten up or get sore. I find Theraworx magnesium cream works great and muscle and foot cramps I sometimes get.
I am not retired and love my profession (Certified Financial Planner/Registered Investment Advisor/CPA background) but have a large home office and only a few steps at home. Other than a few client meetings I mostly work by email and phone with clients all over the U.S. So I wear just socks or slippers as much as possible and don’t need to go out of the house much.
Hopefully, my so far pain-free surgery will encourage others that it’s not as bad for everyone. It is probably those that have problems would be looking for treads like this. Yet I realize I still might get more pain in later stages of if infected but in very early days 3 days from surgery am doing very well vs many of the terrific reports here.
Hello from midtown Phoenix!
So glad you’re doing well, thanks much for sharing your story.
Hello Tyler…… Well it is Year ‘2020, Happy New Year! See nobody has posted since last date of 11-21-19 by you. It is fantastic you keep up with this *Site — Read all commentaries & your responses, Thank you.
My scenario is similar in some cases & also to yours. Use to be a runner & competed & placed, 5K’s, 10K’s, One 10 miler- No marathons. Loved it, but big toe nail beds took it’s toll by them. Possibly running shoes had it’s effect. Those toe nails fell off few times & tripped on a rug while a new nail was coming in on one, awful bruising & so dystrophic growth after on both.
Long story short, after 10+ years,….. decided to permanent Phenol matrix remove them both. Looked like Rams Horn Nails-ugly & not shoe friendly. Had separate surgeries, month apart. **15 Weeks on Right big toe & 10 Weeks on Left big toe as of now, felt left big toe slower to heal. Had protocol in initial beginning after surgery of 48 hours surgery bandaged, then unwrapped thereafter with *Amerigel Hydrogel Saline rinse & their tube dressing of same 2X Daily with loose gause & tubular bandage…. eventually shifted to non-stick adhesive Bandages. Worked really well on right big toe with a 8-10 week healing time including a partial blood scab on nail bed that fell off naturally. **Left big toe got at 10 Weeks now a full nail bed scab, but once again follow-up with same Podiatrist & helped remove partial looseness of scab. ***Did not like “metal tool scraper” that he tried to remove it. Felt he left ‘rough’ skin/scab texture of remaining scab left on nail bed. Told me to moist it a little either by Amerigel or Neosporin (chose Amerigel) & little rinsing (tap water mild temp. Or Saline)- – as of today just got a little Amerigel on textured remaining scab. Will Saline rinse eventual & continue to air dry complete, hoping rest scab falls off on own. Podiatrist says another week for that– will see 🙄😏. P.S. he kind of said if understood correctly, maybe come back in 6-8 week perimeter (in case, I guess, any troubles, my thinking). Maybe hear back or hope on commentaries…. Sorry for lengthy stay, but good for my sanity on this healing productivity.
Great share. Much appreciate stories from everyone on their experiences, it really helps!
Thanks Tyler for feedback. Always appreciate any supportive commentary or stories.
Hi Tyler,
I just had surgery to remove part of my big toenail on the 27th. Soaking in warm soapy water… Took the bandage off and it appeared yellowish. Also have pins and needles, stiffness and numbness feeling.
Yellow-ish is new skin, usually.
Pins and needles could be from too-tight bandages.
Stiffness could be you adjusting the way you walk and often unconsciously flexing your toe/foot a lot (it was for me).
And pain?
Agree Tyler on what your commentary was to “Merrie”. But probably did not have Phenol for Matrix applied. Unless to that one part of big toe so no more Ingrown. Wish the best in healing for that person. ** Update on my Left Big Toe. I have just left it alone…. My Amerigel scab on my Nailbed that I applied to eliminate any more roughness on it is about to come off since my last commentary above. Wanted to leave it alone for a few weeks so it continues to naturally heal. Will rinse it sufficiently to get more of a ‘Whole View’ of bed. It has been a little over 13 weeks on progress. Take care…..
A little pain and discomfort when I put on shoes and walk around.
It took me a while to realize that my shoes were part of the problem.
Go easy on yourself, ingrown toenail surgery is pretty traumatizing for your toe and foot.
Exactly Tyler & Merrie……… I am still just wearing “Flip Flops”. Though my Podiatrist on that last visit told me I could start wearing comfortable shoes, we shall see.
The only shoes I wear anymore are Primals by Lems, very flexible Vibrams, and custom-cut Luna sandals.
Nearly all commercially made shoes are too narrow for my poor toes.
I understand that Tyler….. ** I have a ‘brand new pair of sneakers’ but are commercial ones though. But at the time of purchase I got one size bigger to just give room on my toes. It will be interesting to see on wearing them on a daily basis. My feet & toes expand throughout the day even it not walking on them. I have very warm feet & long toes (guess good circulation though) Lol.
Cheers!
I’m 7 weeks out with 1/2 my toenail removed right down the middle. I was afraid it was melanoma but found out it was fungus, OMG!!! Would have tried everything in the world first if I had any idea this would set me back so long, no walking no biking, no spring, I would have never done this. Doctor never informed me all that was involved. He told me to keep vaseline on and bandage for first 6 weeks and never told me to soak. My toe is slowly drying and has narrow down to an area that is still healing but it’s really a dark purple and still shiny (seeping) is this normal?
Thank you so much for sharing in details! I had my toenail full removal one week ago but the doctor didn’t remove my nail bed. (I’m from Malaysia) Antibiotics and pain killer was prescribed. The first day after surgery, the doctor use spirit and Povidone Iodine to clean my wound, saying only need to do once. After that just use Normal Saline to clean the wound, dry it and bandage daily. I lifted my foot for three days, after that I barely walk and lift my foot whenever I can. My wound had yellowish thing but the doctor say it’s normal and it’s not infection as I’m having antibiotics and infection will have lot of pus drainage unlike mine only on the nail bed. No pain at all. I pray the wound can heal faster to avoid any infection as the antibiotics caused me gastric and abdominal pain.
I want to share my story even if its not started with ingrown toenail. Also sorry for my bad English, Im from Greece. ~~~ So I had an infection in my big toe for several weeks that didnt went away easily with antibiotics. Meanwhile, god damn lucky sychronisation, i had an injury to my matrix of the nail. We were trying to see if another nail will show up, but nope. My nail was pretty much half dead also by the time. So because i tooked 30 days antibiotics and i started have neuropathy problems, i stopped medicines, and i had my nail totally removed 5 days ago. My half toe (where my nail was already dead, its clear perfect skin, just sensitive with a weird sense), and my other half its just like your pictures i guess.
First day was painfull okey, but bearable with painkillers. I was better the other days, with a lot of pain actually when i went to sleep (i started yesterday to have my leg to a height and it felt better). Im in 5th day, i have some yellow there, i dont know if its infection again, it doesnt smell if it means anything (my previous infection smelled really really bad). Its like liquid red with some yellow, mixed, i will send my doc some pics or take an appointment to be sure. I neither have so much pain for infection so Im positive. I hope to be better in 1-2 weeks, and i hope that i wont have a nail grow either (2 months nothing showed up, it doesnt go blood to my matrix, so i have/had poor healing) cause it ll be a problem in the future.
My care for first 5 days (doctor said i ll be okey in 5 days, yeah sure): Ι was told to change gaze one time for a day, with washes with sanine (this salt water, dont know the word in english) and betadine for a minute. After these 5 days, i was told that i can take bath normally, but dry well. I think i ll be in gazes for 10-15 days surely. maybe in some days i ll start to have it open at nights for the wound to heal.
About the nerve problems i have, i dont know still if it was caused because of the long-term antibiotics, or its just a traumatised body from both long infection and medicines, or something only caused by the procedures (i had topical anaisthesia 5 times in 2 weeks to clean it often from granulomas). So when i removed my nail, i started really to feel a big relief. Hope to be better soon.
Hello, Thank you for posting your story and pictures. There is very little on the internet about this. Today is Tuesday February 9, 2021, last Wednesday February 3, 2021 the podiatrist removed the big toenail on my right foot. OUCH. Anyways, I didn’t have an ingrown toenail. I went to see him because in January I was moving the pressure washer, and ran it right over my big toe. I didn’t really pay attention to it at the time. About 4 days later I took the nail polish off my toes to repaint them. I noticed a little bruise under the nail, took a picture, I don’t know why, but repolished my nails. Then 4 days later, I put socks and shoes on. My toe was throbbing bad. Took polish off, now the whole nail was dark colored. No pain unless something touched it. The very next day, I couldn’t really walk except on my heel. Pain was intense throbbing, then later that day, I had shooting pains in the middle of my nail. Went to urgent care. They numbed it and drilled a hole in the nail, Double OUCH. The Dr.said it would relieve the pressure and blood would come out. NOPE, not a thing, just hurting worse. Sent me home to wait for a referral to a dermatologists. Still after 1 week, no appointment for anyone to look at my toe. So, I called a podiatrist to look at my toe. So, Wednesday February 3, 2021 I went and saw the foot Dr. He looked at it, asked what happened and told me that he would have to take the nail off. Seriously, not the news I wanted to hear. So, I agreed. Painful injections, couldn’t see what he was doing, thank goodness. I asked if my nail will grow back, he said only God knows, that I also did damage to the matrix. So, he wrapped it up in gauze told me to take tylenol , change my bandage the next day and see him in a week. So, that day/night was a living nightmare with pain. The next day, still hurting. The Dr. told me for the first few days to soak my bandages loose. Omg, the first dressing change, the bandage he put on literally stuck to my wound.OUCH!!!!. Directions for my wound care is: take off dressing, run water over wound for about 10 seconds, (um, tried, hurts like you know what), so I pass on that part, then soak my foot in warm water with not iodized salt for 15 minutes, pat dry, (um, don’t think so, that hurts to bad),( so I take my hair dryer and blow air on it)., next, it says to put antibiotic ointment on and wrap with gauze(instructs me to not use non-stick gauze pads or band aids) and to tape at base of dressing in an x shape and not around my toe. Also, for me to elevate my foot and to not shower or bath with or without bandage, it’s really not fun taking a shower or bath with one foot in the tub and one foot out,( I guess I am playing the hokey-poky)lol. I can’t really walk, but with the help of a cane, I walk on my heel. I wear flip flops if I have to go out( it is too cold here in WV to have to wear those kind of shoes). So, almost 1 week since the toenail was taken off. I see a bunch of red stuff where my nail was, don’t know if that is blood or dye of some sort. I’ve noticed when I change my dressing, around the wound area, it’s kinda white looking,(almost like your skin looks like when you have a band aid on), plus it looks like there is some white looking stuff on the wound itself. I don’t know if it’s left over antibiotic ointment or what. Last night when I changed my dressing, there was a little brown drainage on the pad. I don’t go back and see him until February 16th which is almost 2 weeks after he removed my nail. I have been taking pictures of my wound. If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I would like to send you pictures of my toe, to see if it might look like what would be “normal” given the short time after removal. Thank You In Advance. If you want to see pictures of my nail as it got worse, I will send them to you too or if anyone wants to see.
Holy moly everyone who has had a toenail removed and trying to find patient experiences ends up here. I’m 3 1/2 weeks out from my toenail removal. My story started mid-December when I suddenly noticed my toe was swollen and red but didn’t hurt. The next few days saw the area around the cuticle swell and get pink so that It looked like I didn’t have a cuticle. It started to get more uncomfortable over the next week and a half until I went to an urgent care- pretty much all the foot places were closed due to holidays. That doc said my toe was infected (by then it was swollen, pink and warm). He prescribed me Keflex which I tolerated only 5 days before I couldn’t deal with the weakness, insomnia, and thrush in the mouth (and down there, har har) – it didn’t help clear the infection. I finally saw a podiatrist 3 1/2 weeks after my symptoms started and he removed the entire nail (not permanently). He said it looked like there had been some kind of trauma, since half of the nail was detached and poking into the nail bed.
By that time, my toe had been swollen, warm and firm for a couple weeks. He didn’t think it was infected. And sent me home to do epsom soaks twice a day, use antibiotic cream, re-bandage, etc. I saw him 3 weeks later, the wound is healing up fine he said. But I let him know I was concerned that my toe was still swollen, firm, and is uncomfortable when exposed to heat (like the warm soaks). I notice the whole toe, from the knuckle up, is much more red after that. He shrugged and said it could just be residual swelling that takes 4-6 weeks. Anyone else had a swollen toe (swollen before the surgery) that didn’t become un-swollen??
Sometimes, after trying to get a bit of light exercise, or being on my feet, my foot flushes a darker color then the other one and gets warm. It freaks me the hell out. I have to sit and elevate it often, and the flushing goes away. I just took my first shower today (been taking baths with the foot hanging out) and took a quick luke warm one, so as not to aggravate the swelling too much… :/
In terms of pain, the first 2 weeks after were the worst. We had to go to a family funeral the week after, and fly out of state. We asked for a wheel chair and my husband wheeled me around – it was still hell to travel but I’m so grateful we used the wheelchair. I wouldn’t have been able to do the trip without it. The pain was intense at night, and I elevated the foot as much as possible and took lots of tylenol. Now, I can hobble around with my special dr. scholls shoes, but still can’t tolerate sneakers at 3 1/2 weeks after the surgery now. Sometimes a sharp pain goes through the toe, sometimes it throbs, but it doesn’t bother me all the time. Sometimes I still need to take an ibuprofen or tylenol at night to sleep. I was getting a bit paranoid – because the toe always seems to hurt more at night, when it throbs and seems more swollen and red than in the day time. When I keep the toe cold, I don’t have as much trouble with it.
Anyway, I went back into urgent care and asked for an xray – it just shows soft tissue swelling. They didn’t seem to think it was infected (they said if I get fever or chills to come back though). Then I saw a different podiatrist, who thought the continued swelling meant it was still infected. However, he told me to wait two weeks and come back before trying antibiotics.
So I’m waiting – I really hope it does get better on its own. I don’t tolerate antibiotics well. I used to, but dealing with autoimmune disease (not treating it with pharmaceuticals yet), I think my immune system is shit and I seem to take longer to heal and have more risk for infections. It’s 5 weeks after taking Keflex and I still feel like I’m recuperating from it. Anyway, If I find out anything else I’ll share that here for others in a similar circumstance to discover.
Thanks so much for sharing! Please do update when you figure out whatever is causing that swelling.
I never went back to “normal” sneakers, it’s only Vibram and Lems for me now.
First off let me say this is an amazing thread!
Secondly every podiatrist who does these procedures needs to read this thread in its entirety!
I am sitting in bed now after a week of having 8 nails permanently removed and nailbeds destroyed with phenol (root cause fungus that caused pain when hiking and rock climbing).
I did this over 2 days with local anesthesia. I closed my eyes during the procedure :).
The worst pain came the night after the second foot where I literally could not sleep and nothing could take the pain away. It was worse than kidneystones.
The morning after I haven’t had any significant pain in either foot.
My docs recommendations were to leave them unbandaged as soon as possible. So after day 3 I have been leaving them unbandaged. The first few days I would shower and wetting the bandages helped them come off easily without any pain.
He also said he didn’t see the value in soaks. So I didn’t soak them the first few days. But they were getting so crusty from the seepage that I started soaking yesterday and let me say they just feel cleaner/better.
Currently one foot looks way better than the other and I am a bit concerned about infection in the first big toe but I don’t have foot/leg pain yet.
So I am just trying to stay off them and keep them clean.
Thank you for sharing! I do wish podiatrists would read this thread.