- Dec 18, 2001
- 24,036
- 21
- 81
My right big toe is infected. 
Had a very minor hangnail on the right side a few weeks ago, the irritation caused a little cut, but no swelling, just a little redness. So I fixed it. Well while I was fixing it, I trimmed the whole toe nail. In a few days the left side got a little infected too, I think because the right side was already carrying infection and the newly trimmed nail edge was sharp and cut that side as well. Bummer, so I try to trim the nail a little more so it's not digging into the tissue, but while I was pulling the nail along the edge to get out the root, it broke and left the root and a shard of nail. I spent like 20 minutes trying to get it out with my clippers and a pocket knife, we managed to lose the tweezers. (no I wasn't cutting my toe open with the knife, just using the edge to catch the shard!) Bummer, couldn't get it. Put some neosporin on toe. Wait until next day. Wake up and the left side is now really puffy and I go buy some new tweezers, but it doesn't help because the tissue is so swollen I can't get down in there. Even though the right side isn't hangnailed anymore, it's still infected and getting worse. Ouch.
So I've soaked my foot in a combo of bleach water and epsom salt. Helped slow the infection a little but then it just made my toe even more swollen, next day infection even worse... and today the skin on my foot is peeling off. Have tried to use tweezers to get shard out but no luck. Decided to not touch toe for a few days, just let it air dry and heal a little. This morning, it seems to be working, the swelling was down a lot and less drainage than usual. But it started to sting and go numb the last half hour, I take my shoe/sock off and it's really really swollen now. The moisture in my shoe seems to invoke the bacteria that's keeping it infected. I work at an accounting firm as the IS technician so I can't go walking around with a yucky toe and no shoe.
Oh yea, I forgot... when the toe was first irritated before any swelling happened, my pug walked on my foot and jabbed her sharp nail into the edge of my toe. I think this is where the infection all started, from all the junk under my dog's claws.
I've had infected toes before, but they always were on one side, and the outter skin would get hard and white pus would drain out. This time, the skin is not getting hard, it's staying very wet and poofy, and it's not pussing at all... it's draining blood/plasma. And the tissue is bulging outward... I hope they don't become cysts. :Q
I've been doing the usual treatments - soaking foot in hot bleach water to kill bacteria, using epsom salt for healing, using first aid neosporin to prevent recontamination of bacteria, using hydrogen peroxide to bubble out any debris. It's not working! :Q :Q :Q
Had a very minor hangnail on the right side a few weeks ago, the irritation caused a little cut, but no swelling, just a little redness. So I fixed it. Well while I was fixing it, I trimmed the whole toe nail. In a few days the left side got a little infected too, I think because the right side was already carrying infection and the newly trimmed nail edge was sharp and cut that side as well. Bummer, so I try to trim the nail a little more so it's not digging into the tissue, but while I was pulling the nail along the edge to get out the root, it broke and left the root and a shard of nail.
I spent like 20 minutes trying to get it out with my clippers and a pocket knife, we managed to lose the tweezers. (no I wasn't cutting my toe open with the knife, just using the edge to catch the shard!) Bummer, couldn't get it. Put some neosporin on toe. Wait until next day. Wake up and the left side is now really puffy and I go buy some new tweezers, but it doesn't help because the tissue is so swollen I can't get down in there. Even though the right side isn't hangnailed anymore, it's still infected and getting worse. Ouch.So I've soaked my foot in a combo of bleach water and epsom salt. Helped slow the infection a little but then it just made my toe even more swollen, next day infection even worse... and today the skin on my foot is peeling off.
Have tried to use tweezers to get shard out but no luck. Decided to not touch toe for a few days, just let it air dry and heal a little. This morning, it seems to be working, the swelling was down a lot and less drainage than usual. But it started to sting and go numb the last half hour, I take my shoe/sock off and it's really really swollen now. The moisture in my shoe seems to invoke the bacteria that's keeping it infected. I work at an accounting firm as the IS technician so I can't go walking around with a yucky toe and no shoe.Oh yea, I forgot... when the toe was first irritated before any swelling happened, my pug walked on my foot and jabbed her sharp nail into the edge of my toe.
I think this is where the infection all started, from all the junk under my dog's claws.I've had infected toes before, but they always were on one side, and the outter skin would get hard and white pus would drain out. This time, the skin is not getting hard, it's staying very wet and poofy, and it's not pussing at all... it's draining blood/plasma. And the tissue is bulging outward... I hope they don't become cysts. :Q
I've been doing the usual treatments - soaking foot in hot bleach water to kill bacteria, using epsom salt for healing, using first aid neosporin to prevent recontamination of bacteria, using hydrogen peroxide to bubble out any debris. It's not working! :Q :Q :Q
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