Hi,

I played a lot of sports recently and the right edge of my right foot big toenail appeared to slightly pull away from the skin. It wasn't really painful or bad at all, but then I went hiking and climbed 7 miles over 2500 feet up and THAT killed it. It's day 3 since then and it appears as if a swelling has surfaced from in between that separation. It's pretty painful when I walk and the toe is slightly swollen. Basically it looks like a small red bulb is creeping out. Any advice? I was hoping it would decrease in swelling over the next day or two, but it hasn't. I hiked on Saturday. Please help.

Joey

You have an infection. Infection of the toenail are hard to self treet because they are not usually open wounds. As long as you are healthy, you can attempt to treat in. But, if you are diabetic, you really need to go to the doctor.

Start by soaking your foot in an Epsom Salt solution. The instructions for mixing it are on the box. Soak for 30 minutes twice a day.

Dry your foot thouroughly. Use a cotton swap to apply hydrogen peroxide along the edge of your toenail where the inflamation is. Keep applying it until the bubbling stops. This helps kill bacteria and encorages the wound to open sooner so it can drain. Dry the wound with a tissue.

You can do one of two things next. A: Apply and antibiotic salve to encourage healling. B:Apply a drawing salve to get the wound to open and drain faster. Which ever method you use, cover the infected area with a bandaid to keep dirt out of the wound. Where lose shoes that don't rub on the wound. Don't walk through water. You don't want dirty water getting to the wound.

I tend to prefer drawing salve myself because the key to get the infection to heal is to get it drain. Once it opens up, you can put the antibiotic on it.

A hot compress can also speed up the opening process. Use it no longer than ten minutes at a time. The let it rest for fifteen.

There is a third, rather old method that we use to use here on the farm. It involved a pocket knife, a candle and a good sharpening stone as well as mercuricrome. You probably don't even want to think about that one. Thank goodness for modern medicine.

Hey Thanks for your reply, I went to see a podiatrist today and learned that it was infected and ingrown. He numbed it up and cut the right edge of the nail off, then put phenol on it to kill the roots so it would not grow back. Feels much better.

Joey