Toenail Injury - how long to grow out? - Nail Problems Message Board

marymk · 12-18-2006, 10:08 AM

Hi,
Back in mid-August I droped a metal bar on my toe (twice - ouch). So naturally I got a bruise. The pain went away by the days end, so I didn't see a Dr about it until I was in to my Derm for something else a few weeks later. She said that it's blood from the trauma - but didn't offer to drain it out, because it doesn't hurt.

I guess my question is - how long till it grows out? It's on a little less than half the nail, but it does seen to be getting better (very slowly).
I also trimmed off some of the end, and that helped the appearance, although when I did, it seem that the nail was quite brittle - like I killed part of it. It seems like it's not growing very fast - I wonder if I injured it eneough to stop the growth? It's not look or feel like I will loose the nail, just looks ugly. Is there any safe way for me to get the blood out? I don't want to do anything stupid, like lance it myself.

Thanks,

Mary

Marti · 12-18-2006, 10:23 AM

Your best bet is to leave it alone and let it grow out on its own. As for the crumbling, yes, it will crumble to a certsain degree when you cut the damaged portion because whenever you drop something heavy on your nail, it iwll compress the nail plate layers, then spring them back past their ability to snap bak into place. In other words, it will break the inter-connecting bands that hold the nail plate together.

Toe nails grow MUCH slower than fingernails, so it can take upwards of 6 months for the nail to replace itself depending on how much of the nail plate was compromised. Unless you rip the nail out by the root, the nail plate will continue to grow.

marymk · 12-18-2006, 11:02 AM

Thanks for your quick reply Marti. I guess I'll just have to be patient with it. Hopefully it'll be back to normal by sandal weather.

Mary

marymk · 02-07-2007, 07:11 AM

Hi,
Just an update to my ugly bruised big toenail. I guess 6 months is the magic number - I kept trimming away at the end as it slowly grew out - for quite a while it didn't look any better - then about a month ago it seemed like the nail got really thick. Well last week the thick part sort of peeled off and all the black was gone. Part of the nail is still split, but I can see it will recover well from here. You almost can't tell anythig happened to it.
I know this isn't a serious problem like some folks here have, but I've seen others with this issue, and I know it's frustrating, as it seems it's never going to get better - and there's really no treatment.
Just wanted to let anyone who's interested know that patience is the key - it will grow out.

Mary

prtebvr · 02-13-2007, 03:56 PM

Hi, Mary. I wanted to chime in with a similar problem I had. I lost three toenails (bruisng under the toe and I didn't lance them, either). I don't think it took a near a year before they grew back completely. They fell off in November and December 2005 and they'be been normal for MONTHS. The first few months were a bit discouraging, but after that, the seemed to grow back rather quickly. Now you can't even tell I lost them (a doctor said they'd never grow back normally. ???).