My son has an ingrown toenail - does it need seeing today - picture warning

[Makinganewthinghappen]

My 15 year old son has had a sore toe for a few weeks we tried the self care things like soaking etc - which hasn’t helped.

I made a nurse appointment last week which is a phonecall but thats not until tomorrow.

Today his toe is horribly red and swollen and it seems to be getting worse over the day.
The first photo is this morning (with the pink sheet behind) and the second in now.

Is it ok to wait until tomorrows phonecall for this or do i need to take him to a walk in clinic or something? I am really awful at knowing when to seek help and when to leave it so advice would be appreciated!

THat does look like an infection getting worse. I would try a walk in clininc if you have one. Ours are all shut - desperately trying to get my DD seen somewhere with a UTI

I’d get it seen to. Ingrown toenails are misery. I’ve had a few and the immediate relief when the podiatrist removes the ingrown sliver is immense.

That does look as if it's infected. I have had treatment on my ingrowing toe nails. They were agony but were never red like that. I'm no doctor but that looks so painful and I'd get it seen asap tbh.

He needs to get seen today as the redness has spread. My teenage DS quite often suffers with these and after I e mailed a photo of the toe to the GP they immediately prescribed antibiotics. I would e mail both pics to show the quick progression and ask to collect a prescription today. Good luck!

I had one of these that didn’t heal for months! Antibiotic cream didn’t work either.

I went to the walk in clinic and the nurse slathered it in Manuka honey and bandaged it up. It cleared up so quickly.

Such a weird story. Sometimes when I repeat it out loud I feel like I’m nonsensical but I swear it worked!

I would speak to a GP- you may be able to send a pic and then prescribe antibiotics over the phone

Yep antibiotics for the infection and keep going with the soaking 20mins 2-3 times a day and gently push the cuticle back and separate the nail from the edge. If you put some dental floss under it will help stop the nail growing in. Agree to emailing the photos to the GP

My ds had antibiotics prescribed over the phone for this. I had to send a photo.
Our surgery triage all infections on the day so you should get to speak to someone.

Soak in hot saltwater and book somewhere to get it sorted. It’s really not that bad.

How did your son get on OP?

He now has antibiotics and he has been referred to the podiatrist so hopefully thus will help!