Big toe..how the hell can it be THIS painful? (since trying to remove an ingrown)

[alltoomuchrightnow]

Writing this out of desperation as my doctors appointments are usually three weeks away (if can get one.. I couldn't)
As soon as I can face it I will pay to see a chiropodist - but right now the pain is so severe I can't be touched.. I can't even put a sock on

I struggle with ingrown nails on big toes...I have a condition where my skin grows very , very fast, this means for eg, I get embedded stitches, big keloid scars..
I remove the ingrowns myself and the skin grows very fast back over them. I have to cut through the skin each time as get little nail 'shards' (what I call daggers) at the sides.. It's painful but I'd say I have a very high pain threshold so I just get on with it. Only saw a chiropodist once, it was a blood bath and he said the best bet was to get the nails removed surgically (wish I had)

Anyway it always hurts but I just grit teeth and get on with it and it heals quick. This time.. off the scale, painwise (on one toe) I slit the skin as usual to get to the embedded nail, and didn't get as far as removing the 'side dagger' , the pain was too much
Since then it's got progressively worse.. and in my job I'm on feet all day. I wear steel toe boots but they are like clown shoes and thankfully don't press on my toe, tons of space around it. I think tomorrow I will have to wear them without socks. Just the touch of a sock makes me scream.. same with bedding..
What the heck is making it this so much more painful than usual.. I get gallstone attacks most days (waiting to have gallbladder out) and when I touch my toe it's on par with an attack, and I thought that was the most painful thing I'd experienced!
Does this mean infection in the cut where the nail scissors cut open ..? I feel such a bloody wuss as it looks ok, the tip of the toe is swollen, with pus I'm not sure. Stupidly I forget to sterilise the scissors..
I can only liken it to if you pulled a tooth out and then stuck something in the raw exposed nerve.. it's that level of pain. I've got tea tree, Savlon cream and that's it.
What else can I do until I can see a chiropodist? I think I'd pass out if anyone touched it right now. They are going to look at it and see a toe that looks not too bad, just been poked around a bit. I can't believe such a small area can be such agony. I can't sleep and the throbbing is mad. Actual foot is fine
Sorry so long

Dogcat...my friend sees a lady, Aylesbury area, she describes as the nail angel too! Could be same one.. first name starts with C? Comes from another country.
I'm going to contact her as soon as feel can bear it.. apparently she's super gentle

@alltoomuchrightnow ..no . I live in Sevenoaks area . I personally have named her the Nail Angel …she is absolutely amazing!

Have ordered the nail softener

Thanks. I will look into it further I think @Dogcatmousecat I've found a consultation for £30, so I might see what they suggest. I don't think my nail looks as bad as some of those on their website.

Let us know how you get on @alltoomuchrightnow and thanks for the thread, I'm sure a few will have found it useful also.

@alltoomuchrightnow I cant remember where the Nail Elevator came from, I have had it years, but this company seems to offer a lot of useful tools.

https://www.vivainstruments.co.uk/collections/podiatry-instruments-viva-instruments?page=1

I ended up going to the emergency walk in (limp in!) centre (not same as A&E) after work.
Bandaged toe and antibiotics. A day walking around on it at work had not helped.
As soon as infection has gone down, the lovely pus has exited the building and the pain has lessened I'll see a chiropodist. In fact I intend to see one regularly as I never want this to happen again. Every month I butcher myself , put it off, cause a blood bath, and can never fully remove from the right toe hence this happening. Also having to put on synthetic sweaty work boots daily, always wet socks when remove them, it's a breeding ground... ugh.
I'm on a low income but I'll find something to cut back on , I think it will be worth it!
I AM allowed to buy my own steel toe boots or steel toed trainers.. if anyone could recommend any breathable ones, would be great, I'm not a fan of leather though, so probably asking for the impossible...

thanks so much everyone for all the advice

Have been thinking about you. My ex had this since he was a teenager, poor bloke. In his 20s he had the surgery to remove most of his big toe nails, didn't look too bad. It just wasn't a life and prevented him doing sports and certain jobs. Best of luck!

Sudocrem.
or any antiseptic.
sudocrem works for my big toenail when it gets inflamed.. (climbing injury means it gets ingrown and angry every so often) soak in hot water and loosen nail, wash with soap, dry and slather with sudocrem.

I was going to suggest a bread poultice too - they do work.

But I think it is pressure, I sometimes get this at the side of my big toe, swollen, bright red and very painful. Sort of a whitlow but only on the side.

I prick the skin to let the pus out, strangely I have found an earing does the best job, it punctures a hole. Obviously I don't take one out of my ear, I do wash first with detol.

Go see a Dr simple you tell them it's an emergency or walk into a&e and get seen right away

God, you poor thing. Sounded excruciatingly painful. Glad you got treated in the end.

These vegan so non-leather but breathable work shoes might fit the bill?

https://www.bksafetywear.co.uk/amblers-safety-fs214-black-vegan-safety-shoe.html

I have had ingrown toenails before and the pain was unbearable.
The only thing that helped was this product. It completed softened and treated the area and meant that I was able to get the ingrown part out.
I really sympathise with you as ingrown toenails are agonising.

@alltoomuchrightnow I had both my big toes treated for ingrown nails about 15 years ago, but the podiatrist just removed the edges of each nail, not the whole nail - maybe you could have that done, rather than have the whole nail removed?

Some options for non leather breathable steel cap toed boots. Some bamboo socks would help as well 👍

Delightful, I've already ordered it! Trouble is, it's not the nail..it's the skin.. would this help the actual skin?? That grows fast and thick over it...
Foo, I think I'l have to, can't go on like this..
J316,, they look good. I do only wear bamboo socks and it's not helped.

Very very sore today as lift out of order at work, had to keep going up and down 8 flights. Still can't wear a sock.
Going to have a Dettol bath now.. have put off bathing for days (just washed at sink)
I know antibiotics need a chance to work but it's far more painful, and until that nail is out I can't see it getting better or pain easing...and I can't touch the area of course...

Honestly, its never going to stop doing this now as that is now how your nail grows now, and it will keep getting worse. The only option is nail removal surgery where they will then use a liquid to prevent the nail bed from growing back again.

I put it off for years as i didnt want to lose the nail, but my feet looked awful all the time anyway and it was so painful, afterwards it heals so smoothly it looks fine, and a pain free foot is worth it!

Call your GP, ask for an urgent podiatrist referral. Its not that ling a wait for this service, or you can pay to have it done privately

You have your antibiotics for the infection but that will not address the nail spikes they will continue to irritate the skin at the sides until you have them cleared .
A self tretment often leaves a spike (onychocryptosis) because you're going at an awkward angle whereas a Podiatrst is looking at the end of your toe and using a sterile surgical blade (and skill )

Use a solution of boiled water that you've added a spoonful of standard tablesalt to . Enough to go cloudy . Your body has it's own salt level , your solution is higher ( sterile saline is 0.9% so you don't need much salt) , needs to be tepid/warm not hot .
Soak 10-15 minutes , airdry and use a sterile non-fluffy dressing . ,If it sticks soak it off with your next footbath

Don't use creams , paste , Dettol, bread , and not TCP

That's your immediate , you need to et them seen.
NHS Podiary is limited , you'll probably need to go private (HCP reg)
They can refer you to NHS or your GP can , but again, its a wait .

Good Luck / Keep a close eye for infection and if you do get worse , get help ASAP

I haven’t had this in years but I used to force a tiny bit of tissue soaked in anti bac gel under the ingrown section to lift the nail off the bed. Depending how far down it was I used clean nail scissors or tweezers to push it down. It hurts like fury for ten mins or so but then the relief is immense.

You have your antibiotics for the infection but that will not address the nail spikes they will continue to irritate the skin at the sides until you have them cleared*

That's what happened to me a few weeks ago. I cut thé nail down the side but if there's a shard, however tiny, left it will be agony. I've been self treating for years and rarely infected though.

I was about to go to a walk in clinic, as there was an infection, but I managed to get the shard out that had been causing the pain and then it righted itself quickly. But the agony of going in for that shard and removing!

OP - I also get excess skin but I don't know that this contributes to the ingrowing nail or pain, as that's the nails growing into the side or nail bed. I trim anything like that with cuticle scissors every couple of weeks and use flexitol balm and keep my feet moisturised.

I'm no expert obviously, just to reiterate. I will definitely look into having that consultation in the next few weeks when it comes back, as it always does.

Go and see a chiropodist or podiatrist, they will do a ring block around the base of your toe to make it numb and then deal with the issue

Sounds really sore 😬 being on your feet all day will not be helping, especially while you can’t wear socks but I appreciate you probably can’t afford to take time off. I would look at pricing going private, see what options you have.

It sounds like you could be a good candidate for nail surgery , the most frequently used procedure is where the sides of the nail are permanently removed leaving a narrower nail but removing the ‘curved’ edges which become in-growing ( partial nail avulsion ). If you google ‘nhs podiatry ‘ for your area eg ‘ nhs podiatry ayelsbury ‘ for instance it should explain how you can access nhs treatment as many areas will offer nail surgery within the nhs .This procedure has a very good ‘ success rate ‘ and often resolves problems completely . If you prefer many private HCPC registered podiatrists will also offer surgery which is more expensive than routine treatment as it is more involved but if it’s preventing years of pain is definitely worth it IMO. If there is a spike of nail growing in this needs to be removed to allow the toe to heal.In the meantime take the antibiotics , use salt water to clean the toe and apply an antiseptic dressing as you don’t want that infection to spread ,

I've no idea what a chiropodist does. Here in Scotland GPs point you towards the podiatrist. Of which there are loads. Getting one on the NHS is like gold dust generally.