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

Chiropodist is just the old name , now Podiatrist is the term used .

Depends on the local health authority criteria for treatment . In the borough I work in a GP can refer for the nail surgery , patient assessed , treated and after follow up they can dress the toes themselves .
It's done with a local analgesic , injection either side of the toe to numb it (not as bad as it sounds )

A private Pod might or might not offer Nail Surgery but you can find out from their website .

It;s better to have it looked at , you don't want to be in continual pain and antibiotics .
(And personally speaking there are few things as satisfying in clinic as sliding a scalpel down and getting out the nail spike then smoothing and packing the sulcus .)
But you didn't want to know that did you ?

Nah, this sounds more like a job for The Toe Bro.

When I was a teen I used to get ingrown toenails. I had an op where they just cauterised the two edges that would always ingrow. So I've still got a nail, it's just narrower.

NHS podiatrist here, we do nail surgery but waiting lists are about 6 months for surgery , hopefully faster for first consultation (You might be able to self refer in for an ingrown toenail) and you don't have to lose the whole nail. There are different options available and they will discuss at you appointment.

Privately podiatrists offer nail surgery but some are charging crazy money. I suppose I really should go and work in the private sector...

AgnesX, when I saw a chiropodist in lockdown (only time I've ever been) he said I didn't need a podiatrist as that would be if there was a problem with my gait, needing corrective shoes etc..
He recommended me having my big toe nails removed on NHS and I wish I had ..

Quiteathome, I honestly would if could.. I cannot afford.. I left DV in summer and living alone now paying all bills alone for the first time and hugely struggling on a min wage income

70isalimit, as soon as the pain and infection subsides Ill see someone..but
a few days on antibiotics now and no change.. but today was one of the worst shifts ever and I'm walking many miles a day at work

The nurse at the hospital seemed to think there was no nail stuck at the side.. and Im certain there is, my usual shard.
I don' t know why she'd think that, as she couldnt touch me
however.. my one and only trip to the chiropodist a few yrs ago, I was certain that was shards too and it was only the skin... that was painful but nothing like this.
Shard or not, I gouged very deep and the nail scissors hadn't been sterilised...
I wish I'd ran them under hot water. I dont have rubbing alcohol at the moment..

So, what I've decided is, to try do at least one extra day's work each month, to pay for a monthly chiropodist . it will mean losing some days off but worth it

I have this issue frequently. Including the spears. I saw an NHS chiropodist and her advice defo helps:

1. soak for five minutes in hot salty water at least three times a day
2. don't cut your nails, file them BUT file back and forward, not side to side
3. be careful not to lift the nail when doing it.

I've been passed from pillar to post as well in the past. This simple technique of putting a plaster around the underside of the toe pulls the skin away from the nail and has completely stopped me from having to dig down / cut down the sides. It's brilliant. For my smaller toes I cut a plaster in half horizontally and change regularly to keep the tension on.

Hope this helps

www.curvecorrect.com/how-to-get-rid-of-an-ingrown-toenail/

I completely sympathise it's incredible the amount of pain something so small can cause and so suddenly sometimes.

Many years ago I had part of my nail remover but it hasn't really stopped the problem and my nail is just super strength now it's smaller and even more painful when it's jabby.

Anyway my mum is a foot health practitioner so not as qualified as podiatrist or chiropodist however, for ingrown toe nails any good FHP should be able to manage them for you and should be a more affordable option so might make seeming them more often a possibility for you.

I'm a complete wuss when mine are sorted out but the relief is sometimes instant!

Hope your immediate pain settles down asap.