To ask if I need a doctor or a chiropodist?

[ohreallyohreallyoh]

10 year old has an I growing toenail with some infection. Isn't particularly painful and he says he's had it ages before telling me about it. He is not hot or feverish but there is a very small pocket of pus on his toe.

Not had this before, not a problem I have ever had. Is it a case for the doctor or can a chiropodist deal with it? I don't want to waste GP's time but at the same time, don't want to ignore the infection side of it? Do I need to go to the walk in centre today? He is totally fine which is throwing me off!

I think you should go to the gp and they’ll refer you to a chiropodist if you need one.

Pay to see a chiropodist - it's not expensive. NHS chiropody in my area has a wait of many many weeks unless you are diabetic when it's only many weeks.

You need a podiatrist not a chiropadist.

A GP will refer on to an NHS Podiatrist - this could take a while, waiting times vary from trust to trust. Some GP’s like to do nail surgery themselves, insist on a Podiatrist if s/he offers to do it at the practice.
You could also just ring up a Podiatrist in private practice, they will probably be able to offer you an appointment quite quickly and will be in a better position to evaluate and treat the problem.
In the meantime soak the toe in hot/warm salty water and keep the toe dry and covered until it’s dealt with.

I would just ring a podiatrist as you could wait forever for the NHS as they are so strapped for resources. I paid £25 last year for a private appointment to sort my son's similar ingrown toenail.

Thanks all. No one answered but that's probably not surprising on a Sunday. Will call a podiatrist tomorrow then (what's the difference?)

A podiatrist is surgically trained.

When I had one as a child (decades ago so probably some other treatment by now) I had to soak it in painfully hot water once a day for a week and then the puss came out.

Podiatrists and chiropodists are the same thing, podiatrist is just the more modern term. They are both protected terms, you have to have the right qualifications to be able to call yourself a podiatrist/chiropodist.

I would definitely ring a private podiatrist/chiropodist to get that looked at.

Soak in salt wster. Cut a small upside down triangle I'm the middle of the nail so the nail starts to grow back in now straight up into wherever the grow is and as much fresh air as possible to help the infection. Learned it off podiatrist as I had to have my big toe cut open and nail pulled out and cut

You used to be able to Pay to do a chiropody course in about 6 months, podiatry takes 3/4 years, probs changed now but i wouldnt chance it.

Don't slit a v in a nail. Go to your GP and they will advise you.

GPs who do this surgery have training in it and have usually done hundreds so if they offer that's fine, most don't do it anymore as funding has been cut.

The OP's son is very young and just has a nail that has ingrown. Not a big deal, sore for him though. No surgery should be necessary and a good podiatrist will advise to keep the nail short, as in across the toe.

How funny are people! Google podiatrist and chiropodist, they are exactly the same thing.

Can you do anything to alleviate it? Is there a bit of skin you can pull away or a bit of nail you could cut off to help it? I had this once and just pulled away a bit of skin so the nail could go properly, bit of savlon and all sorted it grew through. If it's properly ingrown you need a GP first if they recommended a chiropodist then just pay to see one locally, usually max £45 for first session. We go to our chiropodist now monthly and pay £25 each, well worth it to keep feet all lovely and maintained and nicely painted toe nails I love it.

The registration point for a Podiatrist is different - and a protected title in the U.K. They are different registrations with the HCPC.

He sounds a hardy child! I'd do salt water soaks, run a toothpick around the corner to release the nail (and pus), and show him how to keep that corner free from the skin. Mine used to do this a lot- you need it to be long enough at the corners to grow free of the skin.

The v works I've done it a thousand times. I'd always try and treat it before going the doctors.

Go to a podiatrist, the gp made a rightness operating on my ingrown toenail. I ended up not being able to put my shoe back on due the amount of bandaging it needed. I had a proper comedy big toe. Also had to have 3 painful injections of local anaesthetic.

Podiatrist for an infected toenail sorted it out painlessly in two seconds with no anaesthetic, blood or bandaging required. He says he does it all day every day and the GO sees maybe one every week etc.

We paid about £40 for my son to have his ingrowing toenail fixed by a podiatrist. It was so quick to get an appointment and although bloody painful for my son, it was fixed in one appointment and no need for surgery.

I had surgery on an ingrown toenail years ago, suffered for months and months before they'd operate. If I'd known at the time I could have got it fixed privately quite cheaply, I would have done it in a heartbeat.

Podiatrist might say you need to see gp for antibiotics as they can often operate but not prescribe. Most nhs podiatry services have been cut back massively and in my area gps cannot now refer to podiatry on the nhs even for 'low risk' diabetics, although can still get a high risk diabetic seen. This is in no way the fault of your gp. They are not being 'rubbish' or 'tight'. The service does not exist.