Does this warrant a&e, infected toe?

[Lockdownbaby2021]

Hi all.
my son (3.5 years) stubbed his toe a couple of months back, half of it went black and the other half stayed on. The black half eventually started to lift and we just thought the whole nail would die and a new nail would grow underneath it would fall off. This never happened and the nail has remained half on half off. He’s a sensitive little boy and won’t let us look at it. He is walking okay etc.

he got home from nursery yesterday and I noticed it was getting really red and sore and the nail was nearly off (still hanging on though). My parents think he needs to go to hospital now (he’s fast asleep and it’s 21:50) but I don’t know if it looks serious enough?
so stuck on what’s right and wrong!
do you think I could get it seen to in the morning at the chemist, would they entertain it? I don’t want to traumatise him after a very horrific hospital experience a couple of years ago.

Temp is 35.8 just now while he’s asleep.
the only reason I didn’t take him this morning was because he seemed fine in himself and he had no temp! Deffo taking him to docs tomorrow though x

Do you have a minor injuries unit near you? That would be the best bet.

Looks better than the first photo, IMO. It would be much more red with possible tracking by now if infected.

@Coruscations no minor injuries near me, just an a&e department at the local hospital xx

It's definitely infected, but just localised by the sounds of it.

Can you recheck that?

@LisaJohnsonsFacebookMole just checked again now 35.9 x

Hi OP looks like my daughter's finger when it got infected a while ago - the GP gave her an antibiotic cream and it healed beautifully. I can remember if she was also on antibiotics but the cream was called Fucidin and it was magic! Definitely call in the morning they'll give you an emergency appointment if you explain it's infected. We didn't even need to be seen, just sent a photo. It's good he doesn't have a temperature, although keep checking just to be on the safe side.

Under 36.0 is considered low but obviously 35.8/35.9 is near enough normal and he could just be a tad cold. If he is well (behaving normally, eating & drinking, passing urine) then see GP tomorrow. It is a priority to see the GP (you clearly know this though). Remember to look 360° at the toe when checking for redness and tracking. Hope he feels better soon!