Never google 'nail bed injury'

[SummerRain]

I'm not squeamish about many things but for some reason reading about peoples' nails being ripped off make me feel quite nauseous

I was trying to find out if I need to bring dd to the doctor about her thumbnail. She caught it in the car door over a month ago and it gradually turned from blue to black over about a week and a half and has only started growing out this week finally with a strip of healthy nail at the cuticle. I noticed this morning that the nail over the hematoma is flaking off and the dried blood is exposed and coming loose so I think he nail bed will be exposed. Should I:
a) get it looked at
b) cover it with a plaster
c) put cream on it
d) ignore it

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.podiatrytoday.com/files/photos/pt0106cover8.jpg&imgrefurl=www.podiatrytoday.com/article/5030%3Fpage%3D3&usg=__oeAqRzGWvmR0PetK24WWMLuYN24=&h=1014&w=1084&sz=161&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=JZq1GrOeoSuDNM:&tbnh=140&tbnw=137&ei=DbsRTt6oCom28QPaiP3MDg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnail%2Bbed%2Binjury%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1152%26bih%3D729%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=470&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=79&ty=92" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">like this one you mean?

yucky yucky!

I thought this was going to be about circus performers and beds of nails

sorry, i'm being serious now.

go to the doctor with her.
definitely.
sounds like it might be infected.

Just cover it with a non adherent dressing. Keep it clean by bathing in slightly salted water each day.

Infection will present as pain, swelling and smelly gunk coming from it. It probably won't become infected, but if it does, go to Boots and buy some Inadine squares and apply a fresh one each day for about a week.

I had my toenail removed a few months ago

why did I open that? I knew what it would be. Although funnily enough, seeing it is fine.... it's the graphic descriptions of nails being ripped of with force that make my skin all tight and crawly.

Prof

I've just had a closer look at it (probably should have done that before internetting about it) and there seems to be another layer of nail underneath it... lord knows how thick it is considering the amount that's come off the top but it poked it and she said it didn't hurt and it felt solid so hopefully that's intact across the nail bed and the hematoma is between two layers (is that possible?)

Definitely doesn't seem infected tbh, it's dry and clean, just flaking apart.

It'll be okay, it's just healing. It doesn't take that long.

I googled nail removal before I had my op

I hope so, she's already inherited my farmers hands... I'd hate for her to have a wonky nail to go with them

How's your toe now hidden?

It'll be fine honestly. Keep it dressed until the dead nail peels away completely. Then soak the nail in warm saline water, and use a clean cotton ball to remove the blood clot. There is a freh nail underneath and within a couple of days you'll never know it happened

Thanks imnotaslimjim... will root out the sterile dressings now and put one on it (besides anything else i'm afraid she'll catch it on something and I would probably hurl at that point )

it'll probably be alright then.
if there's no green pus.

i once lost my toenail to too-small shoes, and the new toenail that grew under it (and eventually pushed it off) was much nicer than the original one.

there's hope yet then

ds1 could do with banging a few of his toenails so.... they're horrible

My toe is fine now ta. The dcs keep looking at it and saying it's weird to have no nail, but I'm not bothered