DS in pain with two infected toenails - month's wait for removal - what to do?

[Fleecy]

DS has had ingrown toenails on both of his big toes and both have been infected for months. He's seen a podiatrist a number of times and has had antibiotic cream, but the infections are getting worse. He's now at college on a course that requires him to be on his feet all day and he's in enormous pain. Every time he's home, he goes barefoot and soaks his feet every evening. He's booked in for nail avulsion mid October but he's not going to be able to last that long. Is there anything else we can do?

I've looked at going private, but it's no quicker.

Thanks in advance for any advice or experience.

Sounds awful.

Can he wear sturdy sandals for the time being to ease pressure on his toes?

There are numerous DIY tips online but his case may be too advanced.

Do painkillers help at all?

Or pushing a little bit of damp cotton wool under the affected bit of toenail to help it lift away from his skin. I used to use cotton wool soaked in that antibac hand gel but you could use TCP or similar. Use sharp tweezers to get it in place.

Toe separators? You can get quite comfortable ones in the barefoot world that might help keep the other toes away from the painful ones.

I actually have a little podiatry kit with kind of sharp scissory things that I use to cut out the bits that hurt every few months. Ingrown toenails are just awful though.

Thank you both.

We've tried to cut out the offending bits, as has the podiatrist, but I think the toes are such a mess now that they're too far gone. Blood vessels are growing there and clustering around the wounds. It's really horrible! He has been taking painkillers while at college, but they're not strong enough.

I'm going to try for an emergency GP appointment tomorrow and see if there's anything they can prescribe to help.

It seems crazy to me that he has been living like this for three weeks since the surgery was booked and has another 3.5 weeks to go! How do they think he can manage? His college course is cookery, so open toed shoes are not allowed in the cafe, restaurant or kitchens. It's unfortunate!

He's autistic and has sensory issues so I'm amazed he's managed so well for this long. But tonight it's all become too overwhelming and he's (understandably) done with it all.

go private - I imagine there several around the area that could see him sooner?

see a podiatrist again now to cut it back at the ver least before surgery

tea tree oil.
Antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, natural.

Call around. We got DS's done in under ten days. If you're prepared to pay there will be somewhere that does it.

Kitchen crocs, if allowed, may be much more comfortable? And yes, somewhere private will almost certainly fit him in sooner.

If it's both big toes and they are infected, it almost seems a case for A&E. You don't want to risk sepsis.

I read online that one can try to thread dental floss underneath the nail to lift it out a bit.

Good luck; I hope you find a clinic to address it sooner.

Dd had this. Gp prescribed antibiotics each time while we waited for surgery. Cream alone didn't do it.

My DD had her dressed twice a week while she waited to have them done. They put done dressings on and really padded dressings. I bought shoes the next size up for her. This really helped. The nurses booked hers in the diary. She had to have antibiotics every week until she had the operation. Same issue as your son so I do completely relate. We tried to go private but they referred us to the NHS.

If it helps she has no issues now. She did have to have one toe done again as they were a little conservative the first time. They didn't cut quite enough nail and it reinfected. Hers naturally grow in unfortunately. Seems to be a family issue.

Hopefully the doctors can arrange the dressings so he's comfortable for now.

I had this years ago after being away travelling. As soon as I got home my mum looked at them and took me straight to A&E. the infection was so bad they couldn't freeze my toes (it was nearly 30 years ago so the process may have changed). Had to have 3/4 of each toe nail removed with no pain relief and was in agony. I really feel for your dc.

Soak in salt water. Use a baby toothbrush to lift the nail.

Any chance you can buy him some wide fitting shoes - not trainers - maybe a width wider than he needs. This may help to take the pressure off the toes whilst he waits for surgery, plus he can use them afterwards whilst the toes heal.

You also need to look into the cause of the ingrown nails so that it can be avoided in the future.

I'm amazed he's not on oral antibiotics. Has the GP not offered them? My (much younger
) son has been given either antibiotic cream or oral antibiotics when he's had toe infections.

Is he on antibiotics? Pease make sure he’s aware of the signs of the infection spreading and go to A&E if he gets a fever. My DS got a staph infection that spread from his toe and made him very unwell. He had some other little whitehead spots pop up on his body. It was easy to spot them as out of place on an 8 year old but a teenager might just think they are normal spots.

Is he soaking his feet in antibacterial solution? Our GP recommend using an antibacterial wash.

Take him to minor injuries and see if they can help, hope it gets sorted soon for him.

GP for oral antibiotics.
Make sure his shoes are big enough and not pressing on his toes at all.

I second this in the interim until he can see GP and get it resolved properly. Warm water and use lots of salt. Do not rinse. Do it a couple of times a day.

DS had an awful ingrown toenail (podiatrist did manage to sort it after a few visits and salt water soaking it really helped.

Based on my own experience I would say that an appointment with the GP is definitely the way to go in case antibiotics are needed before the nails are treated.
When I had an ingrowing toe nail about 15 years ago I left it far too long before seeking help, and when I finally did no one was willing to do anything with it until the infection had cleared.
I ended up needing at least 3 courses of antibiotics before it could be removed and by then I was in so much pain that even the duvet resting on my foot hurt. The OP’s son has my sympathy.
My advice to anyone with a toe nail problem now is to learn from my mistake and seek help sooner rather than later. I delayed because I was stupid enough to believe all the horror stories people seemed to delight in telling me about how painful the procedure would be when it really wasn’t.

We had to pay for my ds when he was 13 - £350 for both toenails.

Ahh bless him. Sounds awful. A&E - they may expedite it especially as the procedure will be fairly swift. Hope you get sorted soon.x

Thank you all! I turned up at the surgery when they opened and showed the receptionist a photo of the worst toe. She kindly booked him in immediately. He's getting a course of oral antibiotics starting this afternoon and if the infection hasn't cleared up in a week, we go get another course of them.

Apparently they won't operate while his toes are this infected, which would have been helpful to know when we had the initial consultation! But at least we know now. Some of you mentioned this, so I'm glad I asked at the GPs.

He's been soaking in water and tea tree and will now soak in salt water.

Thanks again.

I know how you feel my son has had ingrown toenail for months now had it cut in twice by podiatrist had 2 lots of antibiotics not worked it has granulation tissue growing over now and so swollen does ur sons have this ? He has just been wearing crocs. He is due to have toe nail surgery I rang the doctors and told them needed it asap so they pushed it threw have your tried this ?

Buy hydrogen peroxide and dilute and soak his toes in it. It will oxidise the bacteria and really help kill off the infection. Just needs to get at the infection so pick of crusty bits first. You can get huge bottles from Amazon. It's way better than salt or tea tree and is painless. It's not like domestos (for the poster last time who berated me for using bleach and causing g horrific pain when they didn't understand my post).

@JanefromLondon1 - How long did you soak the toes for? And how did you know it was working?