Pedicure my ugly toenail

[MrsBosh]

I'd like to book in for a pedicure at my local salon to use a voucher. However I have a very ugly big toenail on one foot. I don't think it's fungal as it doesn't smell or hurt. I think it's trauma to the nail (dropped stuff on it, had it stood on etc.)
Will they run screaming when I take my socks off?
Should I have a different treatment?
See pic (the red dots aren't blood but old nail varnish I can't shift!) I always use a basecoat for varnish too!
Thanks all

You coujd try buffing with one of those 3 in one buffers to smooth the surface. Even with using a base cost the formaldehyde or Toluene causes the nail to dry & flake & look like white patches. Nail polish on toes tends to stay on longer on toes so can cause some discolouration & peeling. You can get polishes that don't have these chemicals in but they are usually a professional range.

That looks like damage due to gel, did you have a colour on that you picked off?

DH had a persistent fungal nail infection and it didn't smell or hurt either. A clipping can be taken at the docs and sent off to see if it is fungal and you can then treat. Or you can try an over the counter solution.

I had a nail like that and it turned out to be a fungal infection albeit a mild one.

I only realised when I glanced at a product in the chemist's for fungal nail infection and the photo on the front of the box was just like my nail.

Anyway I got rid of it fairly quickly myself. Here's what I did. Keep nail trimmed fairly short. File flakey ridgy bits. Use athletes foot powder after showering rub in to nails. Rub Vicks vaporub (read that somewhere) on to nail and kind of pushing it down the sides of the nail then put on socks at bed time.

Damn, I so didn't want it to be fungal! Thanks for all your wisdom . I think I have some Vicks at the back of a cupboard and might pop to show it off to a pharmacist tomorrow. Worth a shot at something OTC.
No gels unfortunately, Frizz.
That's interesting about the chemicals in some polishes, Aqua, thank you. I'll certainly keep that in mind for my next purchases.

Without being a medical expert, it looks like it could well be fungal. They don't usually hurt or smell but they do look very much like that. They are transferable so you shouldn't share shoes or slippers. Often occur from wearing the same sweaty boots or shoes over and again. If you do wear one pair a lot, I'd consider replacing those if you are diagnosed with a fungal infection.

its also a doctor you need to see, not a pharmacist.

Looks like mild fungal to me. I had a bad one last year was a bugger to shift

If it is, Throw out any nail polish you used on that toe, or it could infect your other toe nails too .

Also, if you shoes are too small and/or you keep your toenails too long so they are under pressure from the shoe, that can help create the right conditions for a fungal infection.

Bypass the chemist and go to the doctors, fungals are really hard to shift so you'll be saving time in the long run.

I get this, white and peels. Checked with GP who said she also gets it and it's from the nail varnish remover - the alcohol in it! So I bought a remover without alcohol but I still get it! So I agree it's the varnishes you put in your nails!

I'm a podiatrist & it looks like trauma that's growing out.

Fluffy - how can you tell it's a trauma and not a fungal nail infection? What's the difference in how it looks?

The horizontal striae look like repetitive trauma & the line of demarcation is uniform. The white patches could be dryness/pitting from acetone (eg removing polish more than weekly)or from trauma causing the nail to seperate away from the bed. But now it's growing clear so it's likely to be a one off knock with minor damage from the nail hitting restrictive winter footwear as you walk.

Fungal is usually yellow/orange/brown & as the fungus progresses the nail thickens. The patches of discolouration are uneven in their progress towards the nail root.

I've had white patches from frequent polish changes & they grow out on their own.

Fun fact: formaldehyde is a gas not a liquid. Formalin contains it but hasn't been used in lots of nail preparations for years. So when retailers say "free of formaldehyde!" It's like sainsburys advertising a bag of carrots as being vegan.

Thanks, Fluffy for your informative post and everyone else's help/advice! MNetters are a wise lot!
I do wear the same shoes for work everyday, so they will be binned this weekend (only cheap New Look pair). Am going to try OTC for fungal and give that a week or so, but then make GP appt if it doesn't help. Have booked myself a massage at the salon until my nail is more pedicure-ready .

It looks fungal to me. Invest in a terbinafine spray and use it once a week, and make sure the nail fold is treated so the new nail grows clean.

Realistically you are also going to have to wait for the toe nail to grow out, which I estimate will take a minimum of 6 months.

Do google 'how to treat fungal nail infection with Vicks vaporub'. There's lots of info there. Might be worth a go? From what fluffycloud said maybe my issue wasn't fungal but whatever it was the athletes foot powder + vaporub has worked.

In fact I think it was a thread on mumsnet that promoted me to treat mine that way.

[Furiously scribbles notes... terbinafine, vicks, remover without alcohol etc.]

Ah, interesting! I can see the white line and the new nail growing out, but the new nail looks infected and it's inflamed around the cuticle area. Is it possible to have both trauma and fungal infection together?

One follows the other.

So is it both or just trauma in this case would you say? To me it looks exactly like a fungal infection and I've seen a few.

I'm going for trauma, that's my first thought & first thoughts are usually right.

I'm using a 50:50 mixture of apple cider vinegar and mouthwash with a few drops of tea tree oil in it to treat a horrible fungal nail infection and it's really working. I got the infection after I damaged the nail. I had tried several OTC remedies first with no success. The mixture turned the infected bits of the nail from yellow/orange to white but didn't do anything to the undamaged part of the nail.

I'm desperately now noting all the alternative remedies for fungal nail. I've had two 6 month courses of curanail which I used religiously, plus I've had the nail removed twice, once by the podiatrist and once using urea paste. And still it grows back infected. Nail is once again too thick to cut - fortunately despite having it for years it's only ever the one nail. GP did offer me an oral treatment, but quite frankly I'm hesitant about taking a drug for a nail infection that requires me to have liver function tests done. So now I'm eyeing up the Vicks and the apple cider vinegar. Is there a specific mouthwash I should use? I just loathe it, looks disgusting.

ilovecherries get some kerasal nail solution. It will soften the nail and you will be able to cut it down. Then add some Lamisil cream daily. It will sort your nail out. It worked for me and I had a severe infection for 7 years.
Apple cider vinegar did not work (i soaked my foor daily for over a year!)