Horrible toenail

[TheStitcher]

The big toenail on my right foot is kind of crumbling at the base- it went black and now has a hole in it and I expect the whole nail will need removed.

So where do I go to do this? A chiropodist? A podiatrist? How much is it going to cost?

And aesthetically, what can be done? I have some lovely peep toe shoes I want to wear to a wedding in 3 months. Can I get a false nail or get my nail artificially rebuilt?!

I'd start with the GP. Did you injure it?

What happened to it - when you say it went black, as in a bruise from dropping something on it or similar?

Do you run or jog?

One of mine did that. When it came off it left a very then nail like surface behind which I could lightly paint.

I agree the gp is the first place to go.

Is it kind of thickened yellow and Crumbling with black dots? Or is it flaking and lifting off?

I've had both. You could post a picture? Understandable if you don't want to though.

The first is (well maybe) a fungal nail infection and will need a course of terbenifine to get rid of it (well it did for me)/!: they are hideous to treat (imho).

The second (when I dropped the wheelie bin on my foot when wearing flip flops)will just lift off after a few weeks and then leave a sort of hardened skin that you can paint the the nail grows back. My lovely nail tech says it's so common and that runners often have no big toenails as the friction in the trainer causes then to lift.

A chiropodist will diagnose and improve the appearance. A gp will diagnose (and potentially treat but took years m for me to be prescribed the terbenifine). Depends if you can get a gp appointment.

I would try and file it and paint it. You can get stick on nails from primark.

It could be a fungal toenail, which can be treated. I also say visit your GP and see what’s causing it.

You can get fake toenails, I've had to use them before. You'll have to file your own nail away to make a flat surface before gluing the fake nail on, then you can paint it. They're usually too long but can be filed down.

I've had a rare form of melanoma that does mean your nail can go black, normally starting as a line but not always. So I'd get a GP to check it and then treatment elsewhere if it's too slow (and almost certainly not cancer).