What's the best way to treat a fingernail that has been partially torn off?
Call me old fashioned, but this is one of those situations where the simpler the better. And I say this with all due deference to my colleagues.No antibiotic ointments. No medicated gauzes. They're just not needed. In my experience they get way overused. I've been on a crusade training residents, including ER, and nursing and OR staff to limit their use.In a situation like this that is relatively clean with a wound with a rich blood supply, all that's needed is to wash the wound. Soap and water will do. Or just water. Saline if you want to get fancy. Plain 3% hydrogen peroxide if you're really concerned about cleanliness. (Yes, undiluted peroxide and no it won't harm the tissues in any significant way). And then a simple band aid. And if it bleeds, great. Like I tell all my patients, we love blood in situations like this. Yeah it's messy but it's good. Pus, boo! That we don't like.The band aid will prevent snagging on fabrics etc...and will keep the patient from playing and picking at it and also avoid having to explain to every other person what happened. If the band aid gets moist, humid, sweaty etc...then change it. You don't want to create an environment for bacteria and/or fungus.The nail will grow albeit slowly if the so-called germinal matrix ie the root that lives under the nail fold has not been damaged. Keep it simple!
Stubbed my toe, the nail is purple?
I was walking, and I stubbed my toe and it hurt REALLY bad. I freaked out, sat down and saw that there was blood gushing out, my toenail was purplish black, and excruciating pain. It's really puffed and it hurts really bad. I'm positive it's broken and maybe dislocated. I already took Advil, what can I do to stop the pain??? I'm freaking out.
I stubbed my big toe and its bleeding under the nail?
Ouch, I've done this more than once and know how much it hurts. I recommend you do nothing but wait until the nail grows out. One time I sterilized a large sewing needle and pierced the nail to get the blood out - but that hurt worse than when I stubbed my toe. But it did release most of the blood stuck under the nail. I'e also had a nail fall off after I stubbed it. It took a long time for it to grow back, but when it finally came in looked good as new.
I stubbed my toe, and now it's black. Will it go away on it's own, or do I need to do something??
Take a pain reliever and use an ice pack . If you think it may be broken have an x-ray taken at a medical clinic . It may just be a soft tissue injury ... Could take a month or so to heal . Sorry to hear you got hurt , take care .
My Toenail got separated from the nail bed because of an injury. Will it fall?
3 weeks ago ,I stubbed my toe hard on a door.My big toenail on the right foot got separated from the nail bed almost completely (till cuticle).The sides of my nail had fully popped out from under the skin. there was gap between my nail and nail bed till the cuticle level and it was bleeding.I went to the emergency care.The doctor cleaned the wound and tucked in the sides of my nail which had popped out and pushed the nail back to its original position.She placed a gauze on my nail and taped it. She said my nail would eventually fall off as the new nail starts growing and will be replaced by the new nail. She said it could take 6 months - 1yr for the new nail to grow.Till then the old nail will protect my nail bed from infections.She told me to clean it daily with soap and water and tape it.The 1st week, some liquid was oozing out from my nail. Now after 3 weeks the nail looks normal.The oozing has stopped and there's no pain(Pain lasted only first 2-3 days).There's no gap and my nail's not loose or anything.It almost looks like how it used to look before injury except for some marks in the skin around my nail.Does this mean my nail has stuck back to the nail bed?Or will it fall later?If it will fall, will the whole nail fall at once? Or will it gradually be pushed up as the new nail grows out?In other words,will I ever have to be with a bare nail bed without the nail(after my current nail falls and before the new nail completely takes its place) ?Please advise . Thanks!
URGENT: Completely lifted toenail after stubbing toe?
After taking a shower, I was getting ready for bed when I stubbed my toe on the foot of the bed frame. I felt an intense shock, and reached down to feel my toe and felt my entire nail had been lifted. It's only attached at the base of the nail, completely exposing the nail bed. I went to the ER @ 11:00 pm (central) and just got home after so many hours of waiting I was told that I was probably not going to be seen right away because there were 19 people in front of me. It's ridiculous... so I left. I called the answering service for my family doc and the nurse called me back just now and said I can't be seen till 3:00 p,m. because the doctor is out of town and won't arrive until 2:00 p.m. What can I do in the mean time? It's not as painful as I imagined because I had been treating this toenail for fungus, and one of the ER nurses explained that most likely I don't feel much pain because the nail bed is "dead". Is that true? I'm only feeling a dull pain and occasionally I feel it throb but nothing unbearable actually. It's still bleeding, so it looks really bad. Imagine a car hood being opened... that's what my toe nail looks like. Please, serious replies only! I need to know from someone in the medical profession or someone who's had this happen to them. Thanks
Dropped something on my big toe and hurts way more than it should. What could I have damaged?
You may have broken your toe bone (1st phalange) but I doubt it. If you are mainly dealing with pain, you likely bruised the root of your toe nail. That is a more common injury. Your toe nail will turn blue and be very sensitive for days to even weeks. You will likely grow a new toe nail under the existing toe nail. In a few months you will start to notice the new toenail.I did this 30 years ago. I dropped a 100 pound piece of 3/8ths plate steel on edge about 12 inches down and across all of my toes. I broke my little toe and the next toe and smashed the big toe nail without breaking it. The big toe nail root was by far more painful than the broken toes.Over the years, I have broken a few toes (phalanges) and a few metatarsals, the bones that connect the toe bones to the foot. The doctors have never done anything but put me in a walking slipper. I usually took it off and put on a strong hiking or work boot instead.
My toenail hurts also some clear fluid?
Hi Crystal! So I just had to answer this question too because it has happened to me! Kelly above is totally right on. You should soak in epsom salt. I wore tennis shoes that were a bit tight and my toe nails were a bit long during a kick ball game and from all the running and stopping and kicking I guess I had bruised my big toe nails on both feet! The next few days after that my toes were so sore and then they began to look purplish in color a couple weeks later. Then a few weeks after that to my horror they both fell off! I was so embarrassed I wore bandaids around my toes til they started to come back in (which wasn't too long) I even had a fake nail put on at the salon because I was in a wedding! But they grew back fine. Hopefully it won't happen to you, but if it does it's not so bad at least it's gonna be fall season. Just make sure to cut your toenails short and wear comfortable not too-tight shoes. :)