Do I really NEED my toenails?

[pritchettzoo]

Go to the doctor! I just had both big toes "operated on" a couple of days before Christmas. I was in nowhere near the pain you are. The "surgery" itself does not hurt a bit. The novicaine shots are another matter altogether! :P Also, at least with mine, all it cost was the co-pay.

I hope you feel better soon.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[lukkykatt]

Sarah, please go to the doctor! You do not have to do home surgery! :) Just let him/her look at it and tell you if it can possibly grow out on its own or not. Think of all the pedicures you'll be missing out on! GO!

PS: If it makes you feel any better, I slammed my thumb in my car door (and it was a big heavy Mustang door) about 8 years ago. It split my nail, which then fell off. I STILL have a ridge in that nail and get dark brown flecks in my skin underneath the nail. And yes, I went to the doctor to have it looked at and got a tentaus (sp?) shot.

[AngelaS]

That's what they did to mine....they removed the side of my toenail, yanked it from the bed and now my toenail is narrower and no longer gets ingrown. :D

[mamahill]

Ok, so I log on today thinking, "I'm going to tell them my toenail will be fine," and what do I find, HORROR stories! I'm going to die from a zit?! oh nooooooo.

LOL, seriously - I've been using these strips and the swelling has gone down, and the pus has disappeared. Hmmmm. Only every now and then does my toe kind of tingle, but not anywhere NEAR what I was experiencing Friday night/Saturday morning.

So now I don't know what to do. I feel silly calling the doctor if she's just going to look at it and say, "You're fine." Although having part of it removed does have it's good points. I'm just afraid they'll want to remove the whole thing. And I was kidding about the press-on, but maybe Deborah's on to something...

The other thing is that I did see the doc about the fungus several months ago. She said that she could perscribe something for it, but that most insurance companies don't cover it since it is considered cosmetic, and that it can be lengthy and expensive, and doesn't guarantee to get rid of it. I got some stuff from the pharmacy that's supposed to help, but of course I kept forgetting to use it. And I know I should keep it painted with the fungus there, but I am totally of the mindset that if I can't see it, then it doesn't bother me (don't look in my closets, though).

Hmmm, so if it's not hurting anymore, should I still go? Maybe I'll try sticking cotton under it. I have been religious about soaking it 2-3 times a day (a great excuse to say, "DH, I have to soak my feet - take care of Ainsleigh while I read!"). I promise I won't conduct any more at-home surgeries!!

[blnony]

GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!!
:D
Seriously, don't take the chance. Whether you it need or not, you should be sure about what is going on!!!

[amp]

How do they do it? Does it hurt a lot? Yikes, I hate to say this seems like a good thing, since I hate pain, but then again, the whole toe thing is a pain anyway!

[pritchettzoo]

GO TO THE DOCTOR! It will be so worth it to get the ingrown nail cut out. Supposedly they never grow back (it's only the edge and doesn't show or anything!). After the snippage, you'll get to soak them twice a day in warm epsom salt water, and you should stay off your feet that day, so you can still hand over Ainsleigh!

GO. CALL. Or we'll sic the Salem Stalker on you! :)

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[parkersmama]

It's exactly how you described it: they take out a small sliver down the side (or both sides, if need be!) and then cauterize the nail bed so it doesn't grow back. The doctor told me that if it grew back it would likely continue to get ingrown since I'd had such a problem with it. I haven't had even the slightest hint of it starting to get ingrown since he fixed it...two years pain free!!! It honest to God did NOT hurt AT ALL when he did it! He gave me a numbing injection at the base of my toe and even the injection didn't hurt. Then he used the scapel (or whatever, I wasn't looking!) and cut the nail section out and the infected skin away. He bandaged it up and I was supposed to use antibiotic cream (not ointment) and change the bandage every day. I was expecting it to be totally excrutiating when the numbness wore off but I swear it never hurt again! I couldn't believe it! If I were to get another ingrown toenail, I wouldn't hesitate to go back and have it fixed (I only had the one place fixed). I just asked around a few friends for a recommendation of a reliable podiatrist (they have a bad rep sort of like chiropractors) and chose one. I guess that when you deal with feet all day, you really get to know your stuff and he said it wouldn't hurt and was true to his word. :)

[parkersmama]

I'm with Brianna & Anna...go anyway!! I often had the same experience, "Oh, it's better now. I don't need the doctor. It's gonna be fine!" only to have it become a problem again in a week or two. I think you should definitely get it fixed now while it's winter before the sandal-wearing weather comes 'round again!

[amp]

Denise - Wow, thanks for the details. I told DH about this last night before I read your updated reply and he scrunched up his face and said he was pretty sure that would hurt quite badly. So, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as we are envisioning. Certainly the ingrown toenail is not pain free, so I'll have to consider this in the future. Thanks!