Torn-off toenail

Lovey - it behaves like any other abrasion - it scabs up (though the scab will probably be more fibrous than usual - just cos the process seems to be that the capillaries weep and form a low, less bloody, scab) and heals undernerath the scabby thing.

It is likely to be healed before the nail grows over it.

On the positive side, the Sozlet has a reminder that pool rules exist for good reasons.

It won't look like a dry open wound. It heals over. It's not exactly skin, but ...

Unsightly for my then 21-year-old who wears sandals in the summertime and paints her toenails!

dlowan's right. She'll be fine. Keep it covered, keep it clean.

Now, my son on the other hand ...

He was probably around Sozlet's age. He and his little buddy were outside in the wintertime, playing in the front yard, building a snow fort out of hardened chunks of snow. His buddy was trying to chop a larger chunk with a small shovel, raised it (the shovel) high and brought it down on Brian's foot, breaking his toe and causing a hemorrhage under the nail, which had to be drilled to alleviate the pressure. Of course he lost the nail (luckily not the toe).

:-)

Thanks so much for all the reassurances, guys. Feeling better about it.

Will let you know if anything noteworthy happens at the doctor's, hopefully it'll be boring and routine.

Oh my! I hadn't seen mckenzie's latest when I did my little copacetic smiley...

Ai-yi-yi...

Oh yes, sozobe, this will definitely be a routine thing for sozlet's doctor. Happens all the time. Same care routine as for any other cut/scrape. Clean it out, antibiotic cream, keep it covered until it's not an open sore any longer. My husband has lost many a fingernail in fishing/boating accidents. Always the same story. We don't even bother seeing the doctor anymore--we know the routine.

I'm sure by the time you read this that sozlet's toe will be properly cleaned and bandaged and it, along with the rest of her, happily put to bed. I hope you won't worry too much and get a good night's rest yourself. These childhood accidents are always much more traumatic for us mothers than they are for our kids.

Goodnight hugs to you....

--Eva

soz - mckenzie's son had a broken toe. It's a bit different (and not really that horrid - I've broken all of my toes but one over the years - did it fairly regularly as a kid) than loss of a portion of nail.

I'd say that the worst part right now is if sozlet notices that her toe is throbbing as she's falling asleep. Make sure you've got whatever kidlet pain reliever she can take on hand. If she doesn't experience the throbbing, you are both well ahead of the game.

The throbbing's the worst part.

Oh, I know mckenzie's story is different, that was a "now THAT would suck!" ai-yi-yi.

Thanks again, guys.

Lol - I had a meat grinder fall on my big toe, which caused a a haemmorhage - me mum did a wee hole with a hot needle.

I did the same myself a few years later, when my horse trod on my toe. Well, actually, I drilled away a the nail with the point of a sharp knife.

I hate doctors!

I once had a complete fingernail ripped off when I was about Sozlet's age. Doctor's orders were to bathe the finger in the hottest soap water I could bear every day, and wrap it into a new bandage every day, to prevent infection. (The doctor, ahead of her time in the 70s, adhered to the "don't evolve antibiotic-resistant germs" school of medicine. This school scorns at abusing antibiotics for disinfection, hence the very hot soap water and no antibiotics.)

My fingernail grew back within a couple of months (don't remember more precisely), and it grew the same way it grows when it's not ripped off: Millimeter by millimeter, full thickness, down the fingertip. There was a thin film, as there is on any wound, but it didn't grow thicker. The wound healed with no traces left behind. It seems the key is to keep it clean to avoid infection, but also clear of hairs etc. in that thin film, anything that might cause trouble if the nail grows over it. I would guess that what worked for my fingernail would also work for Sozlet's toenail. Probably it's still a good idea to let a doctor look at her.


My childhood doctor -- same as above -- confirmed this. That was after a bike accident had turned the whole right side of my face into an open wound one summer. She encouraged me to spend as much time as possible in the swimming pool for the next few weeks, as the chlorine disinfects the wound.

I never updated this, did I?

The cleaning went fine, told her a little story first, she was very brave. The nail-less tissue seemed to have "settled", was more smooth than it had been when I first saw it. Called the doc this AM, decided to take her in just to be on the safe side and because the weekend is coming up (if anything looks worse tomorow or Sunday, we'd have to wait until Monday or take her to the ER), so that will be this afternoon.

Anyway, seems to be going well so far, hope to get more specific tips on how to care for it/ what to do and not to do when we go. What's weird (but good!) is that she still doesn't seem bothered by it -- I'm having to remind her not to sit on it and stuff.

Once it scabs, it won't matter much.

So...did the doctor tell you anything different that you hadn't already heard here? (Wondering how sozlet is doing...)

Hi there,

Busy day...

The doc visit was good, the last time we had been there was in the middle of ear infection craziness and among other things it was nice to have a laid-back, low-stress visit.

He confirmed that it was a good idea to come in and have it looked at, liked what he saw though, nice and clean and starting to heal well. Didn't do anything further than what I'd done already. Gave me a lot of specific feedback that I wanted about exactly how long to keep her away from water (24 hours), how long to keep it constantly bandaged (a few days), what to do after that (keep it bandaged if she'll be like running around in the dirt, otherwise no need for bandage, plus pool is fine), whether antibiotic ointment is recommended (sure, keep it thin), whether using it would be contrary to "keep dry" (no, specific to microbe-fostering environments.) Etc.

I'm glad it did the initial healing so quickly because she's been abusing it since -- she was swinging, wearing sandals (didn't want to squoosh her toe in closed-toe shoes plus it was way hot) and she kept dragging her feet in the dirt. Like, not even dragging, but on the downswing digging her toes in. Ugh!! She's gone through something like 10 bandaids today. Oh well.

Repeat: Do not let her charge for viewings.

Pity that pre-school is over for the summer. She could have made made half-toenails fashionable among the girls and have the boys fascinated with the Utter Grossness of the Wound.

I'm so glad I found this website. I just stubbed my toe a few hours ago and ripped half of my big toenail right off. It bled at first but the pain is almost unbearable. I'm home alone and not sure what to do. All I've done is wrap two bandaids around it to keep dirt and germs away. I can't stomach to even look at it let alone touch it! If anything comes within 10 inches of it it starts to throb even worse.

I called my dad and he said I should probably see a doc about it but I'm hoping that I can take care of it on my own (no health insurance right now). I guess my main question is - when will this throbbing pain end? I've started to exercise and this has immobilized me big time! I can't even walk right because I can't put ANY pressure on my toe. There is definitely no wearing tennis shoes, or socks. I tried some dressy backless shoes and those don't even work because they grab the bandaid and pull on it. The only thing that works is thongs. I can't wear these to work. What to do? I'm kinda freaking out.

I took some Ibuprofin but it hasn't touched the pain. I know I sound like a big baby but I've never felt ongoing pain like this and I hate being immobilized. My dog can't even come around because I'm afraid she will step on it.

Hi chicksfan,

Yikes, sorry that happened to you!

It sounds like cleaning is really, really important. (I didn't want to do it to my daughter, either... it ended up going fine.) Plain water and mild soap (Ivory) seemed to hurt the least (hydrogen peroxide, even diluted, got her yelping.) She preferred very cold water.

It seems like in your situation you just kind of have to wear thongs to work or have a sick day -- do you have any dressier sandals than thongs?

Beyond the info and links here I don't have much else to add -- that absolutely sucks that you don't have health insurance now, though, because my overriding advice is to see a doctor. Perhaps you can just call and explain the situation? You may get good advice over the phone, or they can tell you how much it would cost for you to come in and have it checked out.

Infection is the main thing to worry about, so again clean it (or have someone clean it for you) and then put triple antibiotic ointment on it before you bandage it back up. (My advice, Thomas would disagree... ;-)

My daughter was mostly fine within a few hours, and now, a couple of weeks later, is completely 100% fine. It's kinda yucky to look at still, but we're not doing anything in particular -- no bandaids or ointment or anything -- and she's fine.

Oh one more thought, my doctor confirmed that chlorinated pools are good for disinfecting (though it's bad manners if it's like oozing -- my daughter got over the bleeding/ oozing phase pretty fast, though.)

Good luck!

regrowth of toenail
Do any of you know if a toenail can grow back wrong? My son's toenail came totally off while wrestling in college 3 months ago. It seems to be growing fine (about 3/4 so far...), but it looks like it may start to grow into the skin at the end of the toe. Will the skin giveway to the nail, or has anyone heard of it getting infected as it looks like it will grow right into the flesh...
Thanks

Tysmom--

Welcome to A2K.

Your son should see a doctor if there is any question about the replacement nail growing back abnormally.