Had an ingrown nail dug out today. Ask me anything!

[Orrex]

The answer will likely be a Vicodin-addled gurgling noise, but you're welcome to try your luck.

[nolabear]

1. Is it okay if I just faint over here in this corner?

The very thought makes me woozy.

[Orrex]

4. It was quite an experience

Remarkably painful after the fact, too.

I mean, I knew that it would hurt, but I didn't expect it to [font color=dark red][font size=20]HURT!!![/font][/font]

[nolabear]

7. Not to laugh at your pain but

It looks really funny when followed by "click here to purchase valentine hearts".

[mokawanis]

2. Did it hurt when they dug it out?

Did you watch the procedure?

[Orrex]

3. They numbed me up, but I could still feel some of it

A mild but unmistakable "sharpness" when he wedged the nail out, and a distinct burning feeling when he cauterized the area with silver nitrate.

I'm not particularly squeamish, but he urged me not to watch, since I had to drive myself home afterward. He didn't want me vomiting/passing out before getting behind the wheel, I suppose.

[Dr. Strange]

5. What were Ellen and Tigh doing during the events of the short-lived Caprica series?

[Orrex]

6. I blame George Lucas

[Curmudgeoness]

8. I am not sure if this is better or worse than doing it myself.

I am in tears every time I have to cut my ingrown toenail out, but I haven't had the nerve to have a professional do it. And since my sister had one cut out, and it came back just the same as before, I am not sure it is worth it.

So.......would you do it again? Or just deal with it yourself? Is this supposed to take care of it forever?

Oops. That is probably too many questions.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

17. I had a toenail that was starting to become ingrown...

I used to go for a pedicure every couple of week and the pedicurist gently wedged a bit of sterile cotton between the nail and the skin... no more problems...that was 15 years ago at least.

[Curmudgeoness]

18. Do you still have to do that occasionally?

I have seen my sister do that. She says she has to do it often. I think that the doc she went to for the surgery on the nail told her about it.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

22. No, I haven't needed it for years...

But then I live in FL and hardly ever wear closed shoes.... She put the cotton in and replaced it every once in a while...and finally I just didn't need it any longer. If I see the nail is starting to grow inwards a bit I take a file to it...maybe once or twice a year. I use one of those 'ceramic' files...

[Orrex]

20. The doctor indicated that it was too far gone for me to fix it myself

I tried the wedge of cotton, but it was only a temporary cure. I did a 10-day course of antibiotics last month, and it helped, but not enough to let me work the nail out. So to the doctor I went.

It was a fairly aggressive treatment, with the doctor cutting a chunk nail from either side. he expressed optimism about my recovery.

If I found myself in this situation once more, I would probably go through with the procedure again. I was dealing with pretty serious discomfort on a daily basis, so a few days of excruciating pain will be worth it if it means that I can heal.

We'll see!

[Curmudgeoness]

25. That word.....excruciating.

For some reason, that ruins it for me.

Yes, I can be quite a baby. So what!

[mrmpa]

9. No question, just a story my dad told me about such an experience.............

My Dad was in the Marine Corps and a buddy of his had an ingrown toenail, could barely walk (not a good thing when in the Corps). His buddy also hated Doctors, but as only my Dad could do, he talked his buddy into going to see a Doctor. My Dad went with him.

My Dad waited for him in the waiting room, when all of a sudden my Dad hears yelling, screaming and furniture being overthrown in the room his buddy was in. My Dad jumped up, ran into the room, wondering if his buddy had started fighting the Doctor. What my Dad saw was, blood everywhere, the examining table overturned, his buddy crying and the Doctor holding up the nail in the scissors with a gleeful look on his face.

The Doctor did not even use a local anesthetic. Dad's buddy didn't talk to my him for about a week, but he could walk again.

[Puzzledtraveller]

10. Did you eat it?

[narnian60]

12. Say WHAAAT??

[Puzzledtraveller]

14. It was the first question that popped into my mind, they said ask anything.

[narnian60]

16. Hahaha. You are a nut!

[Orrex]

21. No, but...

I asked the doctor if I could keep the two nail bits to make cufflinks.

He said he didn't think it was a good idea. Go figure!

[lastlib]

11. Hope you didn't have the doctor I had for mine--

I think he got his medical degree from the Josef Mengele School of Medicine and Gestapo Torture Methods.

[Generic Brad]

13. How did they dig it out?

Spade? Crowbar? A Rube Goldberg device?

[Puzzledtraveller]

15. Nano-machines

[Orrex]

24. Something like a hemostat, to judge from the clicking

I didn't watch very closely, alas...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. from now on cut your toenail in a V this will help to prevent the toenail being ingrown.

feel better soon and please share the vicodin

[Orrex]

23. I was given Vicodin for a toothache about a year ago

Surprisingly, it had almost no effect, and I wound up only taking two of the ten-pill prescription. Ibuprofen actually worked better in that case.

This time, though, the Vic is like magic. It reduces it from soul-searing agony to mind-numbing pain. Success!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

26. Yay!!

<----don't do this while on vicodin

[blogslut]

28. This works

Cut out a "V" in the middle of the free edge of the nail. Takes the pressure off. Also, in the future, never, never, never file down the outside edges of toenails. Leave them straight across.

[Orrex]

27. Ok, a follow up

Still smarts like crazy, but now it feels like it's healing, rather than the ache of perpetual wrongness that I'd grown to know over the past few months. Not pretty, either. I can post pics for anyone eager to regurgitate.

Good news is that I only had to take two of the Vicodin, one right after I got home from the procedure, and one before bed that night. Since then I've taken a few hits of ibuprofen, but overall it's been pretty manageable.

Let's pretend that this whole unpleasant episode never happened.

[LiberalFighter]

29. I rip and pull mine out.

Bleeds a little sometimes. A bit of pain.

[Trailrider1951]

30. OUCH! Those things are PAINFUL!

I have found that keeping my big toenails clipped short helps, using a regular toenail clipper, and I use a cuticle clipper to remove the sides of the nail from digging into the skin on the sides of the nail. I have to clip them about every two to three weeks, and this "routine maintenance" is far less painful than dealing with a fully ingrown and inflamed nail. Much cheaper than a doctor as well. Here is a picture of the cuticle clipper I use:



I bought it at a pharmacy for about $2. Hope this helps!

[Orrex]

31. Thanks for the suggestion!

I actually have a big meat cleaver that weighs about three pounds and dates from the early 20th century. If it gets bad again, I'll probably use it to lop off my foot at the ankle.

Less pain and hassle, I'm sure!

[yellowcanine]

32. What color was it?

[TZ]

33. Have you tried

Having your Shakra fixed? I bet that would help your poor foot...

[shanti]

34. i want this done myself

on both big toes, which have been ingrown for YEARS. i've never liked long toenails and as a kid, used to pick them down. now they are both totally ingrown on the inner side. i'm going to the doc soon and will ask her to recommend me for the podiatrist to have them done. i usually maintain them myself, after a shower is best when everything is nice and soft. i use a seam ripper, which is thin, flat, and pointed. it's such a relief, but you really can't tell if you got all of the sliver out.

did your doctor take a slice along the side, all down to the nail bed, and then kill the bed? supposedly, that's the only way to make sure it doesn't grow back. then you're left with narrow toenails, but that's ok with me!

they don't do both at once, right? that would seem pretty unmanageable....

[Orrex]

35. It was two cuts on the same nail

I'm left with a sort of trapezoid thing going on, presumably in the hope that I can guide it back into proper growth if I work from this more or less fresh start.

The whole affair has left me wondering why we bother with toenails anyway. It's not as though I can defend myself with them or use them to climb trees. Better to get rid of them entirely, I say!