Surgery and Treatment Options for Ingrown Big Toe

2-27-05 | Oceanperch

[oceanperch]

Need Freeper input. Next week King Vanity is scheduled to have the routine nail split and pull for a bothersome infected ingrown toe nail.

Is there any other new treatments out there?

He cannot control flailing movements and the thought of him kicking after the treatment is making me cringe.

Also soaking his foot after is impossible as he moves like a fish out of water.

He literally wears hi top Converse shoes in the shower which are strapped down to his foot plates in order to keep him from kicking and thrashing around to avoid injury.

I then wash his feet seperate when I lay him down in bed to finish grooming. Very Biblical. LOL

So with that discription of the wild man having his big toe heal is not going to be easy.

He is on antibiotics now to fight the infection untill the appt. to have the nail split and pulled which they have to put him to sleep because he is a moving target.

So I would very much appreciate any help to heal his toe without the routine way Doctors do it.

Right now his health is perfect so is the weather and he is up and going just about everyday with a full sched. and I want to keep it that way as long as possible untill the dreaded winter public viruses start and I have to quarentine him or deal with th consequenses of his medically frail body coping with viral junk.

Thanks ahead of time, I have faith someone will have an alternative method.

[oceanperch]

This is a Oregon need as someone may know of a Doctor who does alternative treatment in this area.

Will you please Ping it out for us?

[pissant]

WHen I was a kid, I had to get my big toe nail yanked. Three shots into the bone of the toe. Not fun.

[hflynn]

There is an over the counter product called Outgrow which I have found to be absolutely fantastic for treating ingrown toenails. It has worked for me even when the toe was badly infected.

[oceanperch]

Ya know I change out his trach and replace his feeding peg amongst other things and can easily remove myself from the situation as a Mom.

However the whole big toe thing has me doing spastic cringing. LOL

I recieved a private freep mail that was very direct and informative on the subject so I am at ease knowing the "big" picture of proceedure and how I will approach after care.

Man my own big toe is throbbing just discussing this.

Of all the things he deals with related to his disablility I am thinking Just Da...not the the big Toe thingy.

I have known people who had the nail removed permantly too.

[hflynn]

Make that product Outgro not Outgrow. It's over the counter and is carried by CVS, etc

[HairOfTheDog]

I think getting the nail out and the infection gone will heal it for you... the need for soaking and lots of messing with it probably doesn't have to be too bad.

Ask your doctor about how to trim it in the future so it doesn't happen again... I used to have this trouble and it does hurt!

[Petronski]

God bless you OP. You have more on your plate than I can imagine handling.

I don't have any info on the toe thing, but I wanted to offer some support.

[tet68]

Removed permanently.

Yep that's me, how old is the patient?
It's no fun and the foot needs to be kept ELEVATED
and I mean KEPT . I had to work on my feet and it
made a grown man cry.
Don't miss it a bit now though, except I only get to
paint 9 toenails red now.

My other big toe is even worse , as a wacko dr. tried
to "cure" it when I was a teen ager, by cutting the
root but I've learned to let it grow out and never
clip it short and it does ok.

My sympathies to the patient.

[oceanperch]

Back atcha.

Thank you.

[oceanperch]

I have always down the V groove but on King Vanity he kicks uncontrolled and even on his soft waterbed with socks on will break his toe nails off.

Hence the socks as he would shred his calves with the uncontrolled movement in those feet flew uncovered.

What really bums me is this is his "healthy" time of the year and is out and about except for days like today where he sleeps most of the day to re energize to go out and mix it up again. The winter virus months he is more homebound because either he caught something that goes pulmonary or I take him out of circulation to avoid what ever is plaguing the local community.

I am going to get the fancy ortho foot covering or something so he can still be out and about if at all possible.

He normally has his feet strapped to a custom footplate/shoe holders that is not in a fixed position so he can planter flex/hyper extended movements of his feet. He is so strong in movement that the foot board would break off if it didn't give.

Quickie wheelchair guarantees their frame for life and he has broke a frame in the past do to sheer strength of hyper extending.

[HairOfTheDog]

I sympathize... it's bad enough when I try to hold the dogs down for tail trimmings, LOL

I sure hope it clears up so that he can be out and about.

[HairOfTheDog]

errr... it's bad enough when I try to hold the dogs down for NAIL trimmings, LOL

Tail trimmings would be worse for them ;~D

[freebird5850]

I stubbed my toe once, thought I was going to lose the nail, then it seemed to get better, so one night I was rubbing it and massaging my toe and POW! the skin near the white part of the nail split and this horrendous mass erupted from it. After that I noticed the nail was loose, I got a shot of Jack Daniels and pried the remaining nail off with needle-nosed pliers.

[oceanperch]

LOL that mis post made me cringe too. LOL Glad you cleared that up as I am sure the Dalabrador would be too.

I hear ya on the nail clippings I take the boyz in to the vet assistant for theirs.

Never could practice enough to get the knack of that.

I have had two FReep mail replys from the pros and now can chill and get back to enjoying the rare summer days here on the Oregon Coast.

Two days I had to leave the two new labs home with the 11yr old out on the deck for the first time due to the heat and was soooooo thrilled to come home and find everything in it's place.

Just long faces. : )

[boris]

It really is no big deal. A local anasthetic can be used; there is no pain afterward. Note: scrupulous antisepsis is vital--especially in diabetics (like me). I almost lost a toe to osteomyelitis after a "routine" toenail resection.

Make sure they kill the root with phenol to prevent recurrence.

--Boris

P.S. Somebody is a big sissy. Ask me about my heart operation.

[oceanperch]

Thanks I already do excellant care on his two stoma sites and compulsive on his overall hygeine so adding the Big Toe in the mix will be no problem.

I shared all the info with him and he can't wait to get some relief.