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brent_e
Mar 4, 2005, 3:05 AM
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Seems as though mine has been ingrown for a while now and it bugs me when climbing. I presume that i'm not alone here. How much does the "procedure" hurt? How long will i be out of climbing/walking/not screaming from it???
Any advice is welcome!
Thanks
Brent
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nostalgia
Mar 4, 2005, 3:09 AM
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I'm not sure which procedure you mean. My doc wanted to jam novocaine needles in my toe. I told him to take a long walk off a short pier. He clipped them w/o anasthetic. I saw stars :) Wasn't as bad as you might think, but then I have a fairly high pain threshold. I just hate needles :shock:
Now I just keep them short. The night before I expect to do a lot of climbing I'll soak them for about a half hour in hot water. That makes them nice and pliable so I can pull them out and cut the sharp edges off without any pain. Works for me and keeps me away from the doc.
As a temporary fix I've jammed cotton between the edge of the nail and the flesh.
-Joe
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jebel_andi
Mar 4, 2005, 3:16 AM
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Ouch ! Ingrown toenails hurt and the procedure to remove them hurts to, there is no easy out. My advice to you is to remove the whole leg below the knee and climb Hugh Herr style, at least they put you out for amputations.
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buckyllama
Mar 4, 2005, 3:21 AM
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I used to get these constantly.
The procedure is basically just trimming the nail back on the ingrown side and ripping the bits out that are stuck in your toe. Then cleaning up the infected area really well and bandaging it up. This is all done under a local so you feel nothing until it wears off.
Recovery pain is related mostly to how bad the infection was. If it only hurts now when climbing, it won't hurt much. I've had them where even walking barefoot on carpet was agony. Recovery time is a week or two, again depending on how bad it was. It shouldn't keep you out of climbing for more than a week. Just make sure to bandage it properly, and if you have an old-streatched out pair of climbing shoes, wear those the first day back.
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mtnlvr
Mar 4, 2005, 3:23 AM
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Yeah....the "quick" fix is having a good trim by the doc. Only the first two shots of novocaine hurt.
I only wish that would've worked for me. I had to have my whole big toe nail removed when I was about 13. Actually that wasn't too bad. Something like 6 or 8 shots in the toe and then doc said "Lie back...you probably wont want to watch this."
Next thing I know I saw something fly across the room. It was my toe nail!! You know how you can make a pop tab fly off a can? That's pretty much what they do to remove your nail.
When they say "Don't remove the wrap from your toe for a few days"....listen to 'em. Talk about throbbing pain. Can you say elevate?
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brent_e
Mar 4, 2005, 3:27 AM
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In reply to: Yeah....the "quick" fix is having a good trim by the doc. Only the first two shots of novocaine hurt. I only wish that would've worked for me. I had to have my whole big toe nail removed when I was about 13. Actually that wasn't too bad. Something like 6 or 8 shots in the toe and then doc said "Lie back...you probably wont want to watch this." Next thing I know I saw something fly across the room. It was my toe nail!! You know how you can make a pop tab fly off a can? That's pretty much what they do to remove your nail. When they say "Don't remove the wrap from your toe for a few days"....listen to 'em. Talk about throbbing pain. Can you say elevate?
Well that's freakin' gross! (pop can reference). Made me cringe. Thanks all for the advice thus far. (there seems to be a couple other threads that are good, too..which i neglected to look at)
Brent
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dutyje
Mar 4, 2005, 3:59 AM
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Basically, you need to trim the nail as others have said, and dig out any bits of nail that still remain in the toe. This is a simple surgery. You could go to a doctor and have the advantage of their anesthetic to minimize your pain, but then you miss the whole learning experience.
True story, this is what I did to take care of mine. I have a nail grooming set with two different sizes of clippers, tweezers, a small knife, and a weird pointy pick with a file on it.
I cut the nail down towards the ingrown corner in a way that would allow me to rip out as much as possible progressing down the sides. With the right technique, you can use the clippers and tweezers to take off a perfect section that will free up the sides of your toe.
Now for the hard part -- removing what was left behind still embedded in the toe. I numbed my toe with alternating blasts of super-hot to super-cold water in the bathtub. Then, using a combination of the tweezers, pick, and knife, I dug around and extracted the leftover nail bits. Of course, the rudimentary anesthetic wears off within a few minutes, so be prepared to reapply (always finish on super-cold) before you continue and keep a towel handy because it's a little tough to see nail bits if your toe is too wet.
Anyway, after a little persistence and a little blood, you can take care of matters in this simple home surgery. Finish by wrapping the toe with gauze and tape. Change every couple days and you'll be healed within 2 weeks. Whatever you do, don't "repeat" the surgery until you've given the nail a chance to grow in properly. Take good care of it and nurse it into growing out by giving it a good soak and a lift twice a day.
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gunksgoer
Mar 4, 2005, 4:07 AM
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i got a "severe" one a couple summers ago from my climbing shoes (was spending lots of time in them and my feet wernt happy in general then anyways). first i didnt realize the problem was with the toenail, since my whole toe turned red and would sting like crazy with the touch of a finger. after a few days of limping, i figured out that the noenail was the problem, and a puss filled area formed under the skin at the edge of where the nail was digging in. the puss filled area was only about the size of the "o" in the rockclimbing.com logo, but that thing held LOTS of puss. it wasnt cool.
treatment was (reccomended by a nurse and doctor) soaking my foot in warm water w/ soap and iodine, and then thrusting a needle 1/8" or more into the area and draining all the puss. no painkiller or anything, they didnt feel like giving me any, it hurt like crazy - an eigth of an inch seems alot farther than normal when its measure how deep to stab yourself. once i had the puss area opened, id need to squeeze all the junk out, wich was far worse then using the needle because of the sensitive nature of my toe.
after about 6 or 8 days of this treatment (after breakfast, before dinner, and sometimes after lunch) it was finally gone. i havnt gotten another one yet (knock on wood) and id be perfectly happy if i never got one again. It hurt worse then incut V6 microcrimpers in the cold...
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anykineclimb
Mar 4, 2005, 4:23 AM
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I've actually done the proceedure (not on myself) and ya know, it didn't hurt a bit! But seriously, its not too bad as long as whoever doing ensures the anesthetic is working.
Once its done, make sure to keep your toenail trimmed BUT be sure to cut them straight across. look around and you'll find toenail clipper with a straight front. When you cut them curved, it gives them the chance to dig in as the grow. Then you get to see me an giant clippers and pliers again.
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mtnlvr
Mar 4, 2005, 4:29 AM
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gunksgoer, that reminds me of another fine memory.
Speaking of the puss-filled toe, I had that with my ingrown nail at some point as well. I remember staying at my older sisters place. We had the usual brother / sister relationship growing up.....she's 6 years older than I......lots of nagging and trying to piss each other off.
Well, she wanted to "look" at my toe. I cautiously obliged. She cradled my foot and the squeeeeeeeezed the crap out of my poor swoollen toe to which my response was a quick slap across her face. My hand got there even before the puss from my toe did!
She still brings that up almost 15 years later.
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buckyllama
Mar 4, 2005, 2:57 PM
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Lol, love the pop-can reference.
I've had the same thing done. They cut away the whole toenail and then cut into the cuticle and reshaped it so it wouldn't get ingrown again. It worked for about 9 months, which was a record for me.
After that I started doing my own surgery. For even better cooling of the toe, mix salt in with the ice water. It makes it colder. Also add a touch of bleach to the mix (just a capful or so) to keep it more sterile.
Oh yeah, rum is your friend. You'd be surprised how much 2 shots dulls pain even if it doesn't affect motor skills much.
The biggest problem is the huge gaping hole in your toe once the infection heals up. Talk about toe-gunk. Keep it clean.
Eventually I had done/had this surgery done so many times that my toenails barely grow at all and are just kind of misshapen lumps of hard tissue. Which is fine by me because they don't hurt anymore.
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servantsheart
Mar 4, 2005, 3:12 PM
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If it isn't too bad, one thing that you can do is soak your foot in epsom salt mixed with warm water. Move the skin back and pull the cuticles back away from the nail. just enough that the edge of the nail is revealed. Also, to releive some of the pressure, that swelling around the area is actually filled with puss. Work at it and try to remove the puss. It is painful, but much less painful when soaked in the water. This happens to me often. Another way to prevent this is to cut the nail flat across and don't cut the sides back beyond the skin. I often try too keep it trimed too short. I hope this helps.
and I believe giving this a try would be worth it...
epsom salt: $3.00
surgery: $a lot!
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all_that_is_rock
Mar 4, 2005, 3:24 PM
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Just ignore it and eventually the whole toe will fall off :righton: seriously: I heard a few people say they did the surgery themself, and this is what I do. just use nail clipper and a scalple. buckyllama's advise about the rum was good too. I dont have either little toe nail due to climbing. I lost one when I took a big whiper and smashed it back (like the beer can referance) and I got a blister underneath one the first pitch of an 8 pitch climb :wtf: that really sucked but I was in Austrailia and damn sure not about to give up a day of climbing after I had come halfway around the world.
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gblauer
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Mar 4, 2005, 3:53 PM
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Alas, I used to perform self mutilation...I mean surgery...until I found a non-invasive MIRACLE!
I have suffered from ingrown toe nails for as long as I can remember. I recently purchased a product called "nailease" available at http://www.nailease.com
It is a carbon fiber brace that you glue to your nail (and re-glue if it falls off) for several weeks. It helps brace your nail and keeps it from digging in while you get the chance to grow out your nail. Once grown out, you will not suffer from the pain. I have been able to grow out my right big toe, it is now painless. I am working on my left.
Seriously, this is the ONLY remedy that helped me. My toes hurt so much after a few days of climbing that I could barely stick them in my climbing shoes. Those days are OVER!
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bc2planker
Mar 4, 2005, 4:03 PM
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I had a badly ingrown nail in my big toe several years ago. To deal with it, I had the doc freeze the toe, then he cut the nail pretty much down the middle, then ripped out the ingrown half. It had grown about 2mm into the side of my toe. Then he put some sort of chemical to on the skin that has stopped the nail from ever bonding to skin in that area again.... so now I can trim the area with no pain at all.
I am blessed with fat toes, and narrow nails, so they grow into the edge very easy. Since the procedure with the doc, I have always trimed my nails so the nail edges are growing past the side of my toe. (basically cut square, instead of rounded).
Anotehr tip he gave me, which seems to work well, is to cut a small 'V' in the middle of the nail.... This causes the nail to grow in a direction to fill in the V, and thus away from the edges.
Anytime my nails have got close to the edge, and become sensitive... I give it a good soak, then pack some tissue paper between the nail & skin. This seems to clear it up quickly.
Good luck.
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wonderwoman
Mar 4, 2005, 5:24 PM
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The procedure doesn't hurt... It's the aftermath! You will probably be climbing within 2 weeks. But if I had to do it again, I would ask for pain killers for the morning after.
A helpful hint: Soak your foot before taking off your bandage. Adhesive and gauze on raw flesh is a bitch to take off. I wish someone had told me that.
I have an account of my whole ordeal in 'The saga of my mutant toe' here:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...&topic_view=&start=0
good luck, and I'm sorry about your poor toe! :cry:
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icarus_burned
Mar 4, 2005, 6:34 PM
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im out of climbing for the moment in recovery from an ingrown toenail operation, they said there would be extreme pain but there wasnt
there is however a good 1/4 of my toes missing and its a raw open wound. that was 2 weeks ago and its still bleeding profusely
i think they made a fuck up on this one as i have no feeling in the wound area and its still bleeding (think nicked veins and a nerve)it will be about another 3 weeks before i can even look at my climbing shoes. but at least the problem wont be back.
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carrotclimber
Mar 4, 2005, 6:50 PM
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I have gotten bad ingrown toenails since back when I played high school soccer, like 12 years ago. I would take off my soccer shoes and the tip of my sock would just be soaked with blood. I have had the surgery once, and performed the self surgery many times as well, and my advice is this...
The epsom salt thing that servantsheart mentioned really helps. Another thing that helps a lot is cutting a 'V' into the middle of the top edge of your toenail. This sounds strange, but what it does is it relieves some of the pressure on the outer side edges of the nail (where it wants to dig into the skin and do it's nastiness). I guess it kind of lifts up the edges? I am not sure about the actual physics of it. When I feel one starting to come on, I soak it in the warm water and epsom salt, and then I make sure that the toenail is cut strait across the top (not rounded down towards the corners) and then I cut the little 'V' out of the tip. I am telling you... it has worked wonders for me... since I started using this method a few years ago, I have not had to perform the "surgery" that everyone is talking about on myself.
Good luck.
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crankmas
Mar 4, 2005, 7:03 PM
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need the proper equipment, I have a three bladed Buck pocket knife which has a shorter rigid blade, with this blade I can cut through the nail and them fold it over (leverage the nail outwards) and if need be use some hemastats to remove it, cake magake
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pomattic
Mar 4, 2005, 7:04 PM
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Man i just had an 0operation done on my toe nail too.. ingrown.. and it wa pathetic..
i had a buddy who had it done and this guy tlaked bout how much pain he was in.. for me the only pain was during the operation cause the guy didnt have the toe fully drugged...
afterward... the day after i went skiing.. no pain..
a week after i went climbing no pain throughout the whole thing!!... it overrated .. there wa snevr any pain!!!
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sspssp
Mar 4, 2005, 7:06 PM
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I have had a series of problems with ingrown toenails on both big toes. I finally had to have something done on one of them. The doc said he could remove about a third of the nail down the side (which would not grow back) or he could remove the whole thing. He said the only down side to removing it all was looks. I elected to remove the whole thing so I wouldn't ever have a problem again.
It took about 4 weeks of soaking twice a day to heal (no climbing), but after that, absolutely no problem and I didn't find the procedure or healing painful. In fact, I wish I had done both big toes at the same time as the only down side was the 4 weeks of healing which would have been the same if I had both toes done at once.
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wonderwoman
Mar 4, 2005, 7:28 PM
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In reply to: I didn't find the procedure or healing painful. In fact, I wish I had done both big toes at the same time as the only down side was the 4 weeks of healing which would have been the same if I had both toes done at once.
WOW!! :shock:
I could barely walk with one toe done. Either I am a total wimp or my doc was a sadistic bastard and did a really bad job.
This guy should ask for drugs. Even if he doesn't need them, it's always good to have the option to kill the pain if it comes.
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pdub
Mar 4, 2005, 7:42 PM
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I am an athletic trainer at the university of new mexico and here we just take some guass and shove it under the nail where it is ingrown. I'm shure it hurts like a mfer but in a few days the pain is gone. Then just make sure that you cut the nail strate across so the corrners dont have a chance to grow back into the toe.
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cgranite
Mar 4, 2005, 7:57 PM
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Ingrown toenails can become a real issue. I needed to go to a Podiatrist once and he fixed the problem fairly quick. Of course he numbed my toe with shots, but that was the only painful part,...tell latter that night. This was a serous situation though, since my toenail decided to grow sideways.
I do suggest the Podiatrist if you are having trouble dealing with it yourself.
The Doctor said there like cavities to his field of work.
If you do go to the doctor, you will never have the problem again,...unless you keep cutting nail back to far for many years.
If you do it yourself, I suggest you soak your foot in warm water with Epsom salt(as hot as you can stand it). Then after some time pullout your foot and get under the toenail with the file to your clippers. Lift up the ingrown nail and clip it. Yes, it hearts, but it will usually work.
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enchanted
Mar 4, 2005, 8:09 PM
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I just cut the skin off on the sides of the nail so that the nail can't catch. If it ever does I soak the foot and jam cotton underneath to lift it out. Keep the edges of your nails square so they don't get the opportunity to catch.
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