Treating A Bruised Toenail?

Pinkle

Member
I stumped my toe last week so bad that the nail has mostly pulled away from the toe. Now it's black and bruised (the nail, not the toe) and I was wondering how I should treat it. Is there anything I can do or do I just have to let it grow out?
 

Luvkenny

Member
Can you cut it away from your toe? It sounds like it is going to fall off but you might be able to cut part of it away. If you don't the nail might catch on your sock and pull off. That would hurt.
 

WillieR

New Member
Ouch! I feel for you. I had to have my two big toenails removed a long time ago and it wasn't the most comfortable procedure ever. I would cut it back too, in order to avoid it being pulled and causing more pain.
 

Lyra

Member
I can tell you what we do at our house. Take a tiny drill bit and use your fingers to rotate it into the nail until you "drill" a tiny hole. Do this directly over the black spot. This will relieve the pressure by allowing the old blood to come out from under the nail. It sounds gruesome and painful, but it really isn't. Just get someone with a strong stomach to help you out if you can't reach for yourself.
 

SoftRain

Member
Lyra, that does sound disgusting. I don't think I could do it.

My 18 month old daughter has black bruises on one of her thumb nails; I guess the cuticle was hit hard. I don't know how long it will take to heal but I don't think I could handle taking a drill to it.
 

aunaturel

Member
Oh, my goodness, Lyra! I can't even imagine doing that. Pinkle, it sounds like the nail will likely come off on its own. You can try clipping it, if you can, or perhaps wrap it with a bandage or gauze strip to keep it from catching on stuff until it does.
 

Trudy

Member
For those of you who have had your toenail come off completely, does it grow back? The podiatrist trimmed my husband's nail halfway off, but it grew back just fine. I've heard that it's possible to take the entire nail off.
 

Pinkle

Member
Thanks for all the input everyone. I clipped it as far down as I could, but that didn't completely clip the damaged nail, so I guess the rest of it will either fall off or grow out now. I've heard of the drilling concept before but it didn't even occur to me this time, else I probably would have had the hubby do that for me. It throbbed for days after I stumped it and has only recently receded.
 
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