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Big toenail stopped growing, mild pain

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by Unregistered, Feb 8, 2012.

  1. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest


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    My toenail stopped growing after a home pedicure in June 2012. I had no pain with it, it just stopped growing after I cut it too short I guess. I might have bruised it days prior but I had been trying to remember and couldn't. Anyway, I made an appointment with my primary and she couldn't find anything wrong with my toenail. No discoloration or fungus. My toenail is yellow but that's from all the dye in nail polish and I've had my nails painted 24/7 for 10 years so I doubt nail polish had anything to do with this..guess we will find out soon though because I just painted my toenails with the same polish I used in June! As I was taking off my old polish earlier, I noticed a cut mark on my nail. I thought I might have scraped my nail with that pesky toe gunk digger thing but nope, it is from side to side, old and new. I'm terrified that with my toddler walking on the tops of my feet all the time that its going to fall off! I'm 25 years old, I can't have a missing toenail in "winter" in Texas!

    Just keep an eye on it, if it doesn't start growing within a few months, see a doctor or get a recommendation to see a foot doctor!
     
  2. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I am having the same problem! I had surgery on my right pinky toe in September and everything was fine until about 6 weeks later. My right, big toe nail has stopped growing, there is no cuticle and it's puffy and sore. There are very few shoes I can wear that are comfortable. I went to the doctor and he said he didn't know what it was, but it isn't infection. He suggested I go back to the podiatrist who did my surgery.
     
  3. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I had the same issue. The Dr said it could have been from running as the toe hits the sneaker or an infection. Mine had gotten loose too. I ended up having a partial removal of the whole nail and he prescribed a polish that kills fungus. It is now growing back very slowly. Yellowish means a fungus and it can spread to the other toes too. I suggest the Dr to get the polish and make sure you don't need it removed.
     
  4. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Same problem here. Am going to the podiatrist tomorrow and will report back.
     
  5. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    The same thing has happened to me twice. The first time I was pregnant, and thought it was some freaky thing that happened because of the pregnancy. The second time...on the same toe, I decided to go to the doctor. He looked at it and took a scraping. It was not a fungus or ingrown toenail. Both times the toenail just decided one day to start growing. I would say it lasted about two months. There was only mild discomfort and swelling around the base. My suggestion is to wait it out and try not to wear any tight shoes...they sure can hurt.
     
  6. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I have the exact same problem, it feels like my toe nails are being shoved back into my two big toes. I even had a "tickling" feeling in my right big toe one night that drove me nuts. I wear sensible shoes daily, rarely do I wear heals or anything that binds. I too will try tea tree, my mother is an herbalist.
     
  7. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Well, unfortunately the podiatrist said he didn't know what was causing it! So I bought some tea tree oil in an oil-based mixture but so far nothing has changed. It's a mystery...
     
  8. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Well, I have the exact same problem as the OP--no amount of googling has come up with any answers, just this forum in which we are all apparently experiencing the same mysterious symptom.

    About two months ago I noticed slight pain when pressure was applied at the base of my big toenail, right foot. It seemed to be worse at night, or perhaps it was just that I rub my feet together in bed and that's when I noticed it.

    Examination revealed that the skin where the nail base goes into the toe was SLIGHTLY inflamed--like there was a bit of puffyness right on the edge, and a slight "space" between the nail and the skin." The other foot looks normal, the skin lays flat at the base of the nail.

    Then, I noticed when I went to cut my toenails that the nail had not grown at ALL--very odd to say the least, nothing else looks different.

    I do wear socks almost all the time, but I make sure they are always dry and clean--and I use an athlete's foot powder spray with myconozol(sp) when I get out of the shower before putting socks on--have done this since before I even noticed any problems with the big toenail because I had athlete's foot a long time ago and just stuck with the habit of giving my feet a spray for prevention.

    I've had an ingrown nail on this same foot before--but it was just on the outside edge, about 5 years ago, and part of the nail was excised, haven't had any problems since then. May have been some slight irritation in this area in the month before I noticed the puffyness/pain, is it possible there was a slight ingrowth at that point that opened a path to infection deeper into the toe? It certainly doesn't seem like an ingrown nail at the moment, and it doesn't show the common signs of a fungal infection.

    So confused, hopefully somebody will get a diagnosis and share it soon. I doubt the clinicians at my student health service will be of any use there.

    Signed,

    Myrightbigtoenailstoppedgrowingandissoreatthebase.

    Additional Facts:

    No trauma to the toe
    Wears Shoes with roomy toeboxes--nothing tight
    No exposure to gyms/nail salons/outside vectors
    No underlying conditions that I Know of besides my IBS (digestive)
    Omeprazole (prilosec) 2x a day is the only medication.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2013
  9. Patricia

    Patricia Guest

    I too have been suffering from the same symptoms. I went to the podiatrist a few days ago and she said I did damage to the root of my big toe nail by wearing shoes that pressed down too much. She said that I need to soak the foot each day in Epsom Salts for 15 minutes, and also use antibacterial ointment. She said this toe nail will eventually fall off, and the pain is caused by the new nail growing in from the base. Hopefully it will not get infected during this time. She said it will take almost 9 months for the new nail to come in! In the meantime I am wearing very comfortable shoes so I don't make it any worse. I hope this information helps!
     
  10. I too have been suffering. Left big toe, about 2 - 3 months. I do not wear tight shoes, but i do wear socks almost all the time.

    In have found that if i apply a generous amount of tea tree cream and cover with a breathable plaster so that the cream does not rub off, the pain seems to lessen. I intend to keep this up having read the other posts, and will see how i get on. But so far no nail regrowth!

    I decided to post on here tho as i too have been taking omeprazole, as per post on 15th feb 2013, this was due to other meds taken. I have since stopped these meds, but only about 3 weeks ago.

    Will update if symptoms improve.

    Here's hoping!
     
  11. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    WOW! I did not realize so many others were experiencing the same thing! I have the exact same symptoms as many others on here - big toe on left foot is not growing, swollen cuticle, mild pain and inflammation, and no trauma to the toe. I see that many are recommending tea tree oil and epsom salt baths...as a follow up - how are those working for you?
    I'm a 33 year old male who rarely, if ever, goes to the doctor, so (stereotypically) the thought of having to go to the doctor for a toe issue seems a bit much...however, I do enjoy wearing open-toed sandals in the summer, and while my feet are nice-looking for a guy (I take good care of my feet), I don't want to show off a messed-up toe like this.
     
  12. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I had the exact same problem for a couple of months. Tea tree oil didn't work, antibiotic cream didn't work, alcohol didn't work. Podiatrist said he didn't know what it was. I finally took some antibiotics left over from when I had a tooth pulled last year and it knocked it.
     
  13. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Two years back I had a similar problem.
    Pain around my big toenail(left) the cuticle hurt a little, then mildly, never too badly.
    Not long after the symtoms surfaced, pus would come out from under the cuticle. Not overly much, but not a little either.
    Soon my nail changed color, from a fleshy pink to a yellow and red, maybe even black here and there.
    I saw my primary about it and he put me on antibiodics to treat it, though he wasn't sure what it was.
    It seemed to have cleared up for a bit after that, no pain, no pus. Shortly after I thought I was better, everything came back. More antibiodics, no results, pain and pus.
    I tried soaking it in warm water, epsom salt water, white vinegar, white vinegar and water, nothing happened.
    My primary eventually had me soak my foot in bleach, not much, though I sadly don't remember how much bleach to how much water. Nothing happened except my foot smelled like bleach.
    After more meds and no results and fungus cream, I got a referral to some other doctor.

    He put me on another, stronger fungus cream, but nothing happened. My nail seemed to grow looser and looked very bad. I had a MRI done and an X-ray to find out what was wrong.
    They discovered a cyst and set up a date to romove it, including my nail.
    All went according to plan and I didn't need stitches, every since then my nail has been fine.
    The new nail that grew to replace the old one that had been removed, looks different than my other nails, its even a little thicker and has to be cut carefully. All in all, it hasn't caused me trouble since.

    Two years later my right big toe is acting in much the same manner.
    Pain around the cuticle, stopped growing. The pain is sometimes like stinging, all around unpleasant.
    It has been this way for about a month now, and it has indeed gotten worse over the short time span.
    The outer edge of my nail is yellow, but it has been that way from two years ago when my other nail was causing an issues. At that time, both nails were acting the same, but the left one was worse and the right one got better.
    I don't understand why my right one is doing this again. I keep my feet clean and change my socks daily, even more if they get sweaty.

    I'm going to pick up tea tree oil today if I can, and use it everynight before bed. I hope it will help so I can avoid another surgery.
    I'm also hoping to see my doctor soon, maybe he can figure it out? Hopefully the oil will help and I want have to see that specialist ever again.

    Fifteen year old female who resides in the North-East
     
  14. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Both of my big toes are doing the same thing right now. The nail has stopped growing, there is a little pain at the base of the nail, but no puss or redness.

    However, what it is interesting is that this is my 2nd round of this. The first round happened right after I came home from the hospital from having a baby. So, I chalked it up to getting a fungus from the shower there. It was just on one big toe. And eventually, puss (sorry, gross, I know) was seeping from around the nail bed. But I soaked my foot in epsom salt and it healed up... looked like it was going to recover. The nail did die and a new one came in.

    Now, that was about 17 months ago, and I started waking up with pain in both of my big toes. I thought it was the start of arthritis, but my nails have sucked back down again and stopped growing. Hoping someone on here had the magic answer to how to fix it. :)
     
  15. Dude whats up with my toe nail. I mean its kinda cool because the polish stays perfect, but it hurts and is kinda swollen. so i guess its not cool haha. someone help :) does the tree oil stuff help it grow too?
     
  16. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    In November the same thing began to happen. Both of my big toe nail beds became incredibly painful to the touch without any Physical sign of infection. I tought it was a new pair of uggs I was wearing so I stopped wearing them. In December when the pain didn't go away I went to a podiatrist and they took X-rays and ruled anything serious out. They gve me anti fungal meds and they did nothing. Went back and the dr thought he felt a hematoma and cut my cuticle open to relieve any pressure. It did nothing but hurt! I was 4 mths pregnant at the time. I left there in tears limping and sought a second opinion. Another podiatrist told me it was an inflammation of the nail bed and the only cure is to remove the nail. I told him I was going to Jamaica for vacation and he said maybe the salt water would help. Again it did nothing! Months went by and the pain did subside after about 4 months. Just now both big toe nails are beginning to grow. But if I pull the cuticle back I can see the end of the nail. I'm not sure what it means... Is it growing out to fall off? It's not painful but if I mess around with the cuticle I can feel some pain do I've left it alone. I've done the tea tree oil and I've felt that sometimes it helped pain but overall not really. My toes may be growing bc the weather is getting nicer and I'm able to wear flip flops and let them breathe more. Anyway I will try to keep everyone posted of I find anything out.
     
  17. guestMay

    guestMay Guest

    Your posts have proven most educational because I know no one else with this toenail problem. And the podiatrist I visited said the toe must have suffered some sort of trauma, but I'm unaware of such a thing happening to only my big toes.
    What I have found over the past two years is that once spring arrives, both toenails return to normal growth and the slight swelling and tenderness on their periphery disappears.
    I attribute the improvement to better air circulation at night. During the winter I wear cotton socks at night and nylon kneehighs all day. But as soon as the temperature climbs to 50 and above at night, I dispense with the socks and go barefoot.
    This is the second spring I've noticed the same toenails return to normal.
    I hope you all experience some improvement soon!
     
  18. robertharris750

    robertharris750 New Member

    Keep your toenails dry. If its bothering you while walking just warp it up. Wait for few days to see if its growing or falling off.
     
  19. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I had the same problem - toenail stopped growing, swelling around cuticle. It turned out to be something called 'paronychia', essentially a bacterial infection between the nail base and overlying skin. Antibiotics treated it.
     
  20. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    SOLUTION HERE: I've had this same problem. On one of my big toes, I noticed the nail stopped growing and eventually the area around the cuticle got red, swollen, and separated from the nail. Also part of the nail started yellowing. I went to the Dr. and he told me he gets patients with this problem all the time. No need to worry or get surgery of any kind. He told me that tight shoes and trauma can cause this, so a simple solution is to stop wearing tight socks and shoes, and wear shoes with open toes as much as possible. Apparently tight shoes and trauma can cause this, and essentially the nail that isn't growing is dead. The cuticle area is swollen and separated because a new nail is trying to grow in and push the dead nail out. This will take many months, so don't worry. Hope all of your nail problems are resolved soon.
     
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