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Ingrown toenail concerns

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by SilverSev, Apr 9, 2010.

  1. SilverSev

    SilverSev New Member


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    I’ve had an ingrown toenail for about 2 years now, and it’s been stage 3 for probably close to a year (yes i know i shouldn’t have waited this long please don’t lecture me on that). It’s not infected thankfully. I’m very careful about using antibiotic band aids in an attempt to prevent it from getting infected. For a while it was just the right side of my right big toe, but about 3 months ago, a friend of mine accidently bumped the left side of it and now both sides of my right toe are ingrown and the skin is growing over the nail from both sides. From what I’ve read, I should have the nail permanently removed. I feel like if I don’t it’ll become ingrown again, and once is more than enough.

    I’m not working at the moment, but hopefully will be soon, and I haven’t had medical coverage since I turned 18 (I just turned 25 in February), which is a major reason why I’ve waited so long (the other reason being fears and concerns - I have a fear of needles) because I have no way to pay for the treatment.

    In regards to the local anesthetic, I read that it’s important to state allergies and things as follows. I have several allergies - dairy products, eggs, chocolate, chinese food, sunflowers and any medicine with ‘cilin’ in it’s name. I used to take Advil, but that seems to have given me a stomach ulcer. now the only thing i take is Maalox Max (antacid & antigas). I had Asthma when I was a kid. I’ve heard multiple times that Asthma doesn’t go away, but I haven’t had symptoms in years.

    I’m also concerned about the length of the procedure. Nothing I’ve read gives so much as an estimation as to how long the procedure lasts.

    I appreciate any responses and thanks you for your time
     
  2. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    DISCLAIMER:
    THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS-ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
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    If you wish to make treatment of this problem into a life crisis, I suppose that's your right. But ingrown nail corrections are among the most routine types of minor, and I do mean MINOR surgery. The most caring thing I can do for you is to tell you how very ridiculous I believe you are being about this whole thing and perhaps you can push past your fears. As far as paying for the procedure is concerned, it IS going to cost some amount of money unless you have insurance or public assistance, or you have a very generous doctor who is willing to do it for free, and I have no power to get you through THAT situation. All things in life have their potential dangers and sometimes those dangers eventuate. But the high risk of serious problems with an ingrown nail, in my opinion, is far more of a consideration than the small dangers inherent in ingrown nail surgery. I will be happy to discuss the general procedures applicable, but not your attitude, as I have no power to change lack of reason into reason and I won't waste either of our time attempting it.
     
  3. SilverSev

    SilverSev New Member

    "I will be happy to discuss the general procedures applicable, but not your attitude, as I have no power to change lack of reason into reason and I won't waste either of our time attempting it."
    I never wanted to discuss my 'attitude' as you call it. I only mentioned my reasons cuz I knew any person reading my post would be curious as to why on earth I waited so long.
    And thank you for being willing to discuss the general procedures, which I would like to do.
     
  4. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    DISCLAIMER:
    THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS-ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
    ***************************************************
    I did not use the word "attitude" as a pejorative. I simply meant to relate that I will not get into whether concerns about having a needle employed is something worth discussing, as I cannot account for or change overblown fears.

    Before any medical or surgical treatment, it is important to supply a complete medical history, which among other things includes previous and current illnesses and conditions, current medications and allergies and intolerances, but I have no idea where you got the list which you believe might present concerns when having local anesthesia.

    As far as general procedures for attempted permanent resolution of ingrowing nail problems are concerned, I believe they can be divided into four main categories:

    1. Destruction of the nail matrix (growth tissue) which corresponds to the offending side(s) of the nail plate by chemicals (most commonly phenol) or by other physical modalities (such as hyfracation. laser, etc.)

    2. Surgical excision of the nail matrix (growth tissue) which corresponds to the side(s) of the offending nail plate.

    3. Avulsion of the entire nail plate and destruction of the entire nail matrix by chemical or physical means or surgical excision of the entire nail matrix. This is often employed for highly incurvated ingrown nails.

    4. Plastic modification of the nail lip. This is employed when a hypertrophic or deformed nail lip is the only cause of the ingrowing problem or it may be employed in conjunction with matrix destruction or excision procedures if deem necessary.

    Most of these surgical procedures can be accomplished from anesthesia to prep to dressing in less than 30 minutes, with most of the time being spent on anesthesia prep and dressing.

    Success varies, but in my experience, the chemical procedures are successful about 75 percent of the time and the pure surgical procedures somewhat higher. Check with your own doctor as to his/her own success rate.

    Aftercare of chemical and physical modality procedures often takes longer than the pure surgical ones as the procedure is based on the chemical or physical modality killing the tissue which after it dies is expelled with drainage. This may take only a couple of weeks or sometimes many weeks. Pure surgical procedures may heal in as little as 7-10 days, but there may be discomfort beyond that time. Any surgical procedure has the potential for developing infection or other complications which must be dealt with on a case by case basis.

    If there is something which requires further clarification for you, let me know and I will attempt to clarify it.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2010
  5. SilverSev

    SilverSev New Member

    "I have no idea where you got the list which you believe might present concerns when having local anesthesia"
    I was reading about anesthesia, but what I read didn't say much about local anesthesia except "If you've had your tooth numbed at the dentist, you know what local anesthesia is." I've never had my tooth numbed at the dentist so that isn't very helpful. Most of what I read was probably just for other forms of anesthesia. It also said "you may be told NOT to eat or drink anything for at least 6 hours before your procedure." Does that apply to local anesthesia?
    "Less than 30 minutes" I don't know why but I didn't expect it to be so quick. I'm pleasantly surprised though. Guessing by the quickness, I'm guessing I would just be sitting/laying there?
    Another concern about it I have is regarding recovery. I've read multiple stories about recovery and the common thread between them is the need for pain killers. This was also mentioned in what I read about anesthesia. What concerns me about this is the fact that (as previously stated in first post) I believe I have a stomach ulcer caused by NSAIDs. I don't want to irritate my stomach further, but I don't want to deal with the potential pain either.
     
  6. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    DISCLAIMER:
    THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS-ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
    ***************************************************
    Not generally for the sort of surgery you are anticipating, but ask the doctor who is going to perform the procedure.

    That's MY personal estimate. Again . . check with your own doctor. What other choice did you imagine than sitting or lying there during the procedure?

    I do not generally prescribe prescription analgesics for these procedures unless an occasion arises necessitating it. Your doctor's protocol might differ and pain, being a subjective thing, varies from patient to patient.

    There are alternates to NSAID which do not have adverse effect on the stomach. Inform your doctor of your history.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2010
  7. SilverSev

    SilverSev New Member

    I'm very glad to know that. That's quite a relief to me

    Also would it be safe to walk home after the procedure (I live 10-15 minutes away walking distance)?
     
  8. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    You are asking a question which needs to be answered by the doctor who will be responsible for your care. But if you want to know whether I personally would allow a patient of mine who had undergone a toe procedure which would likely produce some immediate-term bleeding on activity and dependency, and whose toe was still numb, disallowing any appreciation of post-operative discomfort, thus affording him/her no feedback as to whether harm was being done to take a 10 to 15 minutes walk home . . I would definitely NOT.
     
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