Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with toenail

Help me help my toe.

Ochre,Hugh — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:43:47 -0800

I injured my big toe and want/need to wear closed toed shoes but the top of the toe is still too sensitive. Can you help me come up with some sort of "toe protector" to ...well, protect my toe. (Gory details kept to a minimum, but some info is necessary to explain.) A very large, very heavy metal gate dropped on my big toe about two weeks ago. No bones were broken but the toenail is gone and there is still some bruising. The top of the toe is very sensitive (I accidentally dropped a dime on my bandaged toe yesterday and it felt like a brick!) so I keep it covered with antibiotic ointment and 1 or 2 layers of gauze. I can get a pair of closed-toed shoes on, but then it's painful if I take a step because the bandage presses down on the toe.
Is there something that can cover the bandage to protect the toe from pressure? If nothing exists, can you help me create something? I was thinking of a "fake toenail" but larger, to cover more than just the toenail area. I don't think a splint will work. It would be hard to get a shoe on over it and I don't need to immobilize the toe- it doesn't hurt to move it if there is nothing touching it.
Oh, and YANMD. I have seen my Dr. and she said the toe will be fine, someday.

outgrown nails?

beukeboom — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:32:23 -0800

what did prehistoric humans use to trim their toe/finger nails? did they merely get worn away from daily use?

did they rip away once they were too long?

is there any archaeological evidence of ancient clippers/files?

Why does my toenail hurt so bad?

internet!Hannah — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:17:30 -0800

Oh man does my toenail hurt! What could it be? So I woke up this morning in some pretty bad pain. The center of my big toenail absolutely hurts! It's bad enough to keep me from sleeping or doing pretty much anything else. What's the deal with this?

It's the center of my toenail, so it's not an ingrown nail, right? When I push on the edges, they feel fine. But if I push downward on the very center top of the nail, yeowch! I'm pretty miserable at the moment.

I haven't stubbed my toe so far as I'm aware, none of the others hurt, I've pretty much only been wearing sandals the past few days, the coloration seems fine so far as I can tell through my nailpolish (no remover handy, and I don't think I could stand to rub on my toenail to take the polish off right now anyways).

Please, what can I do? Googling is useless, all I get are things about ingrown nails or runner's nails.

Bad human, bad!

wg — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:03:06 -0800

Advice needed for dealing with my dog's overgrown toenails. So, yeah, I've been a bad puppy mommy. The quick has overgrown in my dog's nails. At this point, she is clearly standing/walking/running on the back of her foot pad, as opposed to her evenly on her toes and foot pad. I've been diligently trimming as close to the quick as possible for the past few months, but the quick is not moving. I'm barely able to get more than a couple of millimeters of nail each time. She's quite calm when her nails are being trimmed, so this is all, 100%, my doing. I own that, I assure you.

She is going under anesthesia next month for a dental cleaning and the vet stated that the nails can be cut back then. She also advised me that my dog would be a "painful and bloody mess." I understand the anatomy of the toenail and know that "painful and bloody mess" is unavoidable if we go this route.

I haven't been able to find much by searching, other than advice that 'quicking' the nail should only be done by a vet and under anesthesia. My vet will be providing pain medication and antibiotics post-op.

Will the wounds re-open easily, or will it be more like getting a cat declawed? In that process, the cat (not mine, btw) didn't continue bleeding and seemed to be pain-free after a week or so.

Is there anything else I can do? I have been using standard dog nail trimmers. Would a dremel-type product be more effective? How long would it take to know that it was working? I would like to avoid two rounds of anesthesia, and I don't want to put off the dental cleaning for too long.

Why do we have fingernails and toenails?

hungrysquirrels — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:06:42 -0800

Fingernails and toenails, why? They are a constant annoyance to keep clipped, and for women to do their polish and stuff. I'm not a believer in Adam and Eve, if you are, sod off. No offense.

If we evolved similar to monkeys, who as far as I know don't have claws, where in the evolutionary development did we inherit the need for nails, and why. They're too fragile for any sort of primal needs like hunting.

Just curious, and tired of constantly trimming them.

Toenail remnant

BigSky — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:23:15 -0800

A couple of months ago my big toenail went black after a run. Maybe 10-15 days ago it came loose, but only on one side. Since the other side was still anchored I cut off the flapping half. Nothing's happened since then. Please advise. I've been trying to pull free the remaining section with some needlenose pliers. It isn't painful, but I'm not getting anywhere. I usually do it after a shower because I think the skin being soft will help. Is there anything else I can do? Do I need to see a podiatrist? If so, what would that cost?

This little piggy cried all the way home.

Space Kitty — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:00:13 -0800

OW, MY TOE! I injured my right big toe about a week ago, and I'm afraid the nail is coming off. I got a pedicure last night, and the when the polish was removed, my entire toenail was black. The nail bed itself is swollen and discolored, and the swelling is lifting the nail up.

As long as I wear open toed shoes, it doesn't hurt anymore, but it itches like it's healing.

Is there any way I keep the nail from falling off? Or is that even advisable? I'm kind of vain about my feet and this is really disgusting! How can I help the healing process go more quickly?

Fingernail & Toenail Damage & Repair

ShooBoo — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 08:32:29 -0800

Fingernail and toenail questions: I've had a split fingernail for over five years and thirty years ago I lost a toenail and since then it's grown back as thick and stubby. Anything that can be done for these? I have a pinky fingernail that for over five years has been growing with a split in it, starting at its base. It doesn't really bother me except when the nail gets too long and I snag one of the sides of the nail on something. I have no idea what caused the initial splitting.

I have tried to repair it by putting drops superglue at the nail base every few days. That didn't work, but maybe I didn't keep it up long enough. Any other ways to fix it?

For the toenail (on an "index" toe) I lost it thirty years ago back in junior high school. Since then it has grown very thick, stubby and ugly. It's not a big deal, the main annoyance with it is the difficulty in trimming it. Is there anyway the toenail can be restored to its original condition?

Help this turtle tiptoe through the tulips

luneray — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 16:27:06 -0800

How do you trim a pet turtle's toenails? I am asking this question on behalf of a friend.

His pet turtle's toenails are getting rather long and need to be trimmed. Is this something that he can do himself or should he have it done by a vet or??

He lives in Poulsbo, Washington and works in Seattle, so referrals are welcome if anyone knows of a place experienced in reptile care who can trim the critter's nails.

He doesn't know what species of turtle it is.

What are some good home remedies for an ingrown toenail?

drezdn — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 22:56:58 -0800

Toefilter: Besides going to the doctor, do you have any good cures for a hangnail, especially if there's not much visible nail to cut off?