Toenail removal aftercare or soaking for ingrown toenails

Posted by Book2075 @book2075, Jul 4, 2017

I wanted to post this information for people dealing with Toenail pain or recovering from Toenail removal surgery.
Supplies:
1 inch or 2inch small gauze rolls
Iodine Solution or Peroxide
Pain-free wrap tape (First Aid Tape)
White paper tape ( First Aid Tape)
Foot Bucket
Epsom Salt ( Foot care aisle)

Soak the foot in a bath of warm water and Epsom Salt for 15 minutes twice a day for three to five days. It helps to soak the foot three times a day if the toenail bed dries out and cause you given greater pain. If it really hurts, quickly dunk the foot in the water three times for the first three days.

Place a cap full of Iodine of Peroxide on the wound rinse the germs off the wound.
Wrap gauze around the toe a couple of times.
Tape with white paper tape.
Wrap with pain-free wrap tape to keep gauze in place.
Cover wrap tape with paper tape to keep the bandage in place.
Wear extra large sock or spa sock to keep foot warm.

The pain will be a 6 or 7 on the pain scale for about a week. The first 72 hours is the worst. My podiatrist says it takes a month for the toenail bed to heal and form a protective layer of thin skin.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

Just had my big tonsil removed yesterday. The toenail was ingrown and became infected. The doctor said because the cuticle was infected the toenail had to be removed. He asked me if I push my cuticles back or someone else. I said no. He said sometimes shoes will push them back. Evidently this was why the toe became infected. He gave me instructions to soak 15 minutes in 2quarts of warm water for 15 mi utes a day. Dry. Put an antibiotic crème on it and cover it with a steril pad and wrap with tape. The first time I soaked I had the water too hot and it was very painful. I go back in two weeks for a follow-up. My toenai bed is bright red and looks like it has been polished. Thank you for your information because I didn’t know how many days to soak.

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I had a traumatic complete toenail avulsion while camping. Once the bleeding stopped, I dressed the great toe with Neosporin, Vaselined the bandage and kept it covered for three days changing the dressing twice a day. My question is can I do an Epsom soak three days post the injury?

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Why do you want to soak it in rosin salt? I’ve not heard of this used for this purpose? Keeping a new wound clean and dry is the usual instructions by medicine.

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Dr. Google says How do you treat nail avulsion?
“Nail Avulsion / Removal
Keep wound dry for 24 hours, then remove bandage and shower normally.
Cleanse wound gently, allowing soap and water to run over wound, but do not scrub.
Keep wound moist with Polysporin ointment or Vaseline, and cover daily with a clean non-stick bandage. “

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I found this with a search regarding if removing the big toenail can cause pain in my other toes. I have pretty severe pain and a lot of seepage so it doesn't dry out and I had my toenail removed two days ago. I am looking for advice since the pain is so bad, and to see what others have done for theirs. I will be buying Epsom Salt to use besides the 30 min dish soap and warm water daily soaks. I'm hoping that will help ease the pain. It is also pretty swollen yet, along with more of my foot. I've already called and asked about the seepage. I was told just to keep an eye on it for a couple of days and make sure no signs of infection are showing. I also asked about using gauze to help keep it dry, they said I can if I want to. I just need the pain to subside. It's sharp at times, then throbbing, and very strong aches too. Doesn't matter if I elevate it or not, same pain results. Thanks for posting your ideas and results. I will keep an eye on this thread too.

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@nasiegel

I found this with a search regarding if removing the big toenail can cause pain in my other toes. I have pretty severe pain and a lot of seepage so it doesn't dry out and I had my toenail removed two days ago. I am looking for advice since the pain is so bad, and to see what others have done for theirs. I will be buying Epsom Salt to use besides the 30 min dish soap and warm water daily soaks. I'm hoping that will help ease the pain. It is also pretty swollen yet, along with more of my foot. I've already called and asked about the seepage. I was told just to keep an eye on it for a couple of days and make sure no signs of infection are showing. I also asked about using gauze to help keep it dry, they said I can if I want to. I just need the pain to subside. It's sharp at times, then throbbing, and very strong aches too. Doesn't matter if I elevate it or not, same pain results. Thanks for posting your ideas and results. I will keep an eye on this thread too.

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I used ice wrapped in a towel on my elevated foot after toenail removal. It dulled the pain pretty well. The nerves calmed down after a couple weeks.
Sue

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@sueinmn

I used ice wrapped in a towel on my elevated foot after toenail removal. It dulled the pain pretty well. The nerves calmed down after a couple weeks.
Sue

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Thank you. I will try icing it more and add that to my routine. I was able to talk to my PCP, and she suggested using Peroxide in between soaking with the soap and water, and the Epsom salt soaks. It may be the start of an infection so I'm trying to prevent that, and see one of my doctors on Tuesday if I need to. Sad and glad to hear that I'm not alone in feeling more pain still after having it done 5-6 days ago.

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@nasiegel

I found this with a search regarding if removing the big toenail can cause pain in my other toes. I have pretty severe pain and a lot of seepage so it doesn't dry out and I had my toenail removed two days ago. I am looking for advice since the pain is so bad, and to see what others have done for theirs. I will be buying Epsom Salt to use besides the 30 min dish soap and warm water daily soaks. I'm hoping that will help ease the pain. It is also pretty swollen yet, along with more of my foot. I've already called and asked about the seepage. I was told just to keep an eye on it for a couple of days and make sure no signs of infection are showing. I also asked about using gauze to help keep it dry, they said I can if I want to. I just need the pain to subside. It's sharp at times, then throbbing, and very strong aches too. Doesn't matter if I elevate it or not, same pain results. Thanks for posting your ideas and results. I will keep an eye on this thread too.

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redhatter. @nasiegel
I had both of my big toe nails removed over the summer. They had my toes wrapped in gauze and sent home a sheet of after care instructions. I had to soak my feet in warm water with soap for 30 minutes and gently brush the toenails to remove any debris and then wrap the toes with gauze. I was to do this 4 times/day for a month.
I had a lot of pain in both of my feet even when elevated. My oldest(13 yrs old) granddaughter came and stayed with me for a week as they didn’t want me walking on my feet very much. For the first 24 hrs I couldn’t touch my toes because of the unbearable pain.

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@dlm5148

I recently had both of my big toe nails removed. I had chemo back in 2012 ( I am 67 yrs. old today) and had lost all of my fingernails and toenails. They all grew back healthy and normal with exception of the two big toenails. They grew back thick, at an odd angle and were horribly painful. My logic is that as a child I dropped a heavy metal dresser drawer on the left toe and then in my 30s I dropped some canned goods and they landed on my right toe. I am thinking the trauma of those events may of caused some damage unlike my fingers and other toe nails. Just a thought. Regardless they became very painful, so thick that a Dremel drill was needed to trim them and they looked like I had a snail shell on my toe. I have neuropathy in my feet due to the chemo also so it was a constant discomfort. I am very happy having them removed and could almost immediately feel relief. I had one done and two weeks later had the other one removed. They are healing nicely and of course have had some tender moments but not really painful. It has been a month today for the first one and both are on track for a healthy healing. The after care was soaking twice a day with Epsom salt or Dial liquid soap and warm water for 20 minutes. Then bandage with Neosporin for two full weeks. After that the soaking stopped and I was to apply Betadine and leave them uncovered as much as possible unless I had a shoe on and then was told to wear a band aid for protection. That has worked well. I go back in four weeks and I am assuming I will have no further daily treatments at that time. I can assure you I am being careful to not drop anything on them at this point. To answer your question about walking with out the nails, I walked completely normal from day one but found it was a relief to do the soaking treatments. Having the toes bandaged, plus wearing socks and shoes was bit of a crowded feeling. It is a relief to take the socks and shoes off and wear a slipper while being at home.

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Did it sting really bad when soaking it in Epsom salt baths? Mine is Stinging so bad it's unbearable I can only do it for a minute or two then I have to take it out and then it still hurts for like 5-10 minutes after I take it out of the water... I don't feel like it should sting that bad. It's the only time it really hurts when it's wrapped up it only hurts if it gets bumped or something.

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@rhyglesmommy3

Did it sting really bad when soaking it in Epsom salt baths? Mine is Stinging so bad it's unbearable I can only do it for a minute or two then I have to take it out and then it still hurts for like 5-10 minutes after I take it out of the water... I don't feel like it should sting that bad. It's the only time it really hurts when it's wrapped up it only hurts if it gets bumped or something.

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I had to keep my foot on top of ice but I don't remember letting it get wet. I do remember it was very painful. It takes about 9 months to fully grow in.

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