Wellness

[Trailrun23]

I thought I had seen a thread on this before, but didn't find it. DH has had a really persistent fungal infection on his big toe. Podiatrist says the nail has to be removed. Anyone had this done and what was the recovery like? Did your nail grow back? His doc says it will.  

[Krimpette]

The husband of my BFF had this done recently.  He was told that the toe nail will definitely grow back, but it will take a very, very long time.

[Trailrun23]

DH's dr said he had three options for removing the toenail, but only one would ensure the nail would grow back...,so he chose that. I just know he will be relieved to have it gone. Thanks for responding that it takes a long time to grow back. He will need to be patient. 

[Venezia]

@Trailrun23 - As long as the roots are left intact, the nail should grow back with no problem.  It can take up to a year for a nail to completely regrow, so patience is a virtue!

[cheriere]

@Trailrun23   My mom had this done twice.  The second time she opted to permanently remove the nail.  They nearly always grow back infected or ingrown. 

Either way, they gave her three big shots in the toe to numb it.  She said that was the most painful part.  I remember she actually yelled.  After it's numb and removed, they'll put a solution on so it never grows back.  It doesn't look bad at all either.  She still gets pedicures and just has the nail area painted lol.  You can't even tell it's not really a toenail.

I hope you're husband finally gets some relief after getting this done.  I know how painful and irritating these infections can be.

For the record, I'm going to have this done in the near future myself.  I'll opt to not have the nail grow back too.  

[Carmie]

My husband had his big toenail removed because it was terribly ingrown and infected.  It grew back in a few months.

The doctor put a chemical on his toe so that the nail would not grow back as wide....it worked.  He hasn't had any ingrown nails after that.

[Kachina624]

@Trailrun23. It has been about 40 years since I let a podiatrist talk me into removing my right big toe nail and it hasn't grown back yet.  I don't know it makes much difference to a man, but for a woman it destroys the pedicure/sandals situation.  I deeply regret having it done, especially since I've read there's  a prescription medication available for the problem.

[skatting44]

@Trailrun23 

  you have  to really get rid of any toe mnail clippers that you may have used as  the causatic agent for the toe fungus  can remain on items  and shoes .

[cheriere]

@skatting44   You're absolutely correct about that!  Even soaking them in alcohol didn't seem to work for me.  Once fungus sets in, it's almost impossible to kill it!  The dr even recommended a prescription pill that has to be taken a long time to kill the fungus too.  It can spread to other areas so easily and you may not even know it.  It can eventually even effect your hair, resulting in thinning and loss.

[SaveTheTurtles]

The toenail won't grow back if the doctor cauterizes it, otherwise it most likely will.