Toe nails

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 GailSmith 13 Sep 2022

Horrible toe nails A chiropodist told me that the best solution for me would be to have my big toe nails removed. I appear to have separated the nail bed from where it should be . Has anyone else had their big toe nails removed ( by accident or design ) and how does it affect wearing rock boots and walking boots? The alternative is to have them filed thinner every couple of months ths. Thanks. 

 Iamgregp 13 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

Yes both of my big toes got stepped on enough in football to make them come off.  They got looser and looser until they dropped off.  The new nail underneath was a bit soft and sensitive at first but soon just became just like a normal nail.  Don't remember it being particularly bad at all.

 Kevster 13 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

Don't Google a video of the procedure. Just don't!

 Basemetal 13 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

Lost both due to frostbite once. They grew back over a year, but everything  was much more comfortable without them. Didn't really notice any loss at all.

 robert-hutton 13 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

I used some urea cream and wrapped with finger tape, all removed in about 10 days and pain free.

Used a load of anti fungal cream each morning and they grow back normally.

 Herdwickmatt 13 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

Get shot of them. I lose mine every so often (and others) due to running. It's just a pain in the backside to have a nail flapping round and getting clogged with fluff and dirt. Although I do always enjoy shoving things under them...it's a bit like picking a scan...

 John Jefferies 14 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

Gross alert: I've had fungal infections on the big toe nail that kept coming back even when using the potions they sell; it's because the nail is thick and the potions can't get down far enough

The solution: cut as much of the nail off as poss. Soaked it in the bath and used my swiss army knife to shave it. Perfectly pain free; it comes off in layers when it's soaked. The potions can then work on what's left of the nail.

Oh, climbing wasn't affected by any of this.

 dread-i 14 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

I've lost both big toe nails due to running. (Squeezing blood, puss and muddy water out from one was fun.) They grow back. Didn't affect me in any real way during regrowth. Also had a fungal infection, which made one nail very thick. Some careful work with a Dremel and a sanding attachment, sorted that out.

 Hooo 14 Sep 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

I lost one big toenail completely due to a fungal infection. It felt a bit weird in rock shoes, made it a bit sensitive to stand on just that toe. But not really a big deal. After a slightly traumatic course of terbinafine it took a year to grow back.

OP GailSmith 07 Oct 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

thanks everyone. 

 Martin W 07 Oct 2022
In reply to Hooo:

Would be interested to know what was traumatic about your course of terbinafine, if you're able to share, as that's what I'm on at the moment (and for the next five months, apparently).  I haven't had any adverse reactions yet, and the nails are already growing out cleaner and stronger.

 midgen 07 Oct 2022
In reply to Martin W:

I didn't have any adverse reactions to Terbinafine, although clearly it's not something that's desirable to be taking long term, given the liver function tests associated with it.

 Hooo 07 Oct 2022
In reply to Martin W:

Well you asked...

After reading the long and scary list of potential side effects, and finding out that I had to have a liver function test before and during the course due to the risks, I was a little nervous and seriously wondered if it was worth the risk for the sake of a toenail. I started the course with some trepidation on a Saturday afternoon, but when I woke up on Sunday morning there were still no signs of anything untoward, so I started thinking I was fine. I started the day with my usual double espresso, and 10 minutes later I was bimbling around the kitchen when bam! - with no warning whatsoever I shat myself. I thanked my lucky stars that I was home alone in the kitchen and not on the train into work, and I went upstairs and got changed. All was fine until after lunch, when I had my customary second coffee of the day. Exactly 10 minutes later I was off to change my trousers again... So that was that, no coffee for two months. I did try once more after a couple of weeks to see if I'd built up a tolerance, but nope.

So yes, going cold turkey on coffee was slightly traumatic, but I did get my toenail back with no other ill effects.

 Martin W 08 Oct 2022
In reply to Hooo:

Wow, that sounds, er...messy!

I've been on it for a month now and still happily drinking two cups of filter coffee a day.  I agree the requirement for regular liver function tests is a bit daunting but so far so good...

In reply to GailSmith:

I had most of both toenails removed last winter with nailbed burned off with phenol to prevent regrowth. Slow to heal (6 weeks) but I no longer have any pain/problems with any kind of footwear. Done over the winter as close fitting footwear were off the menu while the toes healed. Procedure was interesting to watch if you like that sort of thing!

 Martin W 13 Oct 2022
In reply to Hooo:

> going cold turkey on coffee was slightly traumatic

I've recently noticed that my sense of taste has all but disappeared, especially coffee, which seems to taste like liquid cardboard.  (I've taken a lateral flow Covid test and it came back negative, and I don't have any other relevant symptoms.)  Sense of smell seems largely unaffected.

Checking the terbinafine information leaflet (yes, I'm one of those people who keeps and reads such things) it lists taste loss and taste disturbance as a side effect that can affect up to 1 in 100 people.  I'm not on any other medication for which ageusia is listed as a possible side effect so it looks like my fungal nail infection 'journey' may have turned on to a slightly rough stretch of road.

I'll probably mention this to the GP when I go in for my next liver function test.

 Jenny C 13 Oct 2022
In reply to Martin W:

I lost taste but not smell with covid. Do another lateral flow test, they often don't show positive early on in an infection. 

And please mask up and keep your distance from people to avoid spreading it. No harm to you if you're negative, but could still be a death sentence to the vulnerable person next to you in the supermarket if you're positive.

 Ridge 13 Oct 2022
In reply to GailSmith:

Slightly off at a tangent - can anyone recommend a decent set of toenail clippers? May ageing big toenails laugh at (and break) normal clippers.

 Hooo 13 Oct 2022
In reply to Martin W:

I seem to recall that the list of possible side effects on the terbinafine leaflet covers pretty much all known conditions 😂. It's a pretty scary read when you're about to start taking the stuff.

 Robert Durran 13 Oct 2022
In reply to Ridge:

> Slightly off at a tangent - can anyone recommend a decent set of toenail clippers?

The little scissors on a Swiss army knife. Never use anything else.

 Kemics 14 Oct 2022
In reply to Martin W:

I took Terbinafine for around 4-5 months, no side effects at all. I did stop drinking alcohol for the same time though to give my liver a break (OH was also pregnant so was convenient time). Sorted the nail perfectly. 

 Martin W 14 Oct 2022
In reply to Robert Durran:

> The little scissors on a Swiss army knife. Never use anything else.

Utterly inadequate for my big toe nails I'm afraid.  How do I know?  It was all I had when I was stuck in isolation with Covid for two weeks at the end of my ski holiday in Italy earlier this year.

I have to use a chunky pair of toe nail scissors like these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZAMAHA-Stainless-Scissors-Trimming-Manicure (but not those particular ones).

I wouldn't use clippers, at least not if they're like finger nail clippers with a curved cut.  I've always understood (on the basis of informed guidance) that it's best in terms of nail health to cut toe nails straight across, then nip the outer corners off at an angle.  Doesn't look as good as a curved edge in open-toe sandals with pink nail varnish, but none of my rock shoes, MTB flatties, ski boots or walking boots have ever passed aesthetic judgement on my pedicure.


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