this is going to be a pretty gross post, so I apologize in advance.
fact: I have ingrown toenails. I've had to deal with them my ENTIRE life. when they start to hurt, I cut them out myself, which has been working great as a temporary relief plan. recently, they've been hurting much worse than normal, so I decided to make an appointment with a foot doctor (I don't know if he's a podiatrist or not, so foot doctor is good enough) last week.
I went in thinking "oh, they'll give me some cream or make an appointment with me in a few weeks to do something about it." wrong. he decided the best idea would be to go ahead and take care of them right then and there. "take care of them" meaning to cut them out completely.
so they shoved a bendy type needle into my big toes (yes, both of them) and pumped them so full of some kind of numbing medicine that made them look full of fluid and swollen. and then they used that pre-surgery dye, which made them look very Shrek-like. thankfully the numbing solution kicked in almost immediately.
I concocted a little drawing in Paint to demonstrate exactly what they did to my poor toes:
basically, they cut the nail at the root to prevent it from growing downwards again. based on what the doctor said, I think the skin will grow back over the part that was removed. at least I hope that's what will happen, haha!
they're still pretty sore, but it looks like they're healing up. I mean, I guess they are. I keep them bandaged at all times, except when I shower and clean them out with antibacterial soap. I'm not gunna lie, they look pretty rough though. Sean keeps calling me hammer toes, hence the title of the post.
for your viewing pleasure/disgust, here are some pictures I took with my cell phone - they're pretty nasty, so if you're eating lunch or are queasy about feet, it's probably best to just close out of this window.
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| right after the numbness injections. SHREK FEET! |
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| after they cut the toenail out of the right toe. eeks! |
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| all wrapped up and ready to go! |
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so yeah. needless to say, I've been in quite a bit of pain since Thursday. they told me to try to stay off my feet as much as possible that evening. I'm glad I went straight home because I got home, took my shoes off, and realized that the gauze around my right toe was completely saturated with blood. I had to put my feet up for a good 2 hours before it finally clotted up.
poor me, I know.
oh, and this morning, I knocked the iron over. on my foot. that was awesome.
Happy Monday?
Toe stuff is fun! I hope it feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteOh man, I feel your pain! I danced for 16 years and the shoes and all the pressure on my feet meant *constant* ingrowns. Yuck and owch! I applaud your doc for freezing first, mine never did and my dad usually had to come to hold me down while they cut the nails out. Owchie owchie owchie! I hope the toes feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteEw.
ReplyDeleteI get those all the time, so I feel ya. How bad did the numbing needle hurt? I was given that option once and chickened out & decided that living with ingrown toenails was MUCH better than a needle put in my foot.
I have the same condition and never knew this was an option! I do the same cutting of the corners and sort of peeling down the sides to relieve the pressure. I may have to look into this! If you don't mind me asking, was it covered by health insurance?
ReplyDelete