I think I'm doomed to live life with an unfused finger nail. :'(

[Idlewild]

I got a giant blister under my big toenail during a 3 day charity walk this fall. Grossest malady ever to inflict me, right from the “aw, why does that toe feel weird?” stage through the “Hell, just pull the entire thing out and let the new one grow in” treatment. Having what I couldn’t trim off of the detached nail still hanging around was such an oddly uncomfortable sensation that I reached out for my country girl roots and performed home toenail surgery. And now I love to share the horrible foot TMI whenever remotely appropriate. But it only took three months for me to have a shiny new toenail.

[Moirai]

@WhyNot

If I understood my son’s podiatrist correctly, this means you smashed it hard enough to damage the bone in your finger. Apparently the nail continues growing in the shape of the bone - you must have broken the bone, or chipped it, and it healed funny, and your nail’s just following orders, so to speak!

Sounds about right. My right thumb got smash-broken when I was 10, and the nail had to be removed way down below the quick. It has grown back thick and ugly and not even or flat ever since, and it can be difficult for a new nail girl to get the first nail to cooperate.

[Kalhoun]

@WhyNot

If I understood my son’s podiatrist correctly, this means you smashed it hard enough to damage the bone in your finger. Apparently the nail continues growing in the shape of the bone - you must have broken the bone, or chipped it, and it healed funny, and your nail’s just following orders, so to speak!

I tend to agree with this, on account of my husband’s hands got smashed by an I-beam or somesuch at a steel company he worked at. His nails are permanently misshapen and fucked up. There are black ridges in them that won’t grow out. They are actually a permanent part of the nails. It is probably due to getting them smashed so hard (I can’t even begin to imagine what that felt like!)

[AskNott]

I won’t bore you with examples, but my hands got beat up in the factory. Ripping back part of a nail feels awful, and looks dreadful, but it’s a fairly minor thing. The nail will grow back. The more you use your hands, the faster your nails grow. Seeing your exposed nail bed is “grots-cue.” If it freaks you out, wear a bandage. Trim back the remains of the nail, and file off all the sharp corners. Paint a map of Idaho on it if you want to. You can pray to not catch it on something, but you probably will. Carry some Band-aids®, for it might start seeping blood for no apparent reason. No big deal.

From the look of your pix, it looks like your nail will grow out rather than starting over.

[Queen_Bruin]

I’ve ripped back my nails (very beautiful and nicely shaped, if I may toot my own horn) many a time, but it took breaking the nailbed to end up with an unfused one. You’ll prolly be fine. I wish you a speedy recovery. Nail injuries certainly do suck and are quite painful.