I was playing rugby yesterday in boots about four sizes too small for me. When I finally took them off, I noticed my socks were bloody. The boots had been rubbing on my toes, and, in addition to blisters, they caused some of my toenails to turn black.
This has never happened to me before. I’m assuming that eventually they’ll drop off as they appear to be loose when I touch them (in addition to being very sore). If so, how long approximately will it take them to drop off? Will a new set of nails be growing underneath them now, or what?
The first time I visited Paris, I did so much walking in two weeks that the second toenail on each foot became bloodied. (I also had several major blisters, which were a greater problem during the trip). When I got home I went to a podiatrist, who removed the nails and told me they may not grow back normally. They did grow back normally, and it took several months.
Since then, in spite of precautions, the problem has returned every time I take a trip that requires a great deal of walking (I did learn to avoid blisters, though). But now, because of diabetes, it takes a few months longer for the new nail to completely grow in.
The good thing is that the pain almost entirely goes away when the nail is removed. You just have to be careful to avoid new injuries; those nails are there for a reason. And yes, you should have the nails removed by a doctor, or you risk infection.
I had a similar experience with my first pair of climbing shoes - supposed to be “snug” and I got “too snug”, so wound up losing my big toenails.
Go to the doctor and explain what happened. Mine sent me to the podiatrist who clipped the nails off. This sounds disgusting and painful and while it was a little on the gross side it didn’t hurt at all (since the nails had pretty much seperated from the nailbed anyhow).
Following the clipping the podiatrist had me get some antifungal ointment to apply daily (some kind of lotrimin IIRC), don’t drop anything heavy on the toe (duh) and clean it each day with an old toothbrush and some Comet (brush the new nailbed with a little bleach powder and water, then rinse thoroughly and apply ointment). I guess that the bleach kills off any fungus trying to get a (pardon awful pun) toehold on my foot.
One nail grew back normally, the other one looks a little funny but they’re both fine. Nothing that the podiatrist did hurt, and I didn’t have any real restrictions on physical activity while the nail regrew (walking around, hiking, etc. no problem although I didn’t climb again until I got a good pair of shoes).
You should know within a week. I have lost my big toe nails twice basically the same way you did. The nail will just get more and more loose. I finally just cut mine myself and it was painless. However, the new nails will take quite a long time to grow back. Mine weren’t fully back for at least 9 months each time. I don’t know if you know this or not, but the nail regenerates by making the bed of the nail hard and just kind of growing up like a thicker and thicker callous over time. I always thought they would grow from back to front but nope. That is good in a way because there is only a relatively brief period when your nail bed is unprotected. The new nail get firm enough to give you protection from abrasion fairly quickly. However, you won’t have your old nails back that you can clip for a long while.
I had that happen once and left the nail on due to sheer morbid curiosity. It took over 6 months to fall out and was only finally pushed out by the nail growing from underneath. But you can pull it out at any time.
I just want to reiterate the above warnings about nail fungus. I lost both of my big toenails, didn’t go to the doctor, didn’t take any precaution against fungs (what did I know, I was maybe 20 at the time), and now (I’m 34) I have two of the worst cases of nail fungus you’ll ever (not) see.