About a week ago I noticed what looks like a scab around the top of my big toenail, I do stub that toe alot but this has not happened before. I soaked my foot a couple times in warm water and the scab came off but the next day it came back again. Here is a picture of it Imgur: The magic of the Internet there is also an area with a little swelling or raised area that hurts a little if I press on it that I am pointing to here Imgur: The magic of the Internet does anyone know what may be the problem?
I think you may benefit from some of the “toenail fungus” spam I have been getting lately…
I don’t think that’s technically a scab; it looks more like crusted-over pus, as in you have an on-going infection between the nail and the skin (maybe a cyst).
Well that’s alarming.
I don’t think it’s infected since there is no redness.
IANAPodiatrist, but that looks like toenail fungus. My podiatrist says to put Vicks VapoRub on your toenails to fix this (seriously, he does). Rub it all over the whole nail and especially around the cuticle (where the toenail emerges from your toe). May take a few weeks to see progress but keep at it.
IANAD
First of all, STOP cutting your cuticles! Just soak them soft and gently push them back. There is no need for that, and it has opened up the cuticle to an infection. It looks like a combination of injury and infection, so start wearing your slippers around the house too. (I recently learned an extremely painful lesson on that topic myself.) The most likely opportunistic infection in that area is a fungus of some sort.
There are several fungus medications available at the drug store. Read the ingredients, as most of them are no more than menthol.
If it says “Undecylenic Acid” don’t use it unless you are desperate and ready to take off the nail in order to solve the problem.
Clotrimizole is the most common, but look for Ketoconazole cream 2%. (Nizoral is the brand name, but generic should be available.) The package won’t say “toenail fungus” it will say “athlete’s foot.” Pay attention to the ingredients, not the label.
Put the ketoconazole on and rub it in as much as you can stand to. Then put a clean white cotton sock over it. If you need to wear another sock for the day, try to put a white cotton no-see sock underneath for the next few weeks. Wash, dry well, cream, clean sock, every morning and night until it’s fully healed.
If you can’t afford that then get Vick’s vapo rub. It will take much longer, but if you put it on morning and night and wash in between, it will help your body fight the bug.
If it doesn’t heal, or gets worse, see a doctor.
I don’t trim my cuticles, but I did notice that a slight gap had developed between the nail and the cuticle area that I had noticed a couple weeks before the scab occurred, I had thought maybe the scab was my body trying to re-grow the skin in that area. I did notice I has a little yellow in my toe nail that might be fungus, are you talking about that area or do you think the scab itself might be fungus?
Being a lifelong sufferer of fungus, it doesn’t look at all like fungus to me. In my experience, the fungus starts at the other end of the nail and spreads back to the cuticle, thickening and raising the nail as it goes. And it isn’t tender at all.
It looks to me like what I’ve heard called a “runaround” - an infection of the cuticle itself.
This is what fungus looks like.
If your talking about Paronychia I don’t think I have that. I have had it in my fingernails before and its red and very painful.
Well, your cuticle is oozing something, for some reason.
Maybe you jammed your toenail when you stubbed it. It obviously damaged. I would keep it clean and put antibiotic ointment on it. Then see a doctor if it doesn’t start to heal soon.
I think you DO have paronychia. Here is a picture of a slightly more advanced stage.