I have finally solved my ingrown nail problems. Twice a year, when I am in the US on vacation, I get a petticure at some lady’s nail salon. Works great, feels good, solves the problem.
My experience is much a composite of the rest, except that it was long enough ago that I don’t remember the nerve block hurting that much.
Killed the root on the affected side, and roughly 15 years later, I can’t tell which big toe had the procedure by looking at the nails. I did have a choice of full removal or just the side that was ingrown, and I said to fix the ingrown area.
I didn’t have any drapes, but I didn’t watch, either. I’m a wuss whenever I’m the patient, but I can watch anyone else have something done.
My podiatrist was impressed by how far the nail had dug in, but I also wasn’t the worst that he’d done.
I had an ingrown nail that bothered me for years on and off. A few years ago, it had almost grown through the side of my toe, and I had a business trip to Europe coming up, so I finally saw a podiatrist.
The infection was so bad that the numbing shots wouldn’t take full effect - he gave me the option of taking antibiotics during my trip and coming back to have it removed, or just getting it done then and there, which was my choice.
It took him about 15 minutes, mainly to try to reduce the pain - he said if I’d been numb, it would have taken 3 minutes, but he was happy to take his time. He took a tool that I can only describe as an oversized seam ripper with a blunt tip, and jammed it down one side of my nail until he got all the way to the root. Then he worked out that bit with forceps, and cut back the granuloma. He put me on antibiotics anyway just to be safe, since I’d be traveling overseas for the next few days.
It healed up fine, and it hasn’t bothered me since.
Thanks again, everyone. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to go to work later on the day of the procedure?
Never had an ingrown toenail that required that level of treatment (I had a bit of one when the kids were very young, but it got better and didn’t need drastic steps). So for that, I can’t commend.
HOWEVER - for the injection, there’s this rapidly-evaporating stuff they can spray on the skin just before the injection. Because it evaporates so quickly, it cools things and therefore numbs the skin, a little.
I’ve had that used when I’ve had injections into the feet and into the knee, and it does reduce the injection pain a bit. But some docs won’t use it unless you request it, so do ask about it.
Working: do you work on your feet? can you sit down and keep the foot propped up and protected from accidental bumps?
drewtwo99: with my first root canal, they pretty much had to peel me off the ceiling after the first injection. With the next one, I’d switched to a new regular dentist who does conscious oral sedation (a Halcion tablet plus nitrous oxide), and since then I’ve had 1.5 root canals at a DIFFERENT endodontist. I insisted they use the same regimen as the new dentist did, and the shots were mildly uncomfortable but it was along the lines of “huh? uh, ow? back to la-la land now…”.
Just something to bear in mind if you have to have another one.
If you work on your feet, I’d recommend against it, especially if you have a very active job. If you work in an office, you can probably go in, but the pain may be pretty intense; my doc gave me Vicodin, which for obvious reasons I couldn’t take while working. I tried to go in the day of my procedure, and I ended up going home because I needed some pain relief - then again, I’m kind of a wussy.
Ethyl chloride spray to the skin reduces the pain of the needle puncturing the skin a bit, but it does little for the far greater pain of infusing the lidocaine into the tissue around the toe, so I don’t bother with it, frankly. I tell the patients that the anesthesia is by far the worst part of the procedure, but it would be a LOT worse if it was done without anesthesia.
Most folks can work the day after the nail removal, though I counsel well-fitting shoes.
I rarely prescribe narcotics for the pain. Most folks find the post-op pain vastly more tolerable than the pain from the ingrown nail. Ibuprofen is generaly adequate, as is acetaminophen.
More ingrowing problems take place in adolescence than at other ages. If one can get the patient into their late 20’s, the incidence of the problem goes way down.
And yes, many of my patients aspire to being foot models. So I hate to crush their dreams by cauterizing the nail matrix. But I do recommend cauterization at times.
From your description in the OP, I’d say probably not. Mine was relatively minor and so numb from the anesthetic that I could have gone in for half a day had it not been for a Comcast guy coming that afternoon.
I was basically unable to walk for the two follwing days, though.
It’s next week. How’d it go?
It went okay. The needle hurt and when he was digging around it hurt again, but the next day it’s fine.
I had this done in 2005 to both toes. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I am trying to get MrPanda to have it done since he gets ingrowns all the time and he has every risk factor for diabetes in the book. I wish he’d have his feet worked on while he’s still NOT diabetic.