"Podiatry - big toe nail removal"

Towards the end of 2024 I developed an infected ingrowing toe nail on my big toe, for which I went to the GP and resulting in 8 regimes of antibiotics, but they didn't appear to sort the problem. Eventually I was put in touch with the NHS Tayside Podiatry team, had an initial meeting with a podiatrist and had a date set for the complete removal of the big toenail. The nail was removed in June at the Podiatry Centre in Carnoustie - I had previously received a bundle of information relating to the pre and post surgery events. 

The surgery itself was over and done with very quickly, good anaesthetic so never felt a thing. I was given a supply of swabs and dressings to get me started and was sent on my way.

My instructions were to change the dressing every 3 days, giving the toe a good soak in salty water - instructions I religiously followed (swab taped over the wound and tubigrip to hold it in place). Initially there was quite a bit of weeping, and the swab had to be soaked off - nipped a bit and bled when removed. Flipflops were essential, to stop any pressure on the wound area.

Around the end of July I started using non-stick wound dressings and these seemed to speed the recovery of the wound. Around the middle of Aug I was able to wear loose fitting shoes, then at the end of August the scab finally came off and I stopped putting dressings on.

Now, a week later, there has been no weeping but the end of the toe is still very sensitive - due to the amount of new skin growing where it had previously been infected (all around the nail, across where the root of the nail had been and across the whole front of the toe).

Now its not very sightly, but all the discomfort from the nail has gone and it is healing nicely.

Learning Points:

1)   make sure you have a pair of flip flops available, as you can't wear shoes for quite a while (may be different for toes other than the big one?)

2)   start using non-stick wound dressings earlier than I did, although they have less cushionning, they don't stick - so don't damage the new / growing skin every time they are changed. They aren't absorbent, so not so good at the start of the healing process but in retrospect I could probably have made the change after 3 or 4 weeks.