Nail extraction procedure

This past summer, I managed to slice right into the quick while trimming my nails. Before I knew it, the whole area was swollen and angry. Of course, I had no clue what I’d actually done. I rushed over to a podiatrist, and thankfully, it turned out to be just some irritated tissue. Putting on some sneakers afterward actually helped settle things down. It was bleeding and oozing a bit at first, but after some treatment, everything cleared up fine.

As for ingrown nails, I haven't personally dealt with them, but my mother has. Back when she was younger, pointed-toe pumps were everywhere—apparently, there was no other option if you wanted to stay on trend. According to her, wearing those shoes, which her feet clearly weren't built for, led to a nasty ingrown nail. Back then, they didn't just trim it; they pulled the entire nail out, and get this—there was zero anesthesia. To make matters worse, once the new nail finally grew back in, it just dug straight back into the skin.

She says seeing those pointy heels trending again is a total nightmare; they basically cost her a lifetime of discomfort.😁

So, has anyone actually messed around with home remedies? Like, using apple cider vinegar compresses? Yeah, I know, it stings like crazy at first and the smell is pretty intense 😢 , but it actually helps... sometimes...

So, here’s the thing—my mother gave me a leaf from some plant (I have no clue what it actually is, I'll have to ask her), and I’ve been applying a fresh leaf every night for a few days now. And honestly? The pain and the discharge from my thumb have completely cleared up. 🙂
Phew! It’s such a relief that I didn't have to go see a doctor or deal with all those endless blood tests just to find out if something needed to be surgically removed...

.. regarding home remedies, even cow's milk cheese worked wonders for my ingrown nails..

.. I also dealt with toe issues—a literal three-year ordeal. I realized something was seriously wrong when the infection started draining—and since I was only 11 at the time, it was just great 🙄 .. basically.. I just endured it until raw meat started growing in there.. then the doctor visits began. Antibiotic creams, cheese, cleaning everything out.. I even had these masochistic episodes where I’d try to cut that raw meat away myself, just watching the blood flow 🙄 .. then came the podiatrists, soaking my toes in some mysterious dark liquid, and their treatments which were absolute agony.. oh, and the doctors.. describing exactly what they were going to do (they actually told me they’d have to pull the entire nail 😱), so I never even scheduled the surgery... I just kept messing with my toes until 8th grade when I got braces (mostly because of those miserable toes; the braces gave me plenty of room to constantly apply antibiotic cream.. anyway... I remember the end of 8th grade and realizing the toe problems were finally gone. I don't know what did it—creams, soaking, cheese, the podiatrist... but whatever it was, it worked.. now, years later ( 😁 ), I can say *knock on wood* that I've never had issues again.. the only lasting consequence is that my big toe is square-shaped 😁 and the nail grows in a way that requires constant vigilance when trimming.. but when I think back to that pain and that mess of a situation.. having square toes is a small price to pay to never go through that again 🎉

I struggled with this for years. Every attempt was a failure. Eventually, I just opted for hair removal. It’s local, quick, and the only real pain was the few hours after the anesthesia wore off. Painkillers handled the rest. Believe me—get it over with as soon as possible.

A few years ago, I dealt with similar issues on my left big toe. My doctor recommended having the nail partially removed, which was an absolutely harrowing experience 😱 . At just sixteen years old, the pain was overwhelming; I had bandages the size of two large athletic wraps, and blood was even soaking through them. When I returned the next day for a dressing change, the moment the doctor began removing the gauze near the wound, I let out a genuine scream because the pain was so intense🙂 🙂 To be fair, the procedure worked. Once I recovered, a new nail grew in, and everything returned to normal 🎉
HOWEVER, I am now facing the exact same situation on my other foot, and I am terrified to go in because I know exactly how much it hurts... 😢

Heading to the podiatrist this afternoon to get my right big toe nail ripped out because it’s digging into the skin...😠
How long is the recovery gonna take before I'm back to normal?
Done this once before with the left foot, but that was like 5 or 6 years ago and I can't exactly remember when I finally felt like a whole new person again...
If you don't hear from me on the forum anymore, just assume I didn't make it through the surgery...😲

Man, they absolutely wrecked me yesterday....😁

Crime scene: Chicago

Time: around 3:30 PM

The worst part was when they jammed two injections straight into the meat of my thumb, all the way down to the bone (hurts like hell 😢 )... Then they dragged me over to this butcher of a guy who cleaned out my whole leg (tickled me like crazy, drove me nuts). Then he grabs some shears and slices right through the nail vertically, then uses these pliers to grab a chunk of the nail, yanking at it for maybe 20 seconds before finally ripping it out... the whole "surgery" was done in like ninety seconds... I watched the whole thing, so if anyone’s interested, I can pull off that stunt for you too (assuming you bring your own anesthesia, or maybe you want to go in without 😁 )...
That’s the short version. I'm walking okay now, and it hasn't even been 24 hours since the procedure... so it's not the end of the world...👍
Heading in for a bandage change this afternoon, hopefully everything looks fine...

Until the next rip, peace! 😁

👋

So, I went in today to have those half-nails trimmed on both of my big toes, and honestly, it’s incredibly painful and there’s even a bit of bleeding happening right now.😢

Ingrown nails, man...
I finally dealt with mine about four years ago. Honestly, the fact that I put up with it for almost two FULL years before my GP basically forced me to see a surgeon just proves I’m a total masochist. The guy noticed I was walking all weird during a "routine checkup." Man... I can't even tell you how much I struggled. The pain, the embarrassment, how much it messed with my walk and my job... honestly, all that was way worse than the actual surgery and recovery.

I earned my ingrown nail wearing combat boots, and I "finished it off" by wearing pointy sneakers. It varies from person to person, but in my experience, no podiatrist in the world could have fixed this. I spent forever trying to DIY it—cutting the edges myself, trying to push the skin back and stuff... but the nail was buried like 4mm deep, which is a massive amount!

They took me into this small room, everything was sterile, they draped me in sheets, and there was the surgeon plus two assistants... they disinfected everything with iodine (that yellow-brown stuff) and gave me the local anesthetic. If I remember right, they hit between my first and second toe, plus vertically and sideways near the big toe. The doc slightly overestimated the numbing effect, so I actually felt that first scalpel cut... nothing crazy, though. A few seconds later, I couldn't feel a thing. He made two lengthwise cuts along the nail, gently sliced through the skin, used some forceps to pull out the extra bit, and then cut into the nail root so it wouldn't grow back like this again.

He explained that it's caused by shoes, how you trim them, and just genetics. He told me you're supposed to cut toenails straight across, not in a curve!

I had to go back for three dressing changes every two days. After a week, I was walking in clogs without too much trouble. By the following week, I was back at work.

I'm telling you, it's totally worth getting it done instead of just suffering through all the misery and pain of an ingrown nail.

So, I started this thread and then totally ghosted everyone without posting the results... figured since it was Christmas, we shouldn't be obsessing over surgeons... there are better things to talk about, right?
Basically, I endured, suffered, and almost lost my mind... surgery was the only way out...
Back on December 12th last year, I went to see the surgeon. He seemed like a perfectly pleasant guy, all things considered... 👍
He gave me the once-over and said, "Just relax, we'll get this done." He gave me two injections, and I sat there praying I wouldn't feel a thing, just like everyone else claimed... but of course, damn it... 😲 I felt everything. Thank God it only lasted a few moments, but man, there was blood everywhere. You know that sensation when you can actually feel the blood flowing? It was intense. They wrapped me up nicely, but I ended up waddling around like a penguin... 😁
Anyway, despite what people say about how the removal won't hurt but the recovery will—for me, nothing. I popped two Ibuprofens before heading to bed just in case the pain hit during the night, but honestly, I didn't feel a thing afterward... nor did I bleed through... (I guess everything drained during the procedure 😁).
So, I'm still alive, and my nail is slowly growing back. I can see it starting to peek through somewhere... yeah, that's the stuff... 😁
Just stay brave and don't overthink it... 👍
👋

p.s. I'm a little suspicious of the nail on my other foot... clearly those sneakers did their job well enough... 😢

Man, I'm terrified this is how it ends for me 😢

On my left foot, right by the big toe—the skin near the nail is killing me. Feels like the nail has already grown over everything 😢
The cuticle, you know, that little flap on the side? It’s basically an open wound and just won't heal 😢
Every time I stand up straight, it hurts like hell 😢

God, I'm about to lose it 😢

I’m bringing up this topic because I’m heading in tomorrow for a surgical nail removal—I’m officially done with the whole "pulling and lifting" DIY nonsense, so I figured this was the right expression to use. I’m curious, though: how long does it actually take for a nail to fully regrow? Basically, when can I realistically get back to hitting the gym after the procedure?

electricmoose48 said:I’m bringing up this topic because I’m heading in tomorrow for a surgical nail removal—I’m officially done with the whole "pulling and lifting" DIY nonsense, so I figured this was the right expression to use. I’m curious, though: how long does it actually take for a nail to fully regrow? Basically, when can I realistically get back to hitting the gym after the procedure?

It'll probably take about two months to fully grow back. But once you see some progress at the base—usually after two or three weeks—you should be fine to get back into your sneakers and hit the gym...
good luck, 😉

What kind of footwear am I actually allowed to wear? Are we talking just flip-flops and slides—and if so, how long after the surgery am I stuck with them?

Stick with flip-flops for the first 4 or 5 days since you'll be doing a lot of walking to get to the spot. After that, you can switch to something wider... basically, once you peel off that thick bandage after a few days and you're just down to a thinner wrap, just try whatever fits comfortably.

So, how long does it actually take to go from a total hair disaster to looking somewhat decent again? Maybe... two months?

Oh my God!
Seriously, anyone dealing with those nasty ingrown toenails—the kind that throb and make you want to rip the whole thing out—just stop. Just stop right now.

The fix is actually super simple—grab a nail file and sand down the middle part of the nail (basically just thinning it out). Don't go overboard and file it all the way down to the skin, obviously, but if you thin the center, the nail will basically "fill in" that gap. It levels itself out and pulls away from the skin where it was digging in. The inflammation dies down and the whole ingrown mess just vanishes.
What do you mean "pulling it out"? Goodness gracious! That sounds absolutely brutal... honestly, just wait for it to grow out and for heaven's sake, don't touch it. I can't even imagine the pain.

I’m telling you, this is a 99% guaranteed fix for ingrown nails.

Also, cutting them straight across like someone else mentioned helps. Rounding off those sharp corners is key too, but you absolutely have to sand down that center surface first.

bluebison47 said:So, how long does it actually take to go from a total hair disaster to looking somewhat decent again? Maybe... two months?

It took me six months... When it starts growing back, it looks all patchy and weird. It needs time to actually grow out properly.

Megan Cox8 said:Stick with flip-flops for the first 4 or 5 days since you'll be doing a lot of walking to get to the spot. After that, you can switch to something wider... basically, once you peel off that thick bandage after a few days and you're just down to a thinner wrap, just try whatever fits comfortably.

As if I could just rip it off in 4 or 5 days... I had surgery last Tuesday, and I'm still stuck in this leg wrap. I have two more dressing changes scheduled, and honestly, I don't have the strength to pull anything over my foot right now. They had to take everything off because the swelling was actually deforming the area underneath—it was messing with the underlying tissue and even the newest growth... Anyway, the anesthesia actually hurt more since they hit me in 2 or 3 spots, though the whole thing lasted maybe 5 to 10 minutes... They pulled it out in less than 5. I'm still walking on my heel, but it's getting better—less pain, just uncomfortable. My advice? Go see a surgeon to handle these issues if you can't manage them yourself; otherwise, you risk permanent deformity. At the end of the day, none of us are doctors, so we obviously can't claim to know the 100% perfect solution to this problem.