# Infected toe



## BrandiJo (Nov 24, 2007)

Ok, I am well aware i should go to the Dr, However my husband and i are both un emoplyed at the moment and money is tight to say the least. So its really not an option ...

So here is my problem, I have an infected toe, i had an ingrown toenail removed and the site has became infected. Does anyone have any idea how i can at home treat this. So far i have soaked it in ebsome salt, applied triple antibiotic ointment and and taking  lots of garlic (started that today as today was when it became notably worse) I have suspected it has been infected for a few weeks now but only today did it start to leak out puss like stuff when squeezed ( i have been checking it daily) it however has been red and poofy for a few weeks.


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## Jai (Nov 24, 2007)

I'd say you are doing about everything you can safey at this point on your own. Keep it clean and make sure the infection does not spread. Even with money being tight I would get in and see a Doc ASAP.


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## shesulsa (Nov 24, 2007)

BJ,

My ex and I were without insurance when I had a similar issue.  I went to the podiatrist and told him my situation and asked for a payment plan and he gave it to me, referred me to the clinic for oral meds.

Do the same.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Nov 24, 2007)

Tea Tree Oil should kill about anything. Vinegar and a couple of other herbs and such. My teacher told me use Tea tree oil. Saw a couple use some strong vinegar to kill some fungus on their foot pretty cool.
all othe Herbal formulas I can not think of right now and I also hate giving them out online.


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## kaizasosei (Nov 24, 2007)

infections most always need to be cleaned.  
if there is a piece of nail stuck inside or more likely if the nail continues to grow inside, you have to physicaly remove it by either cutting it away or lifting it out by stuffing something like cotton under.  you can get an idea of just how bad it is by lifting the nail a bit and seeing how much pain/ infection there is. 

although i haven't had this condition since my early teens, i actually helped a few people who had it.  -but one of them was too chicken to get completely healed.

infection needs to be cleaned.  it won't get better unless space is created and the missshapen nail that is pressing down on side must be removed.  you can cut away at it slowly little by little.  
 many doctors will actually remove a piece of your nail from the base nailbed.  i think this sucks because it will permanently change the appearance of your nail by making it less wide. unless the infection is at the very base of the nail and very bad,  i would not opt for that. most likely, the nail can be cut away and lifted out.-  also, there may be pieces of detached nail causing infection.  that is why, the entire area needs to be cleaned.  for this procedure, a bottle of disinfectant and some sharp tools tweezers and tools for scraping, be in order.

the nail can be considered a foreign object.  

j


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## setboy (Nov 24, 2007)

If it was me, I would soak my feet in Tea Tree Oil, Vinegar, Hydrogen  Peroxide, chamomile tea, or a combination of all/some of them. I would soak up to there times a day.  


Raphael


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## BrandiJo (Nov 24, 2007)

kaizasosei said:


> infections most always need to be cleaned.
> if there is a piece of nail stuck inside or more likely if the nail continues to grow inside, you have to physicaly remove it by either cutting it away or lifting it out by stuffing something like cotton under.  you can get an idea of just how bad it is by lifting the nail a bit and seeing how much pain/ infection there is.
> 
> although i haven't had this condition since my early teens, i actually helped a few people who had it.  -but one of them was too chicken to get completely healed.
> ...



I have already had the infected nail removed by a Dr. still paying on that bill (ouch) the problem is the site became infected after wards. How would you recommend cleaning it out if there is no nail there to be removed?

I have peroxide and rubbing alcohol on hand Vinegar i can pick up from the store rather cheaply .. not sure about tea tree oil.. if i remember right that come in a small vial and is rather spendy.  But i will try a foot soak of the vinegar tmrw .. thats for the advice all  keep it coming please, id rather nip this now then have it become painful again.


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## kaizasosei (Nov 24, 2007)

hey.

, you'd have to see how infected it is.  it's worth it to give it a shot.  if you make sure to disinfect with alchohol, iodine.  -i'm not such a fan of peroxide myself i would rather take some kind of highpercentage alchohol beverage.
  whatever, the opinions will be differernt for this. 

last time i had to do some disinfecting on myself, it was my fingers after three days of archery.  i had to make around 50 little pokes and cuts, because i was too chicken and unwilling to make one bigone. the problem was that it wasn't an real infection yet, but if was starting and swollen and painful already.  
  my worst infection was after a bout of antibiotics where i didn't follow the instructions and finish the course.  so now i know why to finish the antibiotics.  i had to learn the hard way.  

sorry, this has nothing to do with it.  but infections, need to be cleaned, meaning, they need to be bleed out.  you need to remove all the nasty stuff scraping and cutting until you have a fresh wound again bleeding preferably flowing with fresh clean blood.  then you can disinfect and close it up again in a clean way.  there is no better way.

basically, you have a wound there that is infected.  so start to reopen that wound and allow it to bleed out fully. all the infected parts should be removed and the entire area disinfected.






j


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## shesulsa (Nov 24, 2007)

The doctor who did the procedure will need to know it's infected, BrandiJo - have you called him/her?


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## arnisador (Nov 24, 2007)

BrandiJo said:


> I have already had the infected nail removed by a Dr. still paying on that bill (ouch) the problem is the site became infected after wards.



Go back to him. This is part of the treatment of that nail and he should at least look at it as part of your normal follow-up care. Check with his nurse first but argue that there was a problem and he needs to check and make sure that it isn't a result of the initial care. At the least, call and ask.

In these days of MRSA it's worth being on antibiotics if it's gone on this long. More than just a toe is at risk.


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## Kacey (Nov 24, 2007)

I agree with shesulsa - you need to contact the doctor who removed the ingrown toenail in the first place.  Many doctors consider infections that follow treatment to be part of the same issue, and the office visit cost is either greatly reduced or eliminated.  Since you're already on a payment plan with this doctor, that would be the person to follow up with; s/he is already aware of the source of the concern, and should be open to prescribing antibiotics, as well as to extending the payment plan if needed.  If it's as bad as you say it is, external treatment is probably not going to be enough; it sounds like the infection is already well established.

Also, while the topical and internal remedies you're using are, individually, not expensive, over time they're going to add up to a cost as significant as medical treatment, and are likely to take longer and be less effective.  Get this taken care of _now_, before it gets worse and requires even more - and more expensive - treatment.

If you're unable to see the doctor who performed the original removal for whatever reason, check in your local area for free/reduced cost clinics - they specialize in under- and uninsured patients, and will be willing to set up a payment plan for you.  But I would still start with the doctor who removed the toenail in the first place.

Keep us up to date on what you've done and how you're doing.


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## terryl965 (Nov 24, 2007)

Yes by all means go back to the original doctor and let him finished what he started or she, sorry bad habit always referring to a him.


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## jks9199 (Nov 24, 2007)

Like others have said -- go back to the original doctor.  At the very least, he or she should be able to give you a prescription for antibiotics, and possibly even some samples to at least start the treatment.  The doctor may also be able to refer you to a low cost/free clinic or other options to get the meds.


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## kaizasosei (Nov 24, 2007)

> Yes by all means go back to the original doctor and let him finished what he started or she, sorry bad habit always referring to a him



this may well be the wisest course of action whatever you end up doing.

j


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## BrandiJo (Nov 24, 2007)

My first Dr is in Nebraska and my husband and i just moved to Oregon 

Any one from the Portland area wanna recommend a clinic or something preferably with a sliding pay scale? or a personal Dr who is rather understanding?


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## Kacey (Nov 24, 2007)

I can't recommend a doctor - but I would recommend calling the first doctor and explaining the situation to him - he may well be able to prescribe something for you over the phone; if he can't, what have you lost?  I'd just be sure you know the name and number of a local pharmacy.


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## shesulsa (Nov 24, 2007)

BrandiJo said:


> My first Dr is in Nebraska and my husband and i just moved to Oregon
> 
> Any one from the Portland area wanna recommend a clinic or something preferably with a sliding pay scale? or a personal Dr who is rather understanding?



I'll do some asking around for you, BrandiJo


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## BrandiJo (Nov 24, 2007)

Thanks ​


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## jks9199 (Nov 24, 2007)

Kacey said:


> I can't recommend a doctor - but I would recommend calling the first doctor and explaining the situation to him - he may well be able to prescribe something for you over the phone; if he can't, what have you lost?  I'd just be sure you know the name and number of a local pharmacy.


Or, if he's unwilling to prescribe something over the phone (and I wouldn't blame him), he very likely knows a doctor in your area.  He may be able to arrange for that doctor to handle the follow up with you.


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## BrandiJo (Nov 24, 2007)

I found a few free clinics in the area i will give them a call monday and see if they are able to help me out.


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## arnisador (Nov 24, 2007)

BrandiJo said:


> I found a few free clinics in the area i will give them a call monday and see if they are able to help me out.



Good! Oregon licenses naturopaths who are often much cheaper and more likely to have a sliding scale but are also much mor elimited in scope of practice.

Don't forget nurse practitioners--again, less expensive, but in the mainstream and (under physician supervision) able to prescribe broadly.


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## kaizasosei (Nov 25, 2007)

medication alone will not solve the problem. if the infection is not treated directly, it will most likely get worse and worse.  when it's so bad that even sleep is impossible, that would be the latest one should wait to seek a doctor.  if a smaller infection is not treated for a long time, the lymph nodes closest to the infection may swell up.  like at armpit for arms, inner theigh for legs top of jawline for head.  that would also be a warning sign.
but normally, it would take a very long time for it to get really dangerous.  

depending also on the type of infection.   in the case of an infected toe, it is about the safest place you could have an infection.  however, any infection can pose risks of eventually becoming too intensely developed and even spreading.


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## tellner (Nov 25, 2007)

The advice you've gotten so far is excellent. I'd like to add a couple pieces if you're doing your own treatment for the moment...


There's an old medical saying - "Piss and pus must be drained".
Antibiotics at the feed store come off the same assembly line as the ones in the drugstore. The difference in price can be an order of magnitude.
Some people are still getting onto the Oregon Health Plan.


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## searcher (Nov 26, 2007)

I would not normally reccomend this course of action, but in extreme circumstances it calls for extreme measures.   Do you have anybody in your family with some leftover antibiotics, ie. keflex, cephlexan,...?   You may want to get them and start taking them.   Infections get out of control very quickly.   I had a cut go to a Staph infection and landed me in the hospital.


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## BrandiJo (Nov 26, 2007)

searcher said:


> I would not normally reccomend this course of action, but in extreme circumstances it calls for extreme measures.   Do you have anybody in your family with some leftover antibiotics, ie. keflex, cephlexan,...?   You may want to get them and start taking them.   Infections get out of control very quickly.   I had a cut go to a Staph infection and landed me in the hospital.



my family is all in the Midwest. However i have an appointment for Tuesday 7PM at the local free clinic, so i should be ok.. and they have a sliding pay scale so it looks like sense im unemployed it will be a donate if you can type thing ... so we should be good there too


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## setboy (Nov 26, 2007)

Good luck


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## jks9199 (Nov 26, 2007)

searcher said:


> I would not normally reccomend this course of action, but in extreme circumstances it calls for extreme measures. Do you have anybody in your family with some leftover antibiotics, ie. keflex, cephlexan,...? You may want to get them and start taking them. Infections get out of control very quickly. I had a cut go to a Staph infection and landed me in the hospital.


 
Apart from the entire issue of this being illegal... it's also dangerous and unwise.  All taking random, partial courses of antibiotics is likely to do is produce antibiotic resistant infections.

Short term, laymen's treatment should be limited to keeping it clean, and possibly using OTC treatments like triple antibiotic cream (Neosporin, etc) or other topical antibiotics, like hydrogen peroxide, Mercurochrome, and so on.

If the infection is dramatically worse, or is causing fevers, etc, go to the ER.  Just about every ER will treat you and collect later.  Many hospitals will work payment plans out with you.


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## searcher (Nov 27, 2007)

jks9199 said:


> Apart from the entire issue of this being illegal... it's also dangerous and unwise. All taking random, partial courses of antibiotics is likely to do is produce antibiotic resistant infections.
> 
> Short term, laymen's treatment should be limited to keeping it clean, and possibly using OTC treatments like triple antibiotic cream (Neosporin, etc) or other topical antibiotics, like hydrogen peroxide, Mercurochrome, and so on.
> 
> If the infection is dramatically worse, or is causing fevers, etc, go to the ER. Just about every ER will treat you and collect later. Many hospitals will work payment plans out with you.


 

That is why I said I would not normally rec. that course of action.    But getting a blood poisoning is the lesser of the two IMO.


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## BrandiJo (Nov 28, 2007)

ok, so i went in... they poked and squeezed at it and made it even more oozy  gave me a 7day supply of antibiotics eww cipro and im supposed to keep soaking it in ebsome salt twice a day and rinse it with peroxide and rubbing alcohol in the morning.


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## arnisador (Nov 28, 2007)

Good news! Glad to hear you're being monitored and obn your way to recovery.


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## Doc_Jude (Nov 28, 2007)

BrandiJo said:


> I have peroxide and rubbing alcohol on hand Vinegar i can pick up from the store rather cheaply .. not sure about tea tree oil.. if i remember right that come in a small vial and is rather spendy.  But i will try a foot soak of the vinegar tmrw .. thats for the advice all  keep it coming please, id rather nip this now then have it become painful again.



Epsom salt soaks, as hot as you can stand. Check that, hotter than you can stand. 

Tea Tree oil is a few bucks, but so little goes so far. Worth the investment. 

Worst Case Scenario, soaking it, softening all that crap up, and debreding it may be what you need to do. Get all that dead crap outta there that's holding in the infection, let the pressure off. It'll hurt, esp since it's already so tender, but sometimes it has to be done.

I would recommend getting this done by a medical professional. Maybe a nurse or paramedic friend.


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## terryl965 (Nov 28, 2007)

BrandiJo said:


> ok, so i went in... they poked and squeezed at it and made it even more oozy  gave me a 7day supply of antibiotics eww cipro and im supposed to keep soaking it in ebsome salt twice a day and rinse it with peroxide and rubbing alcohol in the morning.


 
Great the antibiotics will differently help, let us know how it is going in a couple of days.


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## Kacey (Nov 28, 2007)

BrandiJo said:


> ok, so i went in... they poked and squeezed at it and made it even more oozy  gave me a 7day supply of antibiotics eww cipro and im supposed to keep soaking it in ebsome salt twice a day and rinse it with peroxide and rubbing alcohol in the morning.



I'm glad you went in - keep it clean, soak it as much as you can stand, and make sure it's able to drain; all that stuff has to go somewhere.

Feel better soon!


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## BrandiJo (Dec 11, 2007)

ok finished the antibiotics a few days ago, and im still soaking it once a day and going at it with peroxide and rubbing alcohol. It is looking much better, its not nearly as red and poofy, but i can still get stuff to drain from it. It bleeds now too when i drain the icky stuff out, a good sign iv been told. Yay 

Oh yes and the rubbing alcohol burns like no other now ~ a new development from when i first started doing it.


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## tellner (Dec 11, 2007)

The blood and the burning are good signs under the circumstances. Glad it's being taken care of.


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## arnisador (Dec 11, 2007)

tellner said:


> The blood and the burning are good signs under the circumstances. Glad it's being taken care of.



Yes, absolutely, seeing blood rather than pus is likely a good sign for now! Thanks for bringing us up-to-date.


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