Toenail infection symptoms
- Pain with pressure on your toe.
- The skin next to your nail being swollen, tender, or hard.
- Redness.
- Bleeding.
- Skin that grows over part of your toenail.
- A blister filled with pus (you may not notice a blister, but have large amounts of drainage coming from your toe)
In this post
Will an infected toenail heal itself?
If your nail is infected, it won’t heal on its own. The only way to treat the infection and prevent painful complications is to visit a podiatrist like Dr. Butts for ingrown nail care.
What does it look like when your toenail is infected?
Nail fungus is a common infection of the nail. It begins as a white or yellow-brown spot under the tip of your fingernail or toenail. As the fungal infection goes deeper, the nail may discolor, thicken and crumble at the edge. Nail fungus can affect several nails.
How do you treat an infected big toenail?
Soak your foot in warm water and Epsom salt or coarse salt to soften the area. This will help the pus to drain out and reduce pain. Apply antibiotic or antifungal lotion directly to the nail and to the skin under and around the nail.
What happens if your toe nail is infected?
An ingrown toenail may cause pain, inflamed skin, swelling and, sometimes, infection around the toenail. Ingrown toenails are a common condition in which the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh. The result is pain, inflamed skin, swelling and, sometimes, an infection.
How can I treat an infected toe at home?
Soak your toe in a warm foot bath with unscented Epsom salt.
Soaking your ingrown or infected toe will help relieve the pain and pressure of an infection. It can also help to draw out pus from your toe. Keep your feet dry, unless you’re soaking them for treatment.
What does a bacterial nail infection look like?
The skin appears reddened and swollen, and the infection may discolor the nail or lead to distortion of its shape. In more severe cases, pus may collect and form an abscess at the base or sides of the nail. In such cases the skin feels fluctuant and looks whitish.
How long does a toe infection last?
Symptoms go away with treatment and last less than six weeks. Chronic paronychia: Symptoms develop more slowly than acute paronychia, and they usually last six weeks or longer. Several fingers or toes can be infected at once.
What do you soak an infected toe in?
Warm, Soapy Water Soak
Soaking your affected foot in warm, soapy water may help ease pain and reduce swelling. You should do this 3 times daily for up to 20 minutes. Adding a small amount of liquid Castile soap may bring extra relief.
Why do my toenails hurt when I press on them?
If your toenail is tender and sore it is most likely because the toenail is ingrown. An ingrown toenail (or onychocryptosis) is a toenail that has grown into the skin or occurs when a fold of skin on the side of the toenail has grown over the nail.
How serious is a toe infection?
A toenail infection can also lead to foot ulcers, or open sores, and a loss of blood flow to the infected area. Tissue decay and tissue death at the site of infection are possible. A foot infection can be more serious if you have diabetes.
How long does it take for a toenail infection to heal?
What to Expect: With treatment, the pus should be gone in 48 hours. Pain should be gone in 1 week. Area should be healed up in 2 weeks.
What ointment is good for toe infection?
Ciclopirox topical solution is used along with regular nail trimming to treat fungal infections of the fingernails and toenails (an infection that may cause nail discoloration, splitting and pain). Ciclopirox is in a class of medications called antifungals. It works by stopping the growth of nail fungus.
Which antibiotic is best for toe infection?
Penicillin and its derivatives such as ampicillin are the most effective antibiotics in nail infection, especially if caused by biting the nails or sucking the fingers.
Why is my toe red and swollen around the nail?
What Is Paronychia? Paronychia (pahr-uh-NIK-ee-uh) is an infection of the skin around a fingernail or toenail. The infected area can become swollen, red, and painful, and a pus-filled blister (abscess) may form. Most of the time, paronychia is not serious and can be treated at home.
Should you squeeze an infected toe?
Avoid squeezing out the pus.
We have a tendency to try to help the healing by attempting to squeeze any pus out of an infected wound. However, this can actually push the bacteria further into the wound, making the infection worse.
Can an infected toe make you sick?
An infection in your toe may also be accompanied by fever, sweating, chills, nausea, a lack of appetite, and weight loss.
How do you draw out a nail infection?
Treatment of a fingernail infection
Soak the affected area in warm water with an antibacterial soap. Do this three times a day for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. If the infection has not cleared after four or five days, make an appointment to see your child’s doctor.
What are the 5 common nail problems?
Tips to treat the 5 most common nail disorders: brittle nails, onycholysis, paronychia, psoriasis, onychomycosis.
What does gangrene look like?
The surface of your skin may look normal at first. As the condition worsens, the skin may become pale and then turn other colors such as gray or purplish red. The skin may look bubbly. It may make a crackling sound when you press on it because of the gas within the tissue.
What is Covid toe?
COVID toes: One or more toes may swell and turn pink, red, or a purplish color. Others may see a small amount of pus under their skin. Sometimes, people who have COVID toes have other symptoms of COVID-19. Treatment for COVID toes: To reduce pain or itching, apply a hydrocortisone cream to the affected area.