Ingrown Toenail & Possible Depression

Revolutionary

Hi guys. Me again.

Ingrown Toenail:

First up, I have an ingrown toenail. It hurts to walk and I do a minor limp. The wikipedia article claims I should see a doctor or treat it immediately, and not wait it out. Should I dodge school tomorrow for this? There's no important work so it wouldn't kill me. It hurts greatly to walk.

My dad, however, who is a GP, is in Beijing at the moment. He says to wait it out. Now, while Wikipedia vs Trained professional may seem an obvious choice to make, it is a common condition and I'm sure it's been heavily covered on Wikipedia, so it has some value.

Depression:

Secondly, I've been feeling bouts of depression recently for no apparent reason. I usually make a reason to be sad, often the reason being the depression, sometimes completely irrational things.

Sometimes I feel like thumping something, which I've done on my head, other times I want to drop out of productivity and just think. I never feel productive when depressed like this. Only a good friend of mine knows so far.

What do I do? Any personal experiences to share?

brandotheninjamaster

Ingrown toenail. First let it be known that I find all things dealing with feet utterly revolting and disgusting. With that said, I have had bunch of ingrown toe nails. I hate going to the Doctor so I experimented with my own surgery. If it was infected I would drain the infection and douse the area with peroxide. I just had one recently and soaked the infected area in epsom salt for like an hour and it went away in 2 days (magic?).

Now should you go to the Doctor heres what you can expect:

You say I have an ingrown toe nail.
Doctor takes a look and says yes you do. Then says lets take care of it. He takes a syringe full of novicane (sp) and gives you 3 shots to the toe. Then takes nail clippers that surprisingly familiar to needle nose plyers, and clips straight down into the root. Good stuff, blood, pus, the whole 9. You get a bandage and it takes like a few days to heal.

brandotheninjamaster

Depression: You gotta do something. I find that if I'm too stationary at any given time it sets in, but if I'm moving upward and onward then I can escape it. You gotta do something that can constructive and make you feel good. I chose fixing computers (turned into a career, who knew?). Sometimes I would just walk outside and go exploring. Break free of the normal hum drum melancholy activities and you should be able to break free from your depression.

FunkyWaltDogg

I'm not a doctor, but on the ingrown toenail: if you haven't messed it up further by trying to clip it back, you may be able to wait it out as your dad suggests; if you do I would take the above advice, especially the Epsom salt soak.

brandotheninjamaster

I just remembered something! If you clip your toenail in the shape of an upside down V it somehow prevents ingrown toenails from forming. Don't ask me how but I was told this from a Doctor.

Midshipman

I've gone through two ingrown toenails (at the same time no less) and it took several months, but it eventually went away with just self-treatment. There wasn't any lasting damage, the only reason I could see for a "don't wait it out" recommendation is that it is something that is fairly trivial to solve surgically. Mine took a long time to get through because it was constantly being irritated by me playing lacrosse and that my toes were forming granulations around the injury. My treatment consisted of careful cleaning and trimming plus some silver nitrate to deal with the granulation.

necroSYS

The only thing you risk in waiting it out is a staph infection and possible amputation.

brandotheninjamaster

necroSYS wrote: »

The only thing you risk in waiting it out is a staph infection and possible amputation.

Aw, come on now. I think any person would have sense enough to go to a doctor if they see their toe getting gangorious (sp I know I suck at it). If your toe is totally green don't make a thread go to the doctor. I have waited out many. Just make sure you clean it regularly.

iTunesIsEvil

I've tried to wait out and treat ingrown toenails on my own as well, but it didn't work out so hot for me. I would personally advise just getting it taken care of by a doctor. Anytime you're dealing with a digit that's partially infected (pus=infection) it's best to just see a doctor in my book.

If your dad, a GP, says wait, then wait. His advice will trump mine any day of the week.

The Lovely Bastard

Actually, if you have the insurance, and ingrown toenails become a problem for you: go to a podiatrist. Mine not only took care of the ingrowns on my toes, but he stuck a drill into the toe and shaved the bone so the chances of getting another one is almost zero.

That's only if you are comfortable with the thought, though.

Worked wonders for me.

InsensitiveSeaBass

I'd get it treated by a podiatrist or plastic surgeon as soon as possible. I hope you won't end up with my luck: several home treatments by a GP, a visit to the podiatrist and a visit to the plastic surgeon over the course of eight years. The first few years I sat it out just cleaning it.

amateurhour

I've had a lot of experience with ingrown toenails just from breaking them off during various sports and then having them grow back fucked up. Also, I pick at my nails something fierce, so they get ingrown from being shortened to much before they can spread over the toe.

If you are squemish, don't do it yourself. I do it all the time with a small, surgically clean, knife (not a surgical knife, but put through as close to the same cleaning standards as I can get), some hydrogen peroxide, small sissors from a grooming kit, and plenty of cloth wrap and neosporin. It hurts like a bitch but you will instantly feel good once it's out.

I would go see a doctor though. They can have it done almost immediately, and chances are you won't be bothered by it again for years if you take decent care of your feet.

tony_important

Having had the surgery several times myself (once 2 weeks early because somebody dropped a keg on my toe), I will tell you to go see a doctor ASAP.

At least they will be able to tell you whether you need surgery or if you can take care of it yourself.

corcorigan

Ah, I love getting internet advice. Half say one thing, the other half say exactly the opposite.

(I'd just go with what your GP father said, he probably sees them every day...)

syrion

I had an ingrown toenail that I went to a GP for. He told me all kinds of useless crap. Put cotton under the toenail, put peroxide on it, and so on and so forth. Nothing worked. He referred me to an outpatient surgery place. They clipped it out. It grew back ingrown within six months and was more infected than ever. I said to hell with it and went to a podiatrist. He ripped it out and killed the nail-bed so that part of the nail doesn't grow back. No problems since.

Was it unpleasant? Yes.

Was it as unpleasant as trying to "wait it out" and self treat it? Hell no.

Go to a podiatrist.

Nrthstar

Depression can be a dangerous matter. I grew up in a "tough it out" family, so that's what I tried to do. Things were going well till my college education fell apart, then "toughing it out" became.. difficult. My chest began to tighten down till I couldn't eat anything, I could breath, but the pain was unbearable. 20 medical tests later including several x-rays and the doctor prescribed some pill (I think it was lexipro or something).

Pills aren't an answer though, merely a sidestep. So I refused to take them. I took up the same hobbies that kept me going when I was a kid. Exploring alone, hiking through forests where I knew I could be completely alone. CCG's and other games kept me going, but the only real answer I got was with meditation. Then my tattoo artist suggested Tai Chi. I know the Church doesn't agree with it, but it's not a religion, but when practiced merely an advanced form of meditation. By itself Tai Chi didn't stop my stress, but combined with everything else I was trying, I eliminated my depression. It does pop up every now and then, but then I simply focus on the problem inside of me instead of trying to find something to blame. It makes me feel stronger than before.

Shadowfire

One thing regarding the toenail... as another repeat ingrown sufferer (eh?), I tend to cut the damn things out myself. It's always on my right foot, big toe. I soak the foot in epsom salt and water, for about 15 minutes. Then I use a butter knife to pull the ingrown part of the toe out (it sounds weird, but it makes a great prying tool), and use clippers to cut the ingrown part off. Some peroxide, neosporin, and a bandaid later, and I'm in good shape. I can't stress enough how important it is to soak the toe first, though. People have mentioned soaking it, but doing so before clipping will soften the nail enough to make it bend a bit without hurting like fuck.

The Black Hunter

For the ingrown, dont trim your toenail in a semi circle, it encourages it to grow sideways, trim it straight across and just take as little as possible off the side to smooth the edge a tiny bit. Also, keep it clean. Put disinfectant powder on it too (nightly).

For depression?
Find something to do, with other people.
Anything to keep your mind away from what is negatively effecting your life.


PS: If you can afford health proffesionals and feel it is neccesary, then go ahead, my solutions are just cheap and easy ways to help. They won't make you magically better, but they help.

brandotheninjamaster

Since were talking about cheap things I should probably mention that epsom salt is dirt cheap. For like a 5 IB bag its like $3 or $4 at Walmart. I can't tell you enough how awesome that stuff is for treating ingrown toenails. Plus it also works as a fertilizer and a laxative (seriously).

donquixote

Haha, I was feeling important because brandotheninjamaster replied my thread but I see he's been everywhere. Anyway, on to my answers:

Ingrown toenail Why wait? Why tough it out for a couple of weeks or months if you don't need too? (Assuming it's not some expensive procedure of course)

Depression Is that 'Revolutionary' moniker for real? Is Che truly one of you heroes? 'Cos the resources I'm recommending are especially helpful if you answered yes to those two questions... You should check out Surviving America's Depression Epidemic by Bruce Levine. He had earlier written in much broader terms on this topic in Commonsense Rebellion. The specific society he writes to, along with the examples he draws on, is America but you can see the links to the rest of the industrialized world. Barbara Ehrenreich's Dancing in the Streets is also a stimulating read. If you're one of those countercultural types then also look into Navigating The Space Between Brilliance and Madness by The Icarus Project (focuses on manic depressives), although I'm not really a fan.

p.s. forgot to link to this article (book reviews) by Levine

brandotheninjamaster

donquixote wrote: »

Haha, I was feeling important because brandotheninjamaster replied my thread but I see he's been everywhere.

Yea, I have been blasting the H/A forums a lot lately. I work in IT and I got everything that I'm responsible for up and running to optimum efficiency. So lately I have been starved for work cause nothing is breaking, so I spend time at my favorite place on the Net.

nexuscrawler

Depression is a tricky one. I've wrestled with it for most of my life honestly. It comes in goes in waves but never fully disappears. Recently it was getting to the point I didn't just feel unhappy I simply couldn't function anymore. The line for me was when I realized what I was actually doing had zilch to do with how I felt. I could go out and do stuff I knew was fun but I just couldn't enjoy it at all. That was when i decided to get treatment for it.

Hotlead Junkie

I'v actually had an ingrowing toenail for many years. Before you say anything, it's extremley easy to clip back (just cut it back after a soak in the tub when the nail is soft) and if I ever do notice it causing me even a little discomfort, I just cut it back like said above, it only bugs me like once every 2 months or so (yes, I do clip the normally during that time too).

EDIT: It's never been infected in all those years either.

Personally I'm too freaked out to get any kind of work done to my feet so I'm definatley avoiding surgery of any kind. I'v got this weird fear of anyone handling or touching them, I can't even wear sandles without major discomfort (not pain, just feels really, really bad somehow). Probably due to some verucas I had years ago as a child that meant a few doctor's visits and aplication/removal of things to get rid of them, plus I had this growth on my toe that finally went away after a few years but meant my feet were always being handled and prodded by doctors.... plus my dad usually wasn't careful when he clipped my toenails for me when I was about the same age.

Come to think of it I'm actually surprised I don't have recurring nightmares about all this.

Octoparrot

If it's infected (plasma, pus), see a doctor and have it treated immediately. Bone infection can result otherwise.

Otherwise do what other people have said and keep it groomed and soaked.