Ever since I can remember, I've had a painful toe nail on the big toe of one foot. Even touching it lightly causes shooting pain. Can't wear many shoes, despite having narrow feet. So ski boots have always been a problem. When I got heat formable boots, I used a heat gun and screwdriver handle to create a large bulge around that toe. That helped. But with a very low instep, I've always been two sizes down on boots, so toe clearance is always an issue.
I've always thought I should do something about it. But I read about the procedure. 3-4 week recovery time. Then I look at my calendar. I'm going on this hike, this trip, this ride, its ski season . . .
Well, almost on a whim, I did it this week. Its a very simple procedure. They just cut a slice of the toenail off and kill the root so it won't grow back. Turns out I have very curved toenail (which exacerbates these problems). I also had a very jagged and irregular margin on the toenail. So now my toenail is ~5mm narrower and the edge is super straight and even.
And boy was it easy. I was under the impression that it was very painful. No. Most painful part was two shots with a large needle to fill (yes fill like a balloon) the toe with painkiller. Call it a 5 on a scale of 1-10. Procedure was over in two minutes. Felt some mild sharp pains after local wore off (3, maybe 4 on the scale). Not continuous. Next day this continued, but still not continous. No ibuprofen or anything. Quite tolerable.
Today is two days later. Nada. No pain at all. I can even push gently on the toe. Nada. I'll be applying neosporin to the nail bed and bandaging for another week or so. And have to stay out of the pool/hot tub for 2-3 weeks. But I can see hiking or biking within another day or two. I can imagine that I'd be ready to ski in another week or so.
This is a relatively common issue. If you've ever considered doing this, I highly recommend it. I should never have waited this long.
I've always thought I should do something about it. But I read about the procedure. 3-4 week recovery time. Then I look at my calendar. I'm going on this hike, this trip, this ride, its ski season . . .
Well, almost on a whim, I did it this week. Its a very simple procedure. They just cut a slice of the toenail off and kill the root so it won't grow back. Turns out I have very curved toenail (which exacerbates these problems). I also had a very jagged and irregular margin on the toenail. So now my toenail is ~5mm narrower and the edge is super straight and even.
And boy was it easy. I was under the impression that it was very painful. No. Most painful part was two shots with a large needle to fill (yes fill like a balloon) the toe with painkiller. Call it a 5 on a scale of 1-10. Procedure was over in two minutes. Felt some mild sharp pains after local wore off (3, maybe 4 on the scale). Not continuous. Next day this continued, but still not continous. No ibuprofen or anything. Quite tolerable.
Today is two days later. Nada. No pain at all. I can even push gently on the toe. Nada. I'll be applying neosporin to the nail bed and bandaging for another week or so. And have to stay out of the pool/hot tub for 2-3 weeks. But I can see hiking or biking within another day or two. I can imagine that I'd be ready to ski in another week or so.
This is a relatively common issue. If you've ever considered doing this, I highly recommend it. I should never have waited this long.
