This Maybe Be Gross But.. I Got An Infection By My Toe Nail...?

My big toe on my left foot was hurting on the left side of the nail, unbearably and it was red and swollen and for the first few days I noticed when I pushed this clearish yellow puss would come out. Well the pussing had stopped but it was still red and swollen and hurt terribly so I went to the doctor.


She perscribed me some antibiotics for 2 weeks and to soak my toe in warm water with Epsom salt, then ';milk'; the puss out, and if it didnt go away or get better by the en of my perscription then to make another appointment for her to cut it open.





So Ive been taking the antibiotics for 3 days now and soaking it a few times each day in the water with Epsom salt, still its not getting better.. which I know it will take a while so Im not rushing or anything. Only there is no puss coming out either when I try to ';milk'; it out, and it hurts just as much as it did before going to the doctor.





So today I was walking and I had bumped it on the clothes hamper in my laundry room, not really hard or anything but of course it hurt bc its infected, then it started to bleed.





It has never bled before, so is there could there be something else wrong with it? Its not a ingrown toe nail or anything so why would bumping it on something make it bleed, wouldnt it just make puss come out?





I just looked on the receipt paper they gave me when I left and it says its called Cellulitis, has anyone had this problem with their foot and if so how did you get rid of it?This Maybe Be Gross But.. I Got An Infection By My Toe Nail...?
Hi there,





Cellulitis is inflammation/infection of the skin or subcutaneous tissues. Since it is an infection, yes, you could see blood even without puss coming from it just from a bump. This would be the blood (cells) that is building up around the infection and fighting it (Not puss, because the meds. and blood cells are working) It is normal. Like you said, you have only taken the antibiotics for 3 days and you know it takes more time to heal. So continue to take them.





It should heal on it's own with the prescription. But like your Doctor said, you might need to have it lanced and have a lavage (Draining/cleaning). This would be the worst case scenario though. It should heel like I said with the meds.





Just be more careful with it and try to keep it elevated when sitting/lying to relieve the pressure/soreness you will feel from the blood going to it to do it's work (This usually causes throbbing sensations).





Hope this puts your mind at ease a bit.





Good luck and take care!





By the way, I was disappointed! I was expecting something actually....Gross! LOL!This Maybe Be Gross But.. I Got An Infection By My Toe Nail...?
Cellulitis just means an infection in the tissue. Salt water soaks and antibiotics are usually the answer. You may have a portion of the nail that is growing in to the tissue, in which case the continued irritation makes it difficult to heal and surgically removing part of the nail may be needed. Good luck.
Hi,





I just saw towards the end you said it was not an ingrown toe nail. So, I guess the information from the above 2 answers is better than what I was going to say about it being an ingrown toe nail.





Hope it gets better soon.
don't cut the toenail so short. use neosporin.