Yuck! Toe nail emergency

[Tybee]

So this is totally gross, but I lost my big toenail today.
It was stomped on recently by
a guy in cleats (oh, my stupid love of coed sports.) It was totally gross, but as least
I could paint it.
Now it''s gone, and all I have left one gross looking toe. Looks like
I need to put my flip flops back in the closet! Do you think a toenail will grow back
in 56 days? Do they put fake ones on? That seems a bit extreme, doesn''t it?
I have the cutest flops for my beachy wedding! Dang!

 

[LizzieC]

Ouch! I just asked FI about it and he says he lost a thumbnail once and it took about 3 months to grow back... He says toe nails grow slower so it would probably take longer. HOWEVER, one of my friends dropped something on her foot and lost a toe nail, and replaced it with a fake nail... I couldn''t tell the difference at all. So that''s probably definitely the way to go. I don''t know if she did it herself or had it done at a salon, but either way, your tootsies will be looking cute for the Big Day!

 

[appletini]

I don''t have any advice, but I totally feel for you. I can''t even stand to go out in public without polish on my toes. Keeping my fingers crossed that is grows back asap.

 

[jcrow]

yes you can actually get a fake acrylic toe nail put on.

 

[Blenheim]

I had someone step on my foot last summer and take part of my big toe nail off. I can''t remember exactly how long it took to grow back, but a lot of my dancer and track/cross country runner friends were suggesting putting a fake nail on it. It seems that a bunch of them have done it. Definitely do-able.

 

[monarch64]

Oh, Tybee that sucks!!!

I feel so bad for you. I will tell you this: my mother lost her big toenail a couple years ago and it took a good year for it to grow back, BUT she was 62 years old when it happened, so I''m thinking you have youth and quick healing powers on your side here. I don''t know about 56 days, but at least by then you can probably put a temporary fake toenail on it, even though that''s going to slow the healing/growing process even more...but it''s better than having half a toenail I guess.

Try not to worry over it so much, you''ll be so glowing and beautiful from the instep up that no one will probably notice!

 

[ocbride2007]

That sounds so painful, I''m sorry!!

Yeah, I don''t think it will grow back fully in time but you could definitely get a fake. What you may want to do is go to the drugstore and pick up some of that stuff that helps nails grow stronger, it may not work, but they say it will make it grow faster as well. It''s worth a shot - I''m no expert but if you get an acrylic, I would think it would hold better when you have more nail to attach it to. So having a stronger, longer nail would help.

I''m sure you''ll be able to get it fixed so you can be comfortable in your sandals on the big day and on your honeymoon!!

 

[flopkins]

owie!!!!

just get an acrylic - any nail salon will be able to do it... one of my friends got one to cover her athlete''s foot toe nail... and they''re able to do it w/about half a toenail, so I''m sure it''ll be fine.

 

[Tybee]

Wow,
You all are the best! After I posted that I was wondering if that was just too gross a subject.
I will definitely look into acrylic, thanks for the advice. I hope I just don''t gross out the nail
tech!

 

[BrightSpot]

Hey Tybee,

That sucks!

I actually lost a toenail in Jamaica (the second toe) on some coral. Fortunately, it didn''t happen until the day after my wedding, but it was a pain for the rest of the trip. I kept a bandaid on it (I highly recommend Nexcare waterproof bandaids as they seal completely around the wound, are waterproof & breathable & stay in place on your toes) until this week (nearly 3 weeks) so that the skin could heal. Over the weekend I gave myself a pedicure & painted the skin on the toe with the missing naill. (It sounds pretty gross, but it doesn''t look too bad from a distance.) I''ve heard that it takes a long time for the nails to grow back in--at least 3 months & longer for big toes. I''ll bet that you''ll have enough growth by your wedding date that you''ll be able to use an acrylic toenail & nobody will be the wiser.

Still, that sucks.

I''m so sorry, honey.

 

[StephanieK]

My boyfriend lost his big toenail once and it took a year to grow back!

He wore a bandaid on it most of the time as he didn''t want to go out and get a fake nail.

 

[Tybee]

Date: 5/23/2006 9:35:12 AM
Author: BrightSpot
Hey Tybee,


weekend I gave myself a pedicure & painted the skin on the toe with the missing naill. (It sounds pretty gross, but it doesn''t look too bad from a distance.) I''ve heard that it takes a long time for the nails to grow back in--at least 3 months & longer for big toes. I''ll bet that you''ll have enough growth by your wedding date that you''ll be able to use an acrylic toenail & nobody will be the wiser.


Still, that sucks.

I''m so sorry, honey.

Brightspot,
That''s pretty funny about painting the skin. I''ve done that before too (stupid running shoes and cleats.) I call it a faux-nail tee hee!

 

[selflove]

OUCH!!!! I hope it grows enough to paint or that you can put a fake one on!! That stinks!!

No more cleat sports or tree-climbing before the wedding! Hee hee!

 

[youngster]

Hi there, don''t usually post in this forum but your topic just reached out and grabbed me!

I, too, lost a toenail last year after dropping something heavy on it and damaging the cuticle. It took 6 months to grow mostly back and then it started looking bad and fell off again!

I really banged up the cuticle though. Finally, another 6/7 months later and I have my nail back and looking good. My podiatrist told me a year on average is how long it takes. An acrylic is a possibility, once you have enough nail grown back to attach the acrylic on to it. I used an acrylic to get through part of last summer but then it was starting to look icky and yellow. Yuck.

So, I took the acyrlic off and just let it be with a bandaid covering it. You are at a slightly greater risk for fungus so my podiatrist prescribed an anti-fungal ointment to put on it daily. You might want to check into that. Good luck. It will grow back! You have my complete sympathy!

 

[BrightSpot]

Hey Tybee...I was just thinking of you. How''s your toe? I hope it''s feeling better.

My DH asked me about how my own missing toenail was doing & I assured him that my faux-nail was just fine. He laughed so hard.

I hope you''re well....

 

[Tybee]

Brightspot,

I just stumbled upon this (tee hee) I''ve only been lurking on PS slightly these
days because things have become super busy. (we bought a house!!! been crazy
painting, looking at fixtures etc.)

You are such a sweetie to inquire about my big toe. It''s fine, just ugly! I tried
painting the skin, but it now looks a bit like a mutant toe! There''s a little growth, there,
though... so maybe? We''ve got a little over a month before our big trip. Doubt that I can
grow a new one by then! I may go the fakey route.

How is married life?
Did you guys retake your wedding photos?

Tybee

 

[Mara]

Tybee you bought a house!! Tell us more...Congrats!!

 

[Tybee]

Thanks Mara!

We did, we bought a much better house than that stinky old house that didn''t work out for us.
I''ll have to post pics soon.

We closed on it last Wednesday and have been painting like mad. We are going to have the hardwoods all refinished.
It is just what we wanted:

big rocking chair front porch
high ceilings
hardwood floors
wonderful back screened in porch

It''s an older house, built in 1930, with lots of character.
The kitchen will eventually need to be updated and the exterior painted, but both will do us well right now.
I''ll take pictures tomorrow and post them. I can''t believe I never shared this with you all! You were so supportive when we had a contract on the last house, I guess I was being a little guarded in case this one didn''t work out, then when it did I was caught in the whirlwind of HOMEOWNERSHIP!

It''s fun, it really is!

Thanks for asking, I''ll try to post pics tomorrow.

Tybee

 

[selflove]

How exciting!!!! Congratulations!!!

I cant wait to see the house pics--it sounds so perfect for you guys, like all the good parts of the other one but without the problems.

 

[BrightSpot]

Hey Tybee,

First of all, huge congratulations on your new house!!!

That''s wonderful news! I guess everything worked out for the best. Please do post pics of your new abode. It sounds divine! How wonderful to get a big front porch AND a screened in back porch! (That''s my dream someday too...) Your pups will love it!

I can imagine the painted skin might not look so good on a surface as large as a big toe. So sorry, sweetie! Maybe in a month there''ll be enough growth that you can attach a true faux-nail for your wedding.

Married life is great--not too different than engaged life, but it sure is nice to be able to call my boy my husband.

Thanks for asking about the wedding photos. I didn''t update my thread as I was so frustrated at the time & didn''t want to dwell on this subject anymore. We did finally get the revised photo album & DVD back from Jamaica, but the photos were worse than the original effort. They didn''t adjust the contrast & didn''t do anything with the glowing dress, but decided the thing to do was to use Photoshop to paint my arm a beige color that didn''t match any of my real skin. It was pretty creepy. I didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. (I''m laughing now...mostly....

)

The upshot was that I now know exactly what I''m working with as far as the photos are concerned. Last week I finally took out all of our pictures & arranged the good ones in our album & removed the bad ones. I feel much better about our album now.

I''ve also been in contact with a local photographer & may be be moving forward with a re-shoot. (Oddly, this seems less urgent to me now, but I feel that I''ve already committed to doing a shoot with this photog so we''ll probably go through with it.) If I do, I''ll definitely share the results with you guys.

Thanks again for asking & I can''t wait to see your new house!