29 June 2011

Paronychia

I'm sure you want to know all this.

Every time I've mentioned that I think I have a toe infection, people say they've never heard of it. Well, neither have I. And every time I look up my symptoms, it is suggested that I get help with an ingrown toenail. But that's not the problem!

I wake up every morning with the toe part right below my toenail swollen and painfully throbbing, and it gets hot again at random parts of the day. No amount of digging at the nail is going to affect that part of the toe. And after yet another try at going to a doctor for the never-ending problem in January and not getting relief like I was promised, I again scoured the internet.

And I found that there really is something like what I'm describing. It's called Paronychia. Sounds better than "toe infection," right?

Now I just want to know: has the problem cleared up for a while each time I was on antibiotics and I just didn't make the connection? And does topical cream really help with something that seems so deep? And lastly, how come the internet and I often seem to be better at diagnosing me (and sometimes treating--especially in the case of this lame toe) than doctors?

5 comments:

  1. I've something like that before. But I didn't know it could be a chronic thing. Did you try the suggestions in the link?

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  2. You should talk to my friend's husband who had something similar (or maybe the same thing?), but didn't want to pay the $350 for the medication the doctor suggested so he surgically removed his toenail himself. Bleh!

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  3. Yep, been there done that:

    http://michelleglauser.blogspot.com/2008/06/michelle-glauser-md.html

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  4. I just read your other toenail post. I thought I was going to pass out, but your "Oh, just some Derrida." line breathed some life back into me.

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