A bruised toenail is a very common injury. There are many different options for obtaining it, so it is almost impossible to prevent such a case of injury. For example, a bruised nail can be obtained during a blow if something heavy falls on the leg. The duration of the entire treatment will depend on the timeliness of first aid. Therefore, you need to know what to do with a bruised nail if such an unpleasant situation happened.
Types of bruises
Statistics suggests that in general the main part of bruises falls on the legs. Quite often, the nail suffers, under which a hematoma forms. A bruised toenail is a very common occurrence. Quite often, patients in such cases do not seek help from a medical institution, but try to cure the injury on their own at home. However, a bruised nail can be a very serious injury that in some cases requires medical attention.
Depending on the strength of the blow, the soreness is of varying degrees. A slight bruise on the thumbnail, for example, will only cause a little soreness while walking. If the injury was serious, then it is accompanied by severe pain during movement, and swelling may form on the nail.
With a slight bruise of the big toe nail, it is only necessary to apply something cold to the nail plate in time. As a rule, in such situations, the injury passes very quickly if special herbal compresses are applied.
If there was a severe bruise of the nail, then in such situations the nail plate becomes dark, and there is also a possibility of deformation of the finger and rejection of the entire nail. In such situations, you can not do without the help of a specialist.
Regarding the severity of nail bruises, it is customary to divide into four groups:
- Small injuries, which are characterized by mild soreness, passing within a few days after the bruise.
- Injuries characterized by slight swelling and bruising, with pain present.
- Tissue damage resulting in swelling and hematoma. Sometimes a bruise of this degree is also accompanied by a dislocation of the finger.
- The formation of severe swelling, the possibility of fracture or crushing of the bone. In this case, the motor function is completely disrupted.
Possible causes of injury
There are a number of factors and causes that can cause educationbruise on the nail plate of the foot. These reasons include the following:
- Injury among athletes during the performance of a particular exercise.
- Strike due to the fall of some heavy object.
- In everyday life, bruises are quite often caused by hitting a door frame, a closet, a table, a high threshold, and so on.
- Bruises often occur in the warm season when a person wears open shoes.
Symptoms
During the bruise of the nail plate on the leg, the following symptoms may occur:
- The occurrence of severe throbbing pain after a blow.
- Soreness may gradually disappear, but with the appearance of swelling, it will resume.
- Swelling usually develops a couple of hours after a stroke occurs.
- The nail begins to change color, turning black or blue. With a slight bruise, it is worth noting that a bruise forms immediately. If the deepest tissues were damaged, then a bruise appears after a few days.
- The main difference between such a bruise and a simple fracture is that a person can move his finger immediately after the impact. After the formation of swelling, motor function begins to decline.
If there is no darkening of the nail during a severe bruise, then this is not a reason for refusing to seek help from a doctor, as the nail plates darken later.
First aid
If a person hurts a nail, then first aid should be provided as soon as possible. SoThus, it will be possible to reduce soreness, swelling, as well as the size of the resulting hematoma. The provision of such assistance implies compliance with the following procedure:
- Take off shoes and socks.
- Some kind of dry cold must be applied to the site of the bruise, which must first be wrapped in a towel. If you do not have ice on hand, you can use any frozen food from the freezer. To do this, they are placed in a plastic bag, after which they are wrapped in a cloth. Thanks to the cold, an increase in hematoma can be prevented and soreness can be relieved. In this case, ice must be applied immediately after striking. It is necessary to keep ice intermittently so that frostbite does not appear. It is strictly forbidden to heat the injured area.
- You can also take some pain reliever in pill form to relieve the pain.
- In order to prevent infection, it is necessary to treat the damaged area with hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or some other disinfectant. If iodine is at hand, then it can be used for these purposes, but only if the concentration of the solution is 5%.
- Riciniol emulsion can be applied to quickly repair the damaged area of impact and reduce swelling.
- As for ointments to reduce swelling and relieve pain, they can be used no earlier than 2 hours after the injury.
- When the injury is treated, it is necessary to bandage or stick a plaster on the nail. It should be noted that the bandage should not bevery tight, otherwise the circulation will be disturbed.
- In order to reduce blood flow to the affected area, it is necessary to lift the limb up. This reduces soreness and prevents the increase in hematoma.
Treatment of a bruised nail
If there was a severe bruise, then the treatment should be prescribed by a doctor. For minor injuries, therapy is carried out independently at home. To do this, you can use a variety of folk methods. If the nail begins to flake off or there is a tear, then surgery may also be required. For the purpose of rehabilitation, various physiotherapy procedures are used. This should include UHF, electrophoresis and magnetotherapy, which will contribute to the rapid resorption of the resulting hematoma, as well as the speedy healing of damaged tissues under the nail.
What to do when peeling off the nail plate?
If there was a severe bruise of the big toe, then the nail can be severely damaged. Quite often there is a tear of the nail plate, while the person feels acute pain. If there was a tear in the nail, then you must do the following:
- It is strictly forbidden to tear off the nail plate. Otherwise, it will only increase soreness and bleeding. It is also possible to infect an open wound under the nail.
- The damaged part is treated with hydrogen peroxide.
- To relieve pain, you can apply Novocain in solution or spray"Lidocaine".
- The torn part of the nail plate must be carefully put in place and fixed with a bandage or adhesive tape.
- After a few days, you can use special healing ointments and creams.
Treatment at home
Self-treatment at home is allowed only in cases where the injury occurred without complications, and there is no dislocation or fracture. In case of severe damage to the nail, it is imperative to seek help from the traumatology department. If this is not done in time, then there is a high probability of serious consequences, which may even include amputation of the finger. There are a number of cases in which it is simply impossible to do without specialized medical care:
- The nail has turned black.
- There was a strong swelling of the fingers.
- A purulent discharge is formed from under the nail plate.
- There was inflammation near the nail plate.
- The finger got too hot.
- The overall body temperature has increased.
Recipes
If all these symptoms are absent, then you can start self-treatment with folk remedies 2 days after the injury. As a rule, lotions from the following herbs are used for treatment:
- Celandine.
- wormwood.
- Calendula.
- Chamomile.
These plants are effective in fighting bruisesdue to its disinfecting and analgesic properties. To prepare a compress, you need to take all these herbs in equal proportions, pour the mixture with one glass of boiling water, and then let it brew for an hour. Drain the liquid, and apply the resulting mixture in the form of a slurry as a compress on the affected areas of the finger all night.
Also very effective is plantain, which heals various bruises well. To do this, the leaf of the plant must be peeled, after which it must be applied to the affected area. This procedure must be repeated every 20 minutes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the timely provision of first aid, the correct treatment as prescribed by a specialist, as well as the use of various folk remedies in combination, can quickly heal an injury, as well as avoid possible unpleasant consequences. That's why it's so important to know what to do with a bruised toenail.