How To Heal An Exposed Nail Bed - Nail Broke Off

[Rickiesmom]

Yesterday Jeff broke a nail on the outside toe of his right rear foot. It broke about half-way up. The broken part was attached by only a small bit of nail, so I cut it off, rinsed the toe in saline (ouch, but I didn't know what else to do). I've got him on 50 mg of tramadol every 12h.

 

In order to prevent infection (my biggest worry) and to prevent licking I have been keeping a light sock on the foot in the house and using one of those Pawz balloon-like boots outside.

 

My questions are:

 

- is there anything else I should do - for example, is the likelihood of infection such that I should take him to the vet to get antibiotics

- how long will it take before it isn't too sensitive anymore and

- how long before the nail grows back.

 

*** Additional question based on suggestion below - which would be the best topical antibiotic to apply: I have fuciderm (also has a corticosteroid), BNP which has various antibiotic agents, but is primarily opthalmic, and good old polysporin).

 

Thank you. Here are pictures, unfortunately my camera isn't good enough to get decent close-ups:

 

 

Edited February 13, 2013 by Rickiesmom

[Guest BlueCrab]

Owie! I think you're doing pretty much all you can do. When Trixie broke off a claw, we put a bit of gauze on it and then she wore a baby sock around the house tied up with some vet wrap, and then wore a boot outside.

[Guest goofydog]

Mary, you're doing it right. When Get Em tore the entire nail out last year I kept some triple antibiotic on it for a few days with an infant sock & vet wrap. He still licked at it but couldn't do any harm. The nail hasn't grown back at all and by now I don't expect it to. Since Jeff still has a partial nail it should continue to grow as normal once the trauma of the rip heals.

 

P.S. The only thing I do expect is a discount from the nail guy since Get Em is missing one entire toe and one nail. Hasn't happened yet

[Rickiesmom]

Thanks Toni, I hadn't thought about putting a topical antibiotic on it. I do want it exposed to the air to promote healing, but a few days of that when it's raw sounds like a really good idea.

 

Smooches to Get Em, a torn nail veteran!

[kudzu]

Nothing wrong with the way you are handling. I've actually used liquid bandage on my girl's quicks. (She has SLO so we've seen a lot of quicks.) She doesn't like the application but it does seem to make her feel better. She tends to leave it alone then. My girl bothers hers more when I try to put something on it. If she licks I just leave her alone. Though it should be known that she is normally pretty stoic & doesn't tend to lick as much as some other pups.

[3vagreys]

Frosty knocked off a nail and we irrigated it every day, put baby socks on to keep her from licking, and put a little Neosporin on it for a couple of days. She doesn't like to run much so we didn't have a problem with that. It now has a little bitty nail on it.

[brandimom]

We use pawflex bandages www.pawflex.com and they are better than a sock and they stay on without any problem. We clean with hydrogen per. and then use Manuka Wound Honey - works great.

[greysmom]

My Toni broke her nail off at the toe where it emerges last fall. I have no idea how or when as she never even whined. I hardly bled at all and I didn't notice it right away. I cleaned it with betadine several times a day for two or three days, and put neosporin on it. The nail has yet to re-grow completely and I'm not sure it ever will.

 

Sounds like your doing fine.

[Hawthorn]

My boy has SLO and has lost a lot of nails. I do pretty much the same as you're doing, except that I also get some antiobiotics from the vet for about a week, mainly because I'm a worrier and I know how nasty toe infections can get. I've found that they are usually much less sensitive after about a week, and take several months to grow back completely.

[kudzu]

Will add that when I mentioned my girl's pain level being much higher when I tried covering her foot, the vet said her patients seem to do better with the foot uncovered. At most, cover foot when going out but even then she thinks it is best uncovered. So our approach was to do epsom salt soaks a couple times a day & the evening one also included some betadine. (Added enough betadine to turn the water a tea color.) None of her nails became infected. YMMV