Toenail Infection?

[Guest k9soul]

Just wondering if anyone has experience with something like this. I noticed Rudy licking his foot so I took a look and it looks weepy and puffy all around where his nail goes into the toe. There is no visible injury on the toe or foot but there's some drainage seeping out from where the nail meets the toe. Could he have wrenched the nail and separated it some from the flesh or something? I'm baffled as to what caused this and am thinking of taking him in on Monday if it doesn't look any better.

 

[Batmom]

Ouch. Could be injury, bee sting, foreign body shoved in there .... Most times here it's just been an injury (banged or scraped it) but have had some small foreign bodies too. Might help to soak it in Epsom salts or Nolvasan solution a couple times a day. I too would see vet Monday if it isn't improving.

[FiveRoooooers]

This looks like what would happen with Pal and now Paddy. Sometimes they just jam a toe while playing. At first it doesn't seem like anything, then they notice it and start licking it until it looks like Rudy's. A couple of Epsom soaks, no topical, gets it cleared up nicely here.

[DesiRayMom]

Desi had an issue a couple of years ago.....if it doesn't clear up with the Epsom salts soak, or if you notice it

happening with other toes (Des had at least one toe on each foot affected), pm me, I'll let you know how we finally

got it resolved.

 

[Guest k9soul]

Thanks all. Greyhound nails seem to stick out more than some other breeds, plus combined with their power when running around it's probably easy to jam a toe. We will do the Epsom salt soaks and watch it closely. I think his walks will need to be on hold temporarily, poor boy.

[macoduck]

Gracie's nail bed looked similar to that. It did not respond to epsom salt soakings or antibiotics. We had an amp done at the time of her dental. Pathology revealed a rare but benign tumor of the nail bed. Our first guess, although wrong, had been pemphigus. My vet had never seen a tumor like it before.

[Guest k9soul]

I'm planning to go ahead and take him in tomorrow for a look. I took a photo after a soak (so keep in mind it's puffier than it would between soaks).

 

 

I gently pushed around on the puffy area to encourage anything to express and then wiped carefully with a cloth. It really doesn't seem to bother him a lot still but he may need antibiotics.

Edited September 28, 2014 by k9soul

[cleptogrey]

felix is ALWAYS doing something to his nail bed- that's the area that your dog's inflammation is located. he has gone from fungus to straw imbedded in the bed.....ouch! i usually try soaking it in epsom's salts first to see if that helps....and usually it doesn't. but i always give it a shot- soak 4xs(real PITA) a day for a couple of days. then dry and powder w/ a medicated powder- we use Ammends but gold bond is just as good. if it's not looking any better in 2 max 3 days- mmm....then the vet. when he had a piece of straw embedded we used old fashioned itchamohl ointment(yes, amazon has it). it's a drawing salve and it really brings out the debris. it was a royal pain since i had to inject(w/o the needle, just the syringe) into felix's puncture. but in 5 days it looked great. you might want to go straight for the itchmahol and put a sock on the paw. it's pretty messy.

 

the couple of beds that have been reinsured running and pounding dirt into them look like the pics above, but they don't bother him. just looks like yucky cuticles.

 

btw- we never did any antibiotics with any of the injuries.

[Guest k9soul]

Thanks for the additional tips. I had never heard of a drawing salve. This is my first experience with a toenail infection, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is dirt/debris up in the nail bed. He loves to scratch the ground after marking with all four feet.

 

Also, any tips on how long to soak? I've been doing about 10 minutes. Have him stand with his foot in a small plastic bucket and I just pet him and feed him bits of kibble to keep him occupied.

Edited September 28, 2014 by k9soul

[tbhounds]

Soak his foot in a baggie :-)

[cleptogrey]

i've never had luck w/ the baggie- always leaked. the treat/feed method sounds very familiar. dry the foot and powder- see what happens before starting w/ messy itchmahol(i never get the spelling right).

[FiveRoooooers]

After a 10-minute soak, the water will have cooled off quite a bit so keeping Rudy's soaks to 10 min is good. If he is really squirmy and can't stay still, can you put his peanut butter-slathered muzzle on him? Mine will just stand with their foot in a bucket, so, the PB muzzle is my best suggestion! After soaking and drying the toe, you can try applying a light dab of Manuka honey with a Q-tip to the area and wrapping with a bandage and sock for a day to see if that helps.

[Guest k9soul]

Thanks so much for the tips. I thought it looked a tad better this morning so I held off taking him in. He's pretty good about standing for me with his foot in the bucket, he even tolerates me squeezing the puffy part around the nail a bit to encourage any foreign stuff to come out. I didn't see any puss today, so I'm hopeful maybe we can be spared from a vet visit . I ordered some of that drawing salve and it should get here in Wednesday, so I will try that if he still has swelling then. It's definitely not getting any worse so I'll keep doing what I'm doing and watching it. I had a therapaw boot from another time which he has been good about tolerating . He's a good boy.

 

[cleptogrey]

good to hear- just watch out for fungus. it get hot and sweaty in the theta-paw. keeping it dry- the powder should really help. looking for your updates.

[Guest MnMDogs]

good to hear- just watch out for fungus. it get hot and sweaty in the theta-paw. keeping it dry- the powder should really help. looking for your updates.

Yes definitely be careful with the therapaw if it's moist! Mork ended up with a yeast infection when i kept his therapaws on too long. That nail looks just like Mara's mystery infection. We did novalsin soaks, and she did need a course of Simplicef. Hope he heals well!

[cleptogrey]

another off the beaten track thing that i have used- as prescribed by my vet- jock itch/fungus spray or cream. if it doesn't clear up and you haven't gone to the vet- it should be drying up due to the epsom's salts and powder- then it might just be fungus....OTC cream or spray. it works within a week. btw, i never booted or socked the affected paw, if they lick the junk, they seem to survive- at least mine have!

Edited October 2, 2014 by cleptogrey

[Guest k9soul]

It's dry, not red or oozing and he's been leaving it alone, but still a little puffy, like there is some fluid trapped in there. I got the drawing salve today and dabbed a bit on the puffy area with a Q-tip. I have a feeling he got a bit of something jammed up in there. It doesn't seem painful though and there is no sign of infection, the soaks seem to have been helping.

 

Here's an updated photo

 

Edited October 2, 2014 by k9soul

[cleptogrey]

put the salve on heavy & see if you can pack it in and up the nail bed, a little at a time and baby sock it) if there is something up there it should draw it out. it looks much better, it takes time. have fun trimming the nail back, they stay sensitive for a long time....so felix tells me.

Edited October 2, 2014 by cleptogrey