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Hi everyone - bit of a grim one here so sorry

A

Autumn29

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
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I stubbed my toe the other night and this evening my nail completely fell off. I’ve unfortunately had this many times, pre diabetes as I had surgery on it 12 years ago and it’s been very bad ever since. I know online it says to always contact a doctor, but I am literally going on holiday in 6 hours so I don’t know what to do. I’ve done the usual antibiotic ointment and bandaged, which is what I’ve always done before. Just a bit concerned.
 
Are you going away in the U.K. @Autumn29 or are you going abroad? If you really can’t see someone, then you’re going to have to keep a very close eye on it and avoid anything that might irritate or infect it.
 
Yes it’s in the UK with my family. I haven’t told them about the diabetes so I feel like it’s all some massive secret and I’m not ready to tell them yet. I don’t know whether to ring a local GP surgery and see if they can see me but again I don’t want to raise suspicion. It has happened before, and I’ve had injuries to them since the diabetes so I don’t know if I'm just being really paranoid about it. Everytime it’s happened I’ve done the usual, looked after it and used antibiotic cream and I’ve never been that stressed but for some reason I’m so much more stressed today. I was wondering whether I could wait a few days to see if it’s healing ok or not. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and not gone to a doctor about it, I need some reassurance
 
That sounds really stressful, especially with the timing of your holiday! It makes complete sense that you’re feeling more worried about it now with your diabetes diagnosis, but it’s also great that you’ve already taken the right steps - cleaning it, applying antibiotic ointment, and keeping it covered.
Since you’re going away so soon and it's already nearly noon, it’s probably too late to see a GP if you've not gone to see them already, but you might want to keep a close eye on it over the next few days. Signs of infection to watch for would be increasing redness, warmth, swelling, pain, or any discharge that looks unusual. If you notice anything like that, it might be worth giving 111 a call for advice while you’re away.
It’s understandable that you don’t want to raise suspicion with your family, but looking after yourself is important too. Maybe you could just say you stubbed your toe badly and want to make sure it doesn’t get worse while you’re away - no need to bring diabetes into it if you’re not ready.
I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip, and fingers crossed the toe behaves itself! Keep us posted!
 
Can you remind us what your HbA1c result was at diagnosis? If your BG levels are not desperately high then the increased risk will be minimal, but at least if you are in the UK you can always go to a walk in centre if it looks like it might be infected.
As diabetics we are generally advised to wear slippers in the house or shoes when out, to protect our feet and this will be more important if you have a recurring problem with your toenail, so do make sure that you protect your feet as much as possible from injury. Even getting out of bed to go to the loo in the night I slip my feet into slippers.
 
@Autumn29 I understand not telling people. I have only told my sister and my bestfriend. However you are 32 and unless you can get into remission ( I don't know your hba1c) it will be a long time to keep it secret. Are you sure you are type 2? It is quite young to be type 2 rather than 1.
As far as your foot health is I understand your worries. Ihave paid to have my toe nails cut since diagnosis last July. I had them done Saturday and in fact she has cut one at an angle rather than straight across and it has bled! I'm watching it like a hawk. Ironically it is the toe next to my big toe where the nail is tougher and where I lost the nail aged 12 when I bashed it on a rock swimming in the sea.

Good luck and hope you have a pain free and stress free holiday. If you cannot or won't see a GP perhaps you could get an appointment with a podiatrist?
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How about asking a Pharmacist to have a look? I had a badly inflamed toe a few weeks ago and went to our local Pharmacy. The Pharmacist recommended a balm, which cleared it up.
 
@Autumn29 I have now read your earlier post and appreciate all the stresses you are under. I hope the break with the family recharges your batteries and doesn't cause any more stress. As per Martin I have used my pharmacist for treatment and advice. One weekend when I had a badly infected finger that my surgery couldn't make the time to see i went to the next town where they have a walk in centre there was quite a wait and ultimately I needed to go to hospital for an xray and antibiotics but they were wonderful. It is the only one in my county but are worth seeking out.
 
Yes I ended up ringing a pharmacist this morning before I left to double check. She said to watch for signs of infection but as long as I’m doing the keeping it clean/antibiotic cream and bandaging it should be fine. So that’s helped me a little bit! She said as long as it doesn’t ooze or anything then I can see a GP when I’m home so my anxiety is a little less.
When I was diagnosed it was 66mm/ol and 60 then on the repeat. It went down to 42 and then crept back up a bit with my eating habits to 50 last December. I am due to get them redone done this month.
I think it is type 2 as I am overweight and I also have PCOS so have insulin resistance
 
Autumn29 said:
Yes I ended up ringing a pharmacist this morning before I left to double check. She said to watch for signs of infection but as long as I’m doing the keeping it clean/antibiotic cream and bandaging it should be fine. So that’s helped me a little bit! She said as long as it doesn’t ooze or anything then I can see a GP when I’m home so my anxiety is a little less.
When I was diagnosed it was 66mm/ol and 60 then on the repeat. It went down to 42 and then crept back up a bit with my eating habits to 50 last December. I am due to get them redone done this month.
I think it is type 2 as I am overweight and I also have PCOS so have insulin resistance
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I had a problem with a big toe nail which had become partially detached due to a fungal infection I suspect but was showing signs of an bacterial infection, I was prescribed antibiotics and referred to podiatry but the wait was several months so by the time I went a new nail had started to grow up under the loose nail. They just snipped off the loose bit and recommended filing the surface of the new nail and applying Vick every day. It is absolutely fine now but I still put the Vicks on. He said that was better than any of the stuff you can buy specifically for fungal nail infection. I was concerned about catching it when it was loose so just had a plaster on it.
 
So pleased you have had some reassurance from the pharmacist and hope you have a lovely holiday and the weather stays as nice as it has been today.
 
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