Home treatment often helps relieve pain, promote healing, and prevent infection. Treatment may involve removing the nail, keeping the area dry to prevent infection, and waiting for a new nail to grow. The infection or skin condition that caused the separated nail will also need to be treated.
Have a doctor trim your nail if you:. Blahd Jr. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: William H. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use.
Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Nail bed injuries can occur many ways. They can also be caused by cuts, such as from a knife or a saw.
Crushing can happen when your finger gets caught between two objects or in a doorway. Heavy objects falling on your finger can also cause injuries to the nail bed, as can being hit by a hammer. Cuts to your fingertip, nail bed, or the tendons that you use to straighten and bend your fingertip can all cause nail bed injuries.
Cuts to nerve endings in your fingertip can also cause nail bed injuries. A subungual hematoma is when blood gets trapped under your nail bed. Symptoms include throbbing pain and your nail turning black and blue. This usually looks like a bruise under your nail. A nail bed laceration is when your nail and the underlying nail bed get cut. As it heals, you might have a large bruise.
A nail bed avulsion is when your nail and part of your nail bed are pulled away from the rest of your finger. It commonly happens to your ring finger and is caused by your finger getting stuck or jammed in something.
Nail bed avulsions are very painful and cause your finger to swell. Finger fractures are also common with this type of injury.
There are also nail bed injuries that affect more than your nail bed, such as a fingertip fracture or amputation. Repairing a nail bed injury will differ depending on the type of injury. Apply more petroleum jelly and replace the bandage as needed. If you have stitches, do not remove them on your own. Your doctor will tell you when to return to have the stitches removed. Be safe with medicines. Take pain medicines exactly as directed. If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed.
Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics. Call your doctor or nurse call line now or seek immediate medical care if: The skin near the wound is cool or pale or changes colour.
The wound starts to bleed, and blood soaks through the bandage. Oozing small amounts of blood is normal. You have signs of infection, such as: Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness. Red streaks leading from your toe or finger.
Pus draining from your toe or finger. Loss of sensation: You should also touch the tip of your finger to make sure you still have feeling in the area. A lot of blood under your nail bed: Because large subungual hematomas increase the risk of your fingernail falling off, doctors will often drain accumulated blood by drilling a small hole in the nail plate.
In Dr. You can play it safe and have a smaller subungual hematoma drained too. The key is to get it done within 24 hours, before the blood coagulates. Injury to your nail matrix: This is the tissue at the base of your nail where nail growth happens. Since damage to the nail matrix could cause your nail to grow out strangely for the rest of your life, you should let a professional evaluate how serious it is just in case.
Fun fact: Fingernails grow an average of 3. All that said, in the days following the injury, you should also be on the lookout for signs of infection. These symptoms are all signs you need to see a doctor. Make an appointment with a dermatologist, primary care physician, or at an urgent care center to get the wound drained and get a prescription for antibiotics.
If you see red streaks on your hand or forearm or you feel feverish or nauseated, it could be much more serious. These are signs that the infection has spread to the bloodstream, which can lead to sepsis.
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