Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Klutziness May Equal Infection

I think that I mentioned last week that I treated my tootsies to a pedicure. So while I was walking around my newly-polished toes around, I nicked the corner of my big toe. I looked at the small scratch and thought, meh. No big deal. I wiped the few little drops of blood away and slipped my foot back into my sandals.

Ah...but I should have taken better care of that little nick. A couple days ago, I noticed that my toe was reddened and decidedly tender. On closer exam, I could see that the small scratch was infected.

Ew.

I immediately soaked it in warm salt water and then applied antibiotic ointment and wrapped a sterile bandaid around it. I need to keep a close eye on those seemingly little scrapes and scratches - ESPECIALLY since I am taking immunosuppressants and prednisone, both of which make me more susceptible to infections.

If it doesn't resolve within a few days, I need to get my tootsies into my doctor's office.

And ditch the sandals for steel-toed shoes, perhaps.....

3 comments:

Leslie at SugarAndSpiceADK. said...

Hi Julia--your timing here is just eerie---I had a baby toenail fall off a few days back, and since I'm also on Methotrexate, I was super careful to clean it, treat it and wrap it up--and it's still not healed, at all! Gonna have to keep an eye on it; what's really strange here is that I have never had a toenail fall off, in my life, and I didn't stubb my toe or anything! hmmmm...any input?

Julia Oleinik said...

I'm stumped on this one, Leslie. MTX is sometimes used to treat psoriasis that has affected the nailbeds, and fungal infections of finger/toenails, so it usually improves the nails.

Good question to ask your doctor. I hope both of our tootsies are better soon!

Leann said...

Hi! I once read from ZetaClear's review that even a little scratch or cut on your toes can lead to infection and you should never take it for granted. I hope your toes are alright now.

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