Toe smells different years after ingrown toenail healed

[hei]

Years ago I dropped something on my (right) big toe and eventually the toenail fell off and a new one grew back. After the old one fell oft the nail bed seemed to cave in a bit at the sides and got shorter, and when the new nail got to the end it broke the skin and got infected and very inflamed. Eventually I went to the doctor and took flucloxacillin for 10 days which helped a bit, and it eventually healed but not quite correctly. The nail bed still seems a bit short and there was a small flap sticking out of the skin fold which could perhaps have housed a small cyst. (Recently I got sick of it and ripped it off with my fingers and it seems to be healing without growing the flap back.)

Anyway, when it was infected it smelled quite strongly, and it even a few years later it still has the same very distinctive smell that none of my other toes have, not even the other side of that toe. Could it still be harbouring an infection? If it has been infected all this time could that contribute to overall ill health even though it doesn't seem to cause any problems there?

I guess this is a bit of a strange question and most people don't pay much attention to how their toes smell.

 

[Blossom]

Yes, the smell probably indicates some type of mild infection. I’ve been spraying my toes with 50:50 peroxide/distilled water daily for the last couple of years and find it helpful for keeping my toenails in good condition. In the summer I don’t usually need to do that everyday because I can go barefoot more often and let my feet breathe. Another thing I’ve found beneficial is having a dedicated toothbrush that I use to clean around my toenails to keep dead skin from building up.

 

[haidut]

Years ago I dropped something on my (right) big toe and eventually the toenail fell off and a new one grew back. After the old one fell oft the nail bed seemed to cave in a bit at the sides and got shorter, and when the new nail got to the end it broke the skin and got infected and very inflamed. Eventually I went to the doctor and took flucloxacillin for 10 days which helped a bit, and it eventually healed but not quite correctly. The nail bed still seems a bit short and there was a small flap sticking out of the skin fold which could perhaps have housed a small cyst. (Recently I got sick of it and ripped it off with my fingers and it seems to be healing without growing the flap back.)

Anyway, when it was infected it smelled quite strongly, and it even a few years later it still has the same very distinctive smell that none of my other toes have, not even the other side of that toe. Could it still be harbouring an infection? If it has been infected all this time could that contribute to overall ill health even though it doesn't seem to cause any problems there?

I guess this is a bit of a strange question and most people don't pay much attention to how their toes smell.

I have clients with diabetic ulcers on their feet who tried various things I suggested and so far the most effective option seems to be spraying rubbing alcohol on the area daily. That would quickly remove the smell within 2-3 days. I guess what @Blossom is doing with her solution, achieves similar effects. The problem is that the shoes you have may have been "seeded" with bacteria and when you stop spraying the toe, after a week or so of wearing shoes you wore in the past the smell/infection may return. Spraying the alcohol (or Blossom's) solution also into the shoe periodically (maybe twice a week) should sterilize them too.

 

[Blossom]

I have clients with diabetic ulcers on their feet who tried various things I suggested and so far the most effective option seems to be spraying rubbing alcohol on the area daily. That would quickly remove the smell within 2-3 days. I guess what @Blossom is doing with her solution, achieves similar effects. The problem is that the shoes you have may have been "seeded" with bacteria and when you stop spraying the toe, after a week or so of wearing shoes you wore in the past the smell/infection may return. Spraying the alcohol (or Blossom's) solution also into the shoe periodically (maybe twice a week) should sterilize them too.

Also putting the offending shoes in a plastic freezer bag and leaving them in the freezer overnight can definitely help.

 

[haidut]

Also putting the offending shoes in a plastic freezer bag and leaving them in the freezer overnight can definitely help.

Yep, but with the caveat that it has to be a properly configured freezer that can achieve at least -15 to -20 degrees Celsius. I have been exchanging emails with people who tried this method and got variable results, which we tracked down to the freezer strength. The older GE fridges made before the 2000s have powerful freezers that could reliably freeze and kill the bacteria in the shoes. The newer appliances - not so much. I think many of them have a cap on how low the temp can be set in order to "save energy".

 

[Perry Staltic]

Yep, but with the caveat that it has to be a properly configured freezer that can achieve at least -15 to -20 degrees Celsius. I have been exchanging emails with people who tried this method and got variable results, which we tracked down to the freezer strength. The older GE fridges made before the 2000s have powerful freezers that could reliably freeze and kill the bacteria in the shoes. The newer appliances - not so much. I think many of them have a cap on how low the temp can be set in order to "save energy".

Do you think (enough) dry ice in a cooler would suffice?

 

[Blossom]

Yep, but with the caveat that it has to be a properly configured freezer that can achieve at least -15 to -20 degrees Celsius. I have been exchanging emails with people who tried this method and got variable results, which we tracked down to the freezer strength. The older GE fridges made before the 2000s have powerful freezers that could reliably freeze and kill the bacteria in the shoes. The newer appliances - not so much. I think many of them have a cap on how low the temp can be set in order to "save energy".

Thank you, I wasn’t aware of that factor with the newer freezers!

 

[TacoVampire]

Would a UV light shoved in the shoe kill the bacteria? Or is the freezer better?

 

[TacoVampire]

Would a UV light shoved in the shoe kill the bacteria? Or is the freezer better?
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