Case Study - Subungal Abscess

Warning: Do not read this post if you have a queasy stomach! He has given permission for his photo to be used, and all personal details have been removed.

A man recently presented to us with pain in the big toe. His nails were extremely long and had a chronic fungal infection. The big toenail was abnormally sore after bumping it on the bed a couple of months ago. From the outside view it appeared as a relatively normal case, however once the nail was cut back, an enormous abscess was found that went down to the bone. This person was not diabetic, and did not suffer from any other diseases.

This case emphasizes why (especially if you have pain) you should visit your podiatrist if you are worried about your toes. This man had made an appointment a month earlier but cancelled as his toe felt ok at the time, and if he had come in we may have caught it earlier. If he had, he might not have ended up nearly losing his toe.

Our patient wanted us to share this as he wanted to share his experience in the hopes that it would help others.