So, I feel like the jerk of the century right now. I have been so wrapped up in my own healing that I haven't been able to pinpoint until tonight why my four year old has been acting very odd. Ever since I returned home a week ago from a week in the hospital (insert eye rolling galore here) Camden has been a different kid. I have been swearing someone took my precious baby and kidnapped him. He has been acting like he is sick or going through a terrible stage of neediness. Well, the answer to my wondering has finally revealed itself.
I was giving him one of his daily foot rubs that he asks for and I was massaging around one of his big toes, and he whimpered. I felt an ingrown toenail. So now I am really feeling guilty that he didn't tell me about it and has been in pain. Plus it is Sunday now and I want to run to the closed health food store to break down the door to see if they have anything I can put on it to draw out the nail, or to comfort him. But of course they are closed today! Darn! I heard Black Ointment salve is good for this sort of thing and I don't know where else to get it on a Sunday. I put some tea tree ointment (antiseptic) on it twice since he has been asleep. If it starts to look worse at all I will take him to the doctor. But I know they will refer me to a specialist and that could take another week, so I am second guessing everything. I want my baby not to hurt. He told me it hurt so bad he wanted to cry. And that makes me want to cry.
So, I am going to give him a warm bath tomorrow with Epsom salt and see if that helps at all with the tea tree oil as an antiseptic and pain reliever a few times a day. I want to soften the nail as much as possible and draw out any possible infection that could be forming. He injured this toe skin over the summer and I know that is the culprit of this. Camden hates to wear shoes. I feel like such a bad mom for not forcing him to, but geez who knew this would happen?
Now I am going back to bed and hoping one of my really smart friends will read this and have something helpful to offer today. I have never been through this before with my boys or self. I should have trusted you all about my gall bladder attacks (didn't know what they were until I was ready for the ER).
I know this won't surprise anyone: I am sending out much gratitude to the universe for helping me figure out why my precious child has been acting out in pain--and even more gratitude for his eventual healing.
Much appreciation to anyone with solutions.
Heather (with a goose egg shaped head from banging her head on the wall)
xoxox
3 comments:
Thank you for the hugs. He woke up this morning saying it feels better. The nail seems to be less pokey under the skin, and the redness has gone down by 50%. He doesn't want me to put the tea tree oil on it. So I will do that when he is asleep. He seems happy this morning, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. He has been in so much pain this past week that I have insisted he take a nap every day to ease his mood. I just thought he was getting over a cold because he has had a cough. Yesterday he was so cranky he took a nap before 11am. Today if he is cranky in a few hours, I'll know the reason.
I almost always have ingrown toenails, and much to my chagrin, my daughter got one just recently. We kept soaking it, then putting antibiotic ointment on it which kept it soft. A home remedy book we have suggested that after soaking you can take a wisp of cotton to gently lift the edge of the nail out of the groove. You can put a new one in each day, and it is supposed to help the nail grown out and over the groove it has made. My daughter only did it once or twice, but felt better with just the ointment keeping it soft.
We ended up taking her to a podiatrist, but he said it didn't look too bad, to just keep doing what we were doing and see how it goes. Most importantly he told us not to cut it unti it grows out past the end of the toe, and when it is better we could gently file any sharp points on the corners of the nail. My daughter was terrified of having to let him do anything to it! If Camden's toe isn't infected you should be able to manage this without a Dr. visit.
Wishing you both quick and complete healing! ;)
Thanks, Deanne. I will try to do those things, if needed. I am scared to mess with it very much. It is so good to know this can be taken care of at home before it gets worse. I didn't want to call and ask family b/c they tend to give me the horror stories. I like asking my unschooling friends b/c they are of a different generation, and usually have at home remedies. We tend to rely on our own resourcefulness more than the medical community when we can.
~Heather :)
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