Should I Continue Soaking My Toe In Epsom Salt Warm Water For Dark Cuticle To Come Out?

Posted on Sat, 11 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 11 Jan 2014 Answered on

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : The cuticle of the big toe is somewhat dark ... I realize after a run the toe was hurting slightly ... Soaked it in Epsom salt warm water ... The nail is still partially in tact on the sides and free in the middle ... should I contine soaking the toe and let if come out?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Subungual Hematoma,can use Epsom salt for soothing Detailed Answer: Hi. Thanks for osting your concern at XXXXXXX I would keep a possibility of subungual hematoma due to reititive trauma of running. Runner's toe is a common condition seen in runners caused by downward pressure or horizontal separation of nail plate from the nail bed. This repetitive traumatic injury leads to bleeding and pooling of blood underneath the nail plate. Subungual hematomas typically heal without incident. The deformed nail plate will gradually grow out and be replaced by new, normal-appearing nail plate in several months time. Epsom salt soaks can be used to get soothing comfort OR you can also take an OTC pain killer like ibuprofen once or twice daily for a few days take care regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar