Infection on Her Toe?

Sounds like and ingrown toenail. My son had this happen on his finger. It would get red and swollen. We assumed it was an ingrown nail and just doctored it at home. It would get better and then worse...it seemed a never ending cycle. After about a week and a half we decided to take him to the doctor. Apparently he got a bacterial infection because of the ingrown nail. The doctor did not poke or prod. He simply looked at it and prescribed and oral medication. It was cleared up in just a few days. I say keep and eye on it and if it doesn't seem to get better after a few days, take her in to the doctor.

I'd keep an eye on it. Give it another day or two.

could've been an ingrown toe nail....THOSE HURT! bacterial infections can be a result to ingrown toe nails, so just keep an eye on it. i know there's times i have to painfully pull skin back on ME to get to the nail to cut it, then about 12-24 hours later, it's better (and sometimes take tweezer's to remove the cut nail)

Keep an eye on it to make sure it continues to improve. I don't want to scare you, but watch to see if the redness spreads or if you see a red line starting to go up the toe. In that case do take her to the dr. One thing that has worked for us is to soak the toe or finger in a mixture of very warm water, rubbing alcohol and peroxide two or three times a day for a couple days. And as you are already doing, but ointment on it. I'm sure it will be fine in a day or so. Don't worry! This is just part of the job description, "Mom". Kids are great healers.

I have a nail biter, as well. My 3.5 y/o bites his toenail and fingernails, no matter how many times he is told to stop. He had the same thing on his big toe about a month ago, and I was able to drain the pus out of it, and it cleared up quickly. About a week later, he had the same thing happen to his thumb, but worse. I ended up taking him to an Acute Kids Urgent Care Center. They had to lance it (poke it with a needle and squeeze the stuff out). I applied an antibiotic ointment, and they also prescribed an oral antibiotic. It didn't ooze on it's own, it just kept building up under the skin, making it worse, which is why I took him in. There's a name for this, but I don't recall what it is.

If it doesn't get better soon, I would take her in. If the swelling keeps going down, I wouldn't worry too much.

I use what happened as a scare tactic if I see my ODS biting his nails. I tell him he'll get another infection and they'll have to poke his finger again (it was very traumatic for him....he made a big deal of it). It doesn't seem to help, though, since he still bites them when he thinks I'm not looking. :-/

I think it probably really hurt yesterday as any infection does, but I think that if it's getting better, you should just keep an eye on it and keep putting neosporin on it. If it starts to get worse, then you should take her to a doctor. By the way, Epsom salts are great for infections. You can have her soak her foot in a basin of water with the Epsom salts while she's watching TV, or put a few cups in her bath. It has no odor, won't sting and actually feels good.