I started running earlier this year, and maybe because I exercised too intensely, I ended up with a black bruise on my toenail.
Many people get bruises and lose their toenails from jogging, running, or hiking, and this is also called running toenail. The more precise term is subungual hematoma.
Then I will upload stories and photos of my subungual hematoma recovery period and natural healing process. Warning: disturbing foot photos~~
When I first searched, I saw that the recovery period for subungual hematoma is 6 months to a year, so I was worried about when my toenail would grow back. I took photos periodically to record how long my recovery would take.
When the toenail has been bruised for more than a month
I had some mild pain and posted a concern on Cashdoc, where I received a recommendation for a Reflux Shop. It's a shop that manages problematic nails, but when I searched, I found that there are no such shops in our area... The cost was also a concern, so I decided to just apply medication at home and hope for natural healing.
As time passes, the toenail becomes thicker and changes color.
The pain has disappeared, but the color has changed abnormally, and from this point on, I started to worry whether the recovery period for subungual hematoma would really take half a year to a year. Since my toenails usually grow quickly, I tell myself it probably won't take that long, just trying to comfort myselfㅠㅠ
*The toenail has become even darker.
However! From the side of the toenail underneath the cuticle, a new nail was growing.
A few days later, the bruise begins to fade and the toenail becomes crooked.
I'm not sure why you're acting so stubborn... I thought maybe that nail was about to fall off.
Starting to hope that the recovery period for the nail bed hematoma may not take up to a year.
But I went for several weeks without any significant changes.
I have been diligently applying gel ointment all this time.
One day, after taking a shower, I came out and wondered if I had swollen in the water.
Finally, the toenail fell off.
It's a bit gross, so I hide it a little haha
A bruise appeared at the beginning of January, and by early March, after just two months, the bruised toenail fell off.
First, my subungual hematoma recovery period has passed two months.
As of the end of March
Half of the toenail has grown back!!
If you look at the second photo, the upper part is not a normal nail like the lower part, and the flesh is very soft. It seems like it needs a bit more time.
My recovery period for this subungual hematoma is currently three months. After just two months, a new toenail has grown, and half of the nail has grown over the past month. I think by the remaining month, at four months, I will probably be fully recovered.
When I first looked it up on the internet, I was really surprised to hear that the recovery period for a subungual hematoma is at least 6 months to a year, but as expected, it varies from person to person~ not all internet information is 100% accurate.
Fortunately, I had almost no pain and no athlete's foot, so I think my toenail healed naturally quite quickly.
Nail, please grow normally and healthily until the very end~