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A man has had to have seven of his toenails ‘popped off’ in gory scenes to save his feet from a fungal infection that has lasted more than two decades.
Craig has suffered from the severe infection caused by his days in the army, and is now hoping to be able to wear proper shoes to walk down the aisle on his wedding day.
In a preview ahead of a new episode of The Bad Foot Clinic, Craig admits: ‘My feet smell disgusting, enough to clear a room.’
He goes on to explain the agony he faces everyday, and how he can’t wear certain shoes in fear of his toenails rubbing and causing further pain.
What began as a mild trench foot condition has now developed into his worst nightmare, as he admits: ‘If I don’t get my feet sorted, I’ll have to wear boots on my wedding day.
‘It makes me feel really sad that I might have to compromise on my wedding day.’
He’s left with no other hope than to get his toenails extracted by professional podiatrist Marion and her GP husband Kenny, who over the series take on some extreme fungal foot and nail infections, warts, corns, webbed toys, bunions, verucas and more.
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As Craig leaves his feet in the hands of the experts, he opens up about the difficulties he faces on a daily basis, saying: ‘It can be difficult because it affects my confidence in getting my feet out. My fiancé gets quite frustrated, that I won’t go anywhere with them.’
After discussing the heart-breaking impact of Craig’s condition, Marion is more motivated than ever to see Craig walk down the aisle in a pair of formal wedding shoes, so she equips herself with a pair of surgical gloves and gets to work inspecting Craig’s feet.
Giving her diagnosis, she explains: ‘You definitely have a fungal infection, you can see the yellow discolouration in the nails, the thickening of the nails.
‘That’s because the fungus is using the nail-plate as food source and making it thick and yellow, and you can see that the fungal infections have really deformed the nail.’
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She then goes on to explain the treatment options, saying: ‘There is cutting it back, then there is laser treatment, I think it’s too severe for it to work to be honest. Then there is nail surgery.’
The latter option gives Craig a bit of hope before the ‘torture’ of the treatment, as Marion explains how the nail surgery would remove the nails and allow them to grow back, adding ‘it’s definitely worthwhile’.
In stomach-churning scenes, Marion begins treatment by numbing Craig’s toes with a hefty needle, before removing the toenails from the nail bed.
‘The worst part of nail surgery is actually the injection of local anaesthetic, we have so many nerve endings in our toes to feel the ground, and when we put that needle in its really, really painful,’ she says, as Craig winces.
Then comes the dreaded moment.
‘I’m just going underneath the nail, and I’m just popping it out,’ she casually says, before adding (and brace yourselves): ‘Fantastic! You can hear that kind of crunchy noise.’
‘It’s almost like torture, except I don’t feel the pain!’ Craig states.
‘They used it as a form of torture in the medieval days!’ Marion adds, before confirming that Craig can’t feel anything thanks to the numbing injections.
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14 injections and seven toenails later, Craig leaves Marion’s practice to rest and heal, before the episode cuts to a future clip sharing his progress.
After three and a half months, Craig shares: ‘my nails have been really good since you removed them, there’s no sign of any infection coming back, the athlete’s foot’s completely gone. Since having the infected nails out, my toes look normal!’
As he prepares to walk down the aisle pain-free and with a newfound confidence, he adds: ‘I’ve got normal feet, normal nails, could wear normal shoes, and there’s no pain – which is the main thing. I appreciate all the treatment and support!’
The Bad Foot Clinic airs Wednesdays from March 20 at 9pm on Really and available to stream on discovery+.
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