Lost Nails

When my boys were little they lost nails all the time. This is going to sound gross but once it crusts good there is nothing to worry about. Keep an eye on it watching for signs of infection, like it is moist when it has not been exposed to water. Swelling, stuff like that. Otherwise nothing to worry about.

Kids are so resilient, it probably wont be as bad as you think...

My middle son bites his finger nails (and toe nails, I know...gross!) and he has bitten them down, more than once, way to FAR down and has had exposed nail beds before...same son has also smashed 2 fingers and lost the nails on them and he didn't complain after the initial whack.

I did band-aids and washing them often...and the other posters are correct that after about day 2 they toughen up and are OK to be exposed to the air.

It will be OK.

Unless the injuries they sustained mean that they still have open wounds, just wash a little more often and put a band-aid on at first, but they will be fine. Any pain is usually better once the nail falls off. I wouldn't overdo the antibiotic creams. I was overexposed to antibiotic creams and now I am allergic to all of them and the effects of them now are worse than the original injury!

I used to loose my toenails when I ran cross country in HS. My toes always felt better after the nails fell off. And once the nails were gone there was no pain. I never did anything special to keep them clean, but I was in HS & was no longer in the roll around in the dirt phase. I think socks & handwashing would be enough. Good luck.

Unless there has been trauma...and this is ONLY my opinion, not to offend anyone. It seems that sometimes its just a bacteria infection that will clear up. AGAIN, I am NOT trying to offend or disturb anyone that may read this. Usually, JMO, it clears up on its own.
A., I hope I helped you and havent offended or hurt other peoples feelings.
All the best!!!!

I have lost nails before. (Once when I was young, my brother shot me through the thumb with a nail gun. Lost that nail... then my sister slammed the 3 middle fingers on my right hand in a car door, lost 2 nails there... Fell and caught my index finger and popped the nail clean off...) Honestly, once the nail is gone it really doesn't hurt so bad after the first few days. The skin kind of toughens up where the nail was. To keep it clean, you can just wash it often with soap and water. Maybe put neosporin on it until it's toughened up a bit. You can put a band aid on it... but I don't think a 3 year old will keep it on. My nails usually took 2-3 months to grow back... but I have really fast growing nails, so I'm not sure...

You might want to take them in to their doctor though... if the nail bed itself is damaged, then the nail could grow in discolored or weirdly shaped. (My one thumbnail is all wavy now from damaging the nailbed...)

You could check your local pharmacy for rubber finger tip covers. They look like mini-condoms. They should be in the first aid section.