Hi Molly,
I am looking through posts because my husband has a problem similar to what your son had. It's bad, and even we went the same way - to primary care with copay, to podiatrist - same thing - 10min. procedure with copay and antibiotic. But it's not looking better, the pain remains, the toe is all swallen and he barely walks. The awful thing is - that I'm not sure that diagnosis is right. And I really don't know what to do.
If you have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.