Ingrowing Toenails

foot problem ingrown toenail painful toe treatment podiatrist Dec 08, 2020

Ingrowing Toe Nail Treatment

In-growing toenails are more common than you think. We often see patients who have struggled with a painful toenail that became infected. They then go and see the GP who offers them antibiotics. This can sometimes just temporarily solve the problem, and the pain returns once the antibiotics wear off.

This article should inform you of what an ingrown toenail is, how you might get an ingrown toenail, and how to treat this problem.

Characteristics of an in growing nail

Painful toe with or without wearing shoes. Can be painful when walking
red and inflamed skin on side of the nail

Infection in the Toe

Infection may be present where the nail may have the following addition of symptoms:

Strong odour
Swelling
Redness
Puss produced from the bulging skin
Very painful to touch, in shoes or walking

Causes of an Ingrown Toenail

Tight shoes or shoes that are not your size
Trauma to the nail, this could be a sports injury, dropping heavy objects on the nail or just bumping the nail into hard surfaces
Nail shape if your nails are fan shaped or too curly at the top you may be prone to having ingrowing toenails. This is because it is easy to break wide nails and curly nails can dig into your skin.

Treatment options in ingrown toenails

The type of treatment advised on for your ingrown nail depends on how the toe presents, what your shoes are like and how long it has been painful for.

A simple and precise nail cut along with foot wear advice and after care advice may be enough to fix your problem. This may be too painful without a local anaesthetic, so then we will give you a local anaesthetic to numb your toe.

However if the nail is ingrown, with a spicule further down the nail, more involved treatment will be suggested.

Nail surgery is the treatment of choice in this situation.

The procedure is carried out with minimal pain and will prevent the nail from growing back the way it used to. Nail surgery involves local anaesthesia thus allowing you to have surgery without experiencing any pain. We apply a medicine to the nail bed to prevent the ingrowing nail from occurring again. More details of this procedure will be discussed with your podiatrist once at the clinic.

Prevention is better than the cure for ingrown nails

To prevent a painful in growing nail try the following:

Wear wide shoes, making sure there is enough room for your toes to move, even consider purchasing shoes that are one size bigger.
Wear shoes with an adjustable strap or lace
Stop cutting your nails down the sides only file sharp edges.
If while cutting your nail you make a mistake and accidentally cut yourself, see a podiatrist who can help fix the toe without further problems.
Soak your feet in salt water to prevent infection from entering the any painful nails if the side of the nail gets sore

If you would like more information on this subject or you think you have this problem then don’t hesitate to come into clinic today and we can give you the best advice and treatment so you can become pain free and walk more comfortably.

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