Ingrown toenail start: Foot health: What to do about an ingrown toenail
Ingrown Toenail – Cascade Foot Center
Ingrown Toenail in Salem, OR
Cause of Ingrown Toenails
Ingrown toenails, also known as onychocryptosis, is usually caused by trimming toenails too short, particularly on the sides of the big toes. They may also be caused by shoe pressure (from shoes that are too tight or short), injury, fungus infection, heredity, or poor foot structure. Ingrown toenails occur when the corners or sides of the toenail dig into the skin, often causing infection. A common ailment, ingrown toenails can be painful. Ingrown toenails start out hard, swollen, and tender. Left untreated, they may become sore, red, and infected and the skin may start to grow over the ingrown toenail. Cascade Foot Center can help answer any questions you may have about ingrown toenails and how you can treat them.
Symptoms of aN INGROWN TOENAIL
When you wear shoes that are too tight, you stub your toe, or cut your nails too short, it can cause ingrown toenails to form and there are signs that you should be on the lookout to treat your ingrown toenail as soon as possible.
Some signs of an ingrown toenail are:
- Pain or tenderness on one or both sides of the toenail.
- Redness around the toenail.
- Swelling around the toenail.
- Infection of the tissue around your toenail.
- Pus around the nail.
TREATMENting an ingrown toenail
In most cases, treating ingrown toenails is simple: soak the foot in warm, soapy water several times each day. Avoid wearing tight shoes or socks. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed if an infection is present.Note: Please consult your physician before taking any medications.In severe cases, if an acute infection occurs, surgical removal of part of the ingrown toenail may be needed. Known as partial nail plate avulsion, the procedure involves injecting the toe with an anesthetic and cutting out the ingrown part of the toenail.
Your doctor may recommend some at-home remedies for you to try to reduce any pain or infection you may be experiencing. Some treatments to try are:
- Soaking the foot in warm water.
- Wear comfortable shoes.
- Take ibuprofen or acetaminophen to help relieve pain.
If your ingrown toenail doesn’t begin to heal in a few days, it’s important to follow up with your doctor and look into other treatment options. Your Cascade Foot Center Podiatrist may need to remove part of the toenail to help the nail grow back properly.
INGROWN TOENAILS CAN BE PREVENTED BY:
- Trimming toenails straight across with no rounded corners.
- Ensuring that shoes and socks are not too tight.
- Keeping feet clean at all times.
Contact your Cascade Foot Center Podiatrist Today!
If you have any of the symptoms of an ingrown toenail, you must contact your doctor as soon as possible for treatment. Contact your podiatrist if you have any questions about treating or preventing an ingrown toenail and how you can keep your feet as healthy as possible.
Do you suffer from Ingrown Toenails?
Call Cascade Foot Center at (503) 588-8188 today to schedule your appointment at our Salem, OR office!
Ingrown Toenails | Teton Foot & Ankle Center
Ingrown toenails are very common.
Typically this condition is a simple nuisance that can cause obnoxious pain but never becomes severe. On rare occasions and if not treated properly, this simple nuisance can turn into a disabling problem requiring hospitalization.
An ingrown toenail occurs when the corner of your nail begins to grow at the wrong angle. It begins to grow down into the skin rather than on top. Ingrown toenails are most common on big toes, but they can happen on any toe. Generally, this is caused by cutting your toenail incorrectly or too short.
In general, there is no treatment for ingrown toenails required. On some occasions, though, it can escalate and become infected. At Teton Foot and Ankle Center, we can do a simple 3-minute procedure to help treat the ingrown toenail when this happens.
Cause of Ingrown Toenails
There are a lot of causes of ingrown toenails. Some causes of ingrown toenails can be helped, and others are out of your control.
Improper Footwear: Shoes have a massive influence on getting ingrown toenails.
Shoes that crowd your feet and cause your toenails to be scrunched for long periods can cause the nails to begin growing improperly. Tight shoes are sometimes unavoidable, but wearing well-fitting shoes can play a role in causing ingrown toenails.
Cutting Nails Too Short: Ingrown toenails are when the nail begins to grow in the wrong direction and starts to grow down into the skin (or sideways into the skin) rather than normal. Cutting your nails too short allows the nail to begin growing in the wrong direction. Attempting to curve the nail when you cut it rather than cutting straight across can also cause ingrown toenails.
Injuring Toenail: Stubbing your toe, dropping something on it, or other trauma to your nail bed can play a role in causing ingrown toenails.
Genetics: Some of these causes can be helped, while others can’t – like genetics. Some people have the genetics of toenails that grow a little funky and drastically raise their chance of having consistent ingrown toenails.
If your toenail is irregularly shaped or extra curved, you may have a more significant chance of getting ingrown toenails.
Tearing Corners of the Nail: Picking at your nails or tearing them can cause ingrown toenails because the nail isn’t neatly cut and able to grow straight back out.
Symptoms of Ingrown Toenails
While the causes of ingrown toenails can differ, the one thing that every ingrown toenail has in common… PAIN. This pain is typically around the toenail and can make it hurt to walk, wear shoes and socks, and even shower.
Generally, another symptom is redness and slight swelling of the skin around the toenail. The skin gets inflamed because it is getting pressed by the nail, and this causes severe (and annoying) pain.
In severe cases, the ingrown toenail can become infected. Typically this looks like your toe being inflamed, red, and sometimes pus can surround the ingrown nail. In most cases, the infection is mild if it is there, and these symptoms get better pretty quickly.
In the rare few, this condition escalates and can become much worse.
If it continues to get worse, you should see your doctor to treat your ingrown toenail. If your pain and discomfort become severe and limits your ability to walk or do your day-to-day activities, it is probably time to see your doctor. Also, if the infection begins spreading, you should make an appointment with your doctor.
If you have pre-existing health complications that result in poor blood circulation to your feet, you should see your doctor sooner. Conditions including (but not limited to) diabetes and others are important to be aware of. If ingrown toenails are left untreated, they can turn severe and cause infections.
Treatment of Ingrown Toenails
Generally, treatment for ingrown toenails can be done at home. For more severe cases, treatment involves simply trimming out the edge of the ingrown nail during an outpatient procedure.
At Home:
With some patience and keeping the ingrown nail clean, it will resolve itself most of the time.
If more treatment is necessary, you can do a couple of things.
Soak Foot: Soaking the infected foot in warm (not hot) water and Epsom salts can help make a difference. Soaking helps keep the toe clean of dirt and other grime that can cause infection and make the ingrown toenail much worse. When the skin is warm and soft, you can gently try and separate the nail from the skin. This should be done with care and never forcing it. Separating the nail and skin can help encourage the nail to grow in the correct way again. Remember to be gentle and see a doctor if you can’t get it.
Wear Roomy Shoes/Sandals: When you have an ingrown toenail, a great treatment option is simply letting it breathe and not being cramped in shoes and socks. Often, wearing tight shoes or socks can cause more pain. The space of sandals or loose shoes gives your feet room to heal the ingrown toenail.
Don’t Try to Cut it Out Yourself: While it can be tempting to pick at it, pull it out, or cut it out yourself, this can make it much worse.
Doing this can aggravate your toe, and not using the proper tools can worsen the infection.
Doctor Treatment:
At Teton Foot and Ankle Center in Idaho Falls, we offer numerous treatment options for ingrown toenails. Most doctors may be able to do something for your ingrown toenail, but as podiatrists (foot and ankle doctors), we offer more advanced treatment to help you treat the ingrown toenail.
If it is a severe ingrown toenail, we may need to perform a simple 3-minute procedure that removes the edge of the nail and apply a specialized chemical to that area. This chemical will permanently stop the edge of the nail from returning. While this sounds extreme, it really isn’t. It will drastically help your ingrown toenail and prevent them from happening in the future while also keeping your nail looking natural.
If you are looking for treatment for ingrown toenails in Idaho Falls, give us a call today.
Preventing Ingrown Toenails
There are some things that you can do to help prevent ingrown toenails from occurring.
Understanding the causes of ingrown toenails can also help you know how to prevent them from occurring.
When cutting your toenails, make sure you cut them straight across. You want to ensure your toenails are kept at a decent length. Not too long, but also not too short. It can be tempting to try and curve the cut of your toenail, but it is best to cut it straight across. If you cut them at a curve, the corners are more likely to get caught on your skin and create an ingrown toenail.
Sometimes wearing tight shoes can not be avoided. Shoes like rock climbing shoes are tight, but you need to wear them when rock climbing. Even ski and snowboard boots can be a little bit tighter. When possible, though, you should try and wear shoes that fit you properly and don’t squish your toes and toenails together.
Shoes that are too tight can cause toenails that were cut too short to grow at a funky angle and ultimately become ingrown.
Finally, it is important to be aware. Staying on top of it can help decrease the risk of infection and increased pain.
If you notice an ingrown toenail and it isn’t getting better, make an appointment for ingrown toenail treatment in our office in Idaho Falls.
Causes of ingrown nails
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Ingrown nails: causes and features of treatment
Ingrown nail plate in the lateral edges of the nail fold, a very common problem big toes, but other fingers are not immune from it either. This is an extremely unpleasant, painful, and sometimes dangerous phenomenon, which is often accompanied by swelling of the finger, suppuration, and can initiate the development of a chronic inflammatory process.
If an ingrown toenail has been bothering you for a long time, there is inflammation and severe pain, the best thing to do is to see a doctor: adequate timely treatment of an ingrown toenail can in most cases permanently get rid of the problem. And those who have recently become acquainted with onychocryptosis (the medical name for the disease, more commonly known as an ingrown nail in everyday life), may well cope with it on their own.
First, eliminate the causes of this phenomenon.
They can be:
- Incorrectly performed pedicure. When trimming your toenails, never cut off their side parts, but only gently file them with a nail file.
- Uncomfortable, tapered footwear. Due to the constant pressure on the side of the nail, it digs into the nail fold. To prevent this from happening, carefully try on shoes before buying.
- Hereditary predisposition and some foot defects (flat feet).
- Sudden weight gain.
- Damage to the nail plate and subsequent change in its shape.
- Fungal nail infections.
But in order to cope with onychocryptosis, it is not enough just to get rid of the cause: treatment is needed. Those who do not want to go to doctors can try folk remedies.
These include salt foot baths, which should be done every night before going to bed. Pour a handful of salt into a basin with warm (not hot!) Water, add a little potassium permanganate there, and dip your feet into it.
When the nail softens, place a piece of cotton under the ingrown edge – this will relieve pain, and over time, inflammation will also disappear. Instead of salt, you can use a decoction of St. John’s wort or chamomile.
If aloe is available, cut off a piece of leaf, peel off the skin and apply to your finger overnight. Do this regularly and you will soon forget about the problem. Try also lubricating the nail with tea tree oil. After a while, lift the nail and place a piece of gauze under its edge, and bandage your finger.
In case of suppuration, it is advisable to consult a specialist, but if this is not possible, regularly wash the problem area of the finger with hydrogen peroxide. Honey, which is a natural antiseptic, will also come to the rescue. Add flour or black bread to it in equal proportions and mix thoroughly. Apply the resulting cake to the nail – honey will relieve pain and draw out pus.
But it should be remembered that all these remedies are good only in the initial stages of the disease.
With inflammation that causes severe pain, with the formation of the so-called “wild meat” (pathological growth of tissues adjacent to the nail), self-treatment can lead to severe consequences, up to necrosis and the need to amputate the nail phalanx of the finger. Take care of yourself!
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Removal of an ingrown nail in MC “Es Clinic”
At first glance, it may seem that an ingrown nail is an insignificant problem. But this opinion is very wrong. This term means
pathology, which is characterized by the growth of the nail in the lateral direction, after which it begins to grow into skin ridges on the nail bed. Often
the process may be accompanied by inflammatory processes in the surrounding tissues.
Symptoms
An ingrown toenail has pronounced symptoms – pain that increases while walking or wearing shoes and, without treatment, begins to disturb constantly.
There is swelling and redness around the nail bed. If you press on the nail, purulent discharge may appear. If the affliction run, in the zone around
purulent sores appear on the nail, the skin swells and acquires a purple hue.
How to treat an ingrown toenail?
Many mistakenly believe that ingrown toenails can be treated at home. Some remove it on their own or turn to
for this service to a beauty salon, not even suspecting how dangerous complications threaten them.
The fact is that with inflammation on the lateral ridges of the nail, pathological growth of the affected tissues begins. And the sooner you contact a competent
assistance, the more effective the treatment will be.
In the medical center “ES Clinic” in Astrakhan, the treatment of ingrown nails is carried out in several ways:
- radio waves;
- laser;
- by surgery.
Radio wave treatment for ingrown toenail
Ingrown toenail treatment with radio waves is the most innovative and effective method. Its use allows you to remove only ingrown
the edges of the nail without damaging the adjacent soft tissues. The main advantage, in addition to low trauma, is also the exclusion of the risk of relapse, which sometimes
happens after surgery.