When you have a sore toe it is hard to concentrate on anything else, yet people still put up with painful ingrown toenails until they become intolerable.
The funny thing is that painful ingrown toenails
can be easily fixed by a podiatrist who is highly skilled and trained in removing ingrown toenails quickly and successfully.
What are ingrown toenails?
- Ingrown toenails are a painful toenail condition we commonly treat in our clinic.
- Usually affects the big toe, with one or both edges pushing into the skin, leading to pain and discomfort
- If untreated, this can lead to inflammation and irritation, and if the nail breaks the skin can also cause infection.
What normally causes painful ingrown toenails?
- Incorrect and improper trimming of the toenails.
- Curved or thickened toenails.
- Direct trauma to the nail.
- Shoes that are too tight.
- Sweaty feet, which softens the skin and increases the risk of the toenail piercing the skin.
How should I cut my nails?
- Straight across and use a nail file to round the edges.
- Do not pick at your nails or cut deeply into the corners.
- Incorrect nail cutting techniques can cause the nail to dig into the skin and cause infection.
How to treat painful ingrown toenails?
- Conservatively; with ongoing care from a podiatrist, education regarding footwear choices and changes in nail cutting techniques. This may also include home care consisting of salt water soaks and anti-septic dressing.
- Surgical Procedure; toenail surgery, performed under local anaesthetic, which involves permanent (or temporary) removal of your problem part of the nail. The amount of nail removed is discussed with you by your podiatrist.
If you have any concerns about your toenails, podiatrists at Proactive Podiatry are very gentle and experienced with ingrown toenail management and can offer you solutions for your problematic toenails.
No one should put up with pain from and ingrown toenail as they can be easily fixed and managed by a podiatrist.
October 6, 2017
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