“Why does my toe hurt so much?”
“It’s red and puffy!”
“It looks horrible!”
…Sound familiar?
What is an Ingrown Toenail?
An ingrown toenail is where the edge of the nail grows a small spike and begins to cut into the skin. Ouch! Once the nail pierces through the soft skin, infection can take hold leading to redness, pus and pain.Ingrown toenails usually don’t resolve until that nail spike is gone. Antibiotics for this reason often don’t work.
Without treatment the pain and infection can last for months.
Why do they happen?
Common causes:
- Cutting nails too short
- Leaving bits of nail down the sides when trimming nails
- Picking toe nails
- Tight fitting and narrow shoes (footwear tips here)
- History of ingrown toe nails in the family
- Trauma to the nail
- Fungal infections
How do I know if it’s infected?
- Rule #1 toenail edge is SORE
- Toe is red
- There is swelling and pus
What can I do about it?
- Try soaking the toe in warm salt water 10 minutes each day
- Apply Betadine twice per day
- You can try cutting the nail back yourself – proceed with caution
- If you’ve tried this and it hasn’t worked for a week, best to see a Podiatrist immediately.
What will a Podiatrist do?
Your Podiatrist will gently trim away the nail edge removing the painful spike! If the area is very painful they will numb the area so that the nail can be tidied up painlessly! As Podiatrists, we treat and fix Ingrown Toenails every day in our job!
If you have a persistent Ingrown Toenail book an appointment today!
