Treatment for Ingrown Toenails
A common foot condition you may suffer from is ingrown toenails. Often happening on your big toes, the corners or edges of the nails grow into the soft flesh. It can be painless, but it often causes significant pain for something innocuous and can lead to infections. They may resolve independently, but if you have circulation problems or trouble healing, consult a podiatrist for your ingrown toenails as soon as you notice them.
Dr. Cameron, one of the region’s top podiatrists, has years of experience expertly managing ingrown nails. He can quickly identify ingrown nails in his thorough foot assessment, and he will properly treat them to prevent recurrence. If a minor surgical procedure is necessary, he can perform these safely in his clinic to minimize discomfort and inconvenience and hasten your recovery.
Read on to learn more about ingrown toenails and learn if you would benefit from treatment at Foot and Ankle Center:
Symptoms of Ingrown Toenails
Especially if you are prone to chronic ingrown toenails, you may not recognize the symptoms as an issue. If they aren’t giving you any trouble, you can try to guide them into a better growth pattern without needing to see a doctor.
However, you can experience pain and tenderness around the irritated nail, leading to trouble walking or wearing shoes. You might notice redness or swelling around the ingrown toenail, indicating it’s inflamed. Lastly, you can see drainage or pus from the irritated area. If that’s the case, it could be infected, and you should see a podiatrist as soon as possible.
Ingrown Toenail Causes
Ingrown toenails have multiple causes, and understanding them can help with ingrown nail prevention.
Nail Trimming Techniques
You won’t have a nail-cutting and shaping class unless you’ve gone to beauty school. However, you can develop ingrown nails quite quickly when you cut your nails too short or overly round at the edges. You’d think that the professionals would get this right, but that’s not always the case. Too many bad pedicures have resulted in ingrown toenails. If you pay for this service, ensure that the technician cuts your nails to prevent an ingrown toenail.
Snug Shoes
If your shoes are too tight, especially if they pinch your toes, you will have more pressure on them. This encourages your nail to grow into the skin. You will be less prone to an ingrown toenail if you wear loose shoes across the toe.
Inherited Trait
Our nail shape, growth pattern, and foot shape are thanks to our genetic makeup. Even when caused by another condition, such as hammertoes or bunions, your nails or foot shape can increase your risk for ingrown toenails.
Your Age
When you are a teenager, your feet tend to sweat more. When you perspire, it softens your nails and skin, creating an optimal environment for an ingrown toenail and infection. Outside of adolescence, if you have a condition that makes you sweat more, such as hyperhidrosis, it can also be part of the cause.
Certain Injuries
Traumas, like dropping something heavy on your nail and smashing it or stubbing your toe badly, can cause your toenails to grow into the skin. You can inflict trauma leading to ingrown toenails when you perform sports that require running and kicking, like soccer. Activities that require tight shoes, like ballet, can also cause problems.
Home Remedies for Ingrown Toenails
Mild ingrown nails often resolve independently without a trip to the doctor. However, they can still be quite uncomfortable. You can soak the affected area in warm water to reduce pain and swelling. Each soak should be 15 to 20 minutes up to four times daily. Afterward, you can gently lift the edge of the ingrown nail to place some cotton, paper towel, or dental floss underneath it to encourage it to grow above the skin.
You can also apply an antibiotic ointment to prevent infection if you have some open areas on your skin. Taking ibuprofen can help with inflammation and pain. Acetaminophen can also help reduce pain.
Part of remedying ingrown toenails is prevention. Here are several steps you can take to prevent ingrown toenails from developing in the first place or returning:
- Wear properly fitting footwear with a wide toe box
- Avoid too small, narrow, or tight shoes as they encourage or exacerbate ingrown toenails
- Keep your feet clean and dry; more moisture leads to more skin breakdown
- Protect your feet from injuries that can alter your nail growth pattern
- Cut your nails straight across, avoiding rounded edges
Podiatrist Treatments for Ingrown Toenails
Any doctor will have the baseline knowledge to deal with painful ingrown toenails, but if they are bad enough to warrant a clinic visit, you want to see a specialist.
Dr. Cameron is a podiatrist who frequently deals with ingrown toenails. He can quickly diagnose the issue and assess the severity of your ingrown toenail, recommending the best treatment option. In mild cases, Dr. Cameron may prescribe home remedies and suggest changing the type of shoes you wear to prevent more invasive treatments. He may need to schedule an outpatient procedure in moderate to severe cases.
If you seek treatment from a general practitioner, they must refer you to a foot specialist for any more serious treatments. But if you start with Dr. Cameron, he’s well-equipped to perform ingrown nail removal using a short, in-office surgical procedure. Depending on the severity of the problem, he will recommend a combination of treatment options:
Partial Nail Removal
This is the outpatient procedure Dr. Cameron routinely performs. He will administer a local anesthetic to numb the affected toe, then remove the part of your nail growing into the skin. He can perform a chemical cauterization of the nail root to prevent it from regrowing in recurrent situations.
Medications
He can recommend a pain management routine if warranted. Additionally, he can prescribe oral or topical antibiotics if the ingrown is infected. Dr. Cameron can identify and treat foot infections efficiently.
Surgery
In rare situations, Dr. Cameron may need to remove the entire toenail. He typically only recommends this in severe, recurrent cases with a concerning underlying variable such as diabetes. Chronic ingrown toenails could lead to ulcers, infection, and gangrene, so taking more permanent measures to prevent them is crucial. Luckily, Dr. Cameron is an excellent doctor, as he is also a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, so he can perform a surgical removal without breaking a sweat.
At the end of your consultation, Dr. Cameron, or a member of his trusted staff, will provide education on preventing an ingrown, tailored to the contributing causes of your specific problem. For example, if bunions increase the pressure on your toenail, the Foot and Ankle Center will include information to manage your bunions to prevent ingrown toenails.
Regardless of his recommended treatment course, Dr. Cameron will want to see you for follow-up care. He puts in extra effort to monitor the healing process and ensure the ingrown doesn’t recur. As a podiatrist, he goes above and beyond to prevent and manage ingrown toenails. Dr. Cameron is among the best in the region when it comes to expert diagnosis, treatment, and preventative care.