“How do you repair an ingrown toenail?”
I noticed on my big toe on my left foot, that there's an ingrown toenail. It hurts and is sensitive to the touch. Is it infected? How can I treat on my own?
19 Answers
Vinegar Foot soak (30 ml White Vinegar + 1/2 gallon of warm water) soak the affected foot for 8-10 minutes. Dress the toe with a topical antibiotic medication. However, if you have a recurrent issue of painful ingrown toe problem then you should consider making an appointment with a Podiatrist-Foot Specialist for evaluation and surgical intervention to possibly removal of the ingrown nail margins, matrix-root section, then chemical cauterization of the area at the proximal nail fold of the affected toe. If you have an infection at the site of the ingrown nail margin, then you will need an oral antibiotic prescribed for you to take for the treatment of you infection.
If it is red, hot, swollen, with drainage it is likely infected. You do not want to let an ingrown nail fester. I would advise seeking an appointment with a podiatrist.
Ingrown toenails that are not treated can become infected. The treatment is to remove the nail that is pushing into the skin. Some patients are able to remove the piece of nail by themselves but other patients need to see a podiatrist for evaluation and treatment.
Simple soaking in warm salt water, applying medication like neosprin if not allergic, and placing a small amount of cotton under the edge of the nail may help. If not unfortunately a minor surgery or clipping by your podiatrist may be the only way to solve the issue
See your Podiatrist.
Typically, the ingrown nail portion needs to be cut out. Depending on where it is ingrown, whether the distal part or tip of the toe, or back towards the nail fold, this may require local anesthetic to be done comfortably. When ingrown nails become infected, oral antibiotics can help eradicate the bacteria causing the infection, but more often than not, the ingrown portion of the nail will still need to be removed. This is a fairly straightforward and common procedure that is performed at your local podiatrists office multiple times per day. Recovery from this procedure is usually quite rapid, where normal activity and shoe gear may be resumed almost immediately.
This is best treated by removal of the offending nail border. The best course of action is to see your podiatrist
An ingrown toenail is a foreign body and has to be removed like a foreign body. It requires going to a Podiatric physicianp, having him numb your toe and removing the offending border. If you have had recurrent ingrown nails however, it is recommended for him to do a permanent removal of the offending nail border which is an easy office procedure.
Thank you for the question. In order to care for the ingrown toenail properly, you should see a podiatrist and let them evaluate the appropriate treatment. There is a surgical procedure that can relieve the pain in the ingrown toenail permanently.
Dr. Gorman
Dr. Gorman
First, don't try to remove it yourself, it will only get worse and the pain will increase. Next, start to soak in warm salty water, half a teaspoon of salt twice daily. Get to the local podiatrist so he/she can fix it properly.
Regarding an ingrown nail that is tender...The question was: Is it infected? and How can I take care of it on my own?
The cardinal signs of infection are: Pain, redness, swelling, and warmth. When it comes to ingrown nails, they can have all of these signs and just be deeply ingrown and irritated. Some ingrown nails develop abscess formations that become increasingly tender. In this case, the pain and irritation will not resolve completely with the following care plan. If you soak the foot in Epsom salt or white vinegar and water (2:1 dilution), the toe may become less irritated allowing you to trim the ingrown portion of the nail out yourself. If you keep that edge of the nail smoothed down it will not cause further irritation. If the irritation goes away thereafter, then you know you are in a safe place caring for yourself. If irritation persists, then you may need treatment by a foot specialist to fully eliminate the infection and abscess formation. This may include in office treatment, home care, and oral antibiotic therapy in combination.
I hope this helps.
Respectfully,
Molly S. Judge, DPM, FACFAS
The cardinal signs of infection are: Pain, redness, swelling, and warmth. When it comes to ingrown nails, they can have all of these signs and just be deeply ingrown and irritated. Some ingrown nails develop abscess formations that become increasingly tender. In this case, the pain and irritation will not resolve completely with the following care plan. If you soak the foot in Epsom salt or white vinegar and water (2:1 dilution), the toe may become less irritated allowing you to trim the ingrown portion of the nail out yourself. If you keep that edge of the nail smoothed down it will not cause further irritation. If the irritation goes away thereafter, then you know you are in a safe place caring for yourself. If irritation persists, then you may need treatment by a foot specialist to fully eliminate the infection and abscess formation. This may include in office treatment, home care, and oral antibiotic therapy in combination.
I hope this helps.
Respectfully,
Molly S. Judge, DPM, FACFAS
It's hard to treat an ingrown toenail on her own. There is an easy in office procedure that can be performed to alleviate the problem.
I would have to look at it to see if there is an infection. But if it is red, swollen or pus then I would say yes it is infected. There are in office procedures that can be done to help remove that painful ingrown. People try at home cutting a v in the nail or using cotton on the side but I haven't seen that work to well.
You may soak in warm saltwater for 15 minutes daily and apply antibiotic cream to see if that helps. If not or the symptoms worsen, you should see your podiatrist for evaluation and treatment option.
Signs of infection include swelling, pain, redness, and drainage (usually a thick yellow to brown colored drainage). An ingrown toenail may hurt and cause swelling and redness without an overt infection, but it is probably on its way to getting infected if it looks like that. Treating ingrowing toenails on your own is tricky, and usually patients end up worsening their problem if they try to take care of it themselves. Urgent Care, Primary Care, and Emergency Room doctors also often worsen the situation with their attempt to treat the problem. A Podiatrist is, by far, your best choice of doctors for treatment. If it is infected, you need antibiotics to treat the infection. (The bones on your feet are very close to the skin. So if the skin is infected, and the infection gets into the bone, it can end up with an amputation of the toe.) The doctor will also likely numb up your toe and remove the offending nail border with special instrumentation. If you are going to attempt to treat this on your own, start by soaking twice a day in warm water with Epsom Salts and keep the toe covered with a bandage and antibiotic ointment at all times. "Airing the area out" is the wrong course of action. Even if this treatment makes you more comfortable for a little while, but more than likely the symptoms will worsen and you will likely need to seek professional help. (Look up Onychia; Paronychia; ingrown toenail.) There is also a permanent solution to the problem called a Matricectomy, in which the offending border is removed under anesthesia, and a chemical is applied to the growth cells to inhibit regrowth of that side of the nail. This is usually not done in the face of infection, but sometimes we will put a patient on antibiotics for a week to clear the infection, and then do the permanent procedure.
Surgical removal of the nail spicule under local anesthesia
I recommend you not try to treat it on your own. You can soak the toe in epsom salt but I recommend you make an appointment to be evaluated by a foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist)
If the ingrown toenail is infected, it is better to have it evaluated and taken out by a podiatrist as he/she can remove it permanently so it never recurs again. How far to cut back and at what angle to do so make it very hard for you to remove on your own without a risk of worsening the condition or causing infection.
Kimberly Nguyen
Podiatrist | Primary Podiatric Medicine
The signs of infection are: reddness, swelling, increase in warmth, appearance of pus. If these symptoms are present, the aggravating factor, the ingrown needs to be removed and flushed and depending on the severity of the infection, an antiobiotic may be needed. Although you could attempt to self treat, I have also seen many cases in which patients have made their ingrowns and infection worse by trying to self treat. Your local podiatrist will be better able not only to see but also technically skilled in removal of the ingrown.
