Ingrown Toe Nail:

Ingrown toenails are a common condition in which the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh. The result is pain, redness, swelling and, sometimes, an infection. Ingrown toenails usually affect your big toe.

Patients with diabetes, immunocompromised and with other comorbid diseases which reduce blood flow to the toes should be extra careful and seek early advice as they are prone to more severe complications of the infection spreading to rest of the toe and even the foot rapidly.

Causes

Common ingrown toenail causes include:

• Wearing shoes that crowd your toenails
• Cutting your toenails too short or not straight across
• Injuring your toenail
• Having unusually curved toenails

Symptoms

Ingrown toenail symptoms include:

• Pain and tenderness in your toe along one or both sides of the nail
• Redness
• Swelling of your toe around the nail
• Pus discharge from the ingrown nail area

See your doctor if you:

• Experience severe discomfort in your toe or pus or redness that seems to be spreading
• Have diabetes or another condition that causes poor blood flow to your feet and you experience any foot sore or infection

Treatment

• Partially removing the nail. For a more severe ingrown toenail (redness, pain and pus), your doctor may trim or remove the ingrown portion of the nail. Before this procedure, your doctor may temporarily numb your toe by injecting it with an anesthetic.
• Removing the nail and tissue. If you have the problem repeatedly on the same toe, your doctor may suggest removing a portion of the nail along with the underlying tissue (nail bed). This procedure may prevent that part of your nail from growing back. Your doctor will use a chemical, a laser or other methods.

 

 

Contact

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