Ingrown Toenails – Why Do They Happen and How to Deal with Them
There are various toenail-related conditions that people are facing problems these days. For example: onychomycosis or toenail fungus, toenail traumas, leukonychia, ingrown toenail, nail-patella syndrome, and discoloration of the toenail. Here we are going to discuss briefly the condition of ingrowntoenails and how to treat and prevent them.
About Ingrown Toenail
It is a very known condition among adults and teenagers. In this condition, the edges of the nails grow into the skin next to the nail and it may cut the skin. In severe cases, it leads to infection in the skin next to the nails and it may lead to inflammation and cause pain. It causes severe discomfort in the foot fingers. Mostly, it is seen in the toenail whereas very few cases of other fingers are seen.
Causes of ingrown toenails
To prevent any disease or any condition and infection related to it, it is necessary to know its causes first.
So, let’s have a look over various things that can lead to this ingrown toenail:
- Not cutting nails regularly or correctly
- Irregular curved or irregular shaped toenails
- Wearing poorly fitting footwear and tight socks. Also, wearing heavy and uncomfortable footwear put lots of pressure on the feet.
- Heavily sweaty feet
- Poor maintenance of feet hygiene
- Toenail injury (toe getting stubbed, or any heavy thing fallen over it)
- It may be occurred due to the genetic predisposition
- Heavy activities like ballet dance where there is much pressure over the toe due to the point shoes or in cases of football-like games.
What are the symptoms of the ingrown toenail?
Early diagnosis can be way much helpful to cure the ingrown toenail before it gets too severe.
So,let’s know about its symptoms with which a person can take them as a sign of this condition:
- Early-stage symptom:at the earliest stage, the nails may outgrow and become red due to which the skin next to the toe becomes thicker and tender. You can also feel slight pain when the pressure is applied to it. In later times, the fluid accumulates near the toenail.
- Later infectious stage:later after it gets infected the area around the toenail starts getting swollen and becomes red and the pain gradually increases. As the infection spreads and gets worse it starts bleeding and the pus starts oozing out of it. And later the skin may start overgrowing around the infectious area making it even more painful.
- Complications related to untreated ingrown toenail:if the ingrown toenail remains untreated then the infection may spread to the bone. It is even more severe in case of the diabetic patient as due to their insufficient blood supply the cells may be turned to necrotic causing severe infection, foot ulcer, and sore foot.
Different treatments available for ingrown toenail
As the untreated toenail can lead to severe issues it is necessary to get the proper treatment for this condition. However, there are various types of treatment that you can try according to your convenience.
Let’s have a look at them:
- Home remedies: there are certain steps in the home remedies that you have to follow to treat the toenail:
- Keep the toe in the water for about 10 minutes to make the tissue fold around the nail softer.
- Using a cotton bud soaked in olive oil push the skin next to the toenail away from it.
- After a few days when the nail will start growing straight and getting enough length cut the nail.
- Keep applying antibiotics at the place of the ingrowth to prevent the infection.
- Medication:if you don’t want to try home remedies you can go for a treatment to podiatrist Irvine as they are the professionals specializedin the treatments of the disorders related to the foot. You can go for different therapy and medication under their supervision.
In severe cases, you can go for surgical treatment. There is majorly two types of the surgical treatment that has been practiced in cases of the ingrown toenail:
- Partial nail removal: in this technique, only the part of the nail that has been grown into the skin is removed.
- Total nail removal:this is mostly done in cases where the ingrown toenail is caused due to thickening. Here the entire nail is removed.
Where to get the best treatment?
To get the treatment you may consult a podiatrist. However, it is also necessary to find the right podiatrist who can treat your condition without any other complications. It can be a bit tough as there are many Orange County Podiatrist there. You can find the right podiatrist through Podiatrist in Irvine.
However, you can contact Dr.SimaSoltani, one of the best Irvine podiatrist with a work experience of more than 20 yearsof specializingin operation treatment. Through Podiatrist In Irvine,you can get the best treatment for foot traumas. Here you can get all types of treatment including laser treatment and stem cell therapy.
Conclusion
Keep your nails clean and try to maintain proper hygiene for your feet and prevent conditions like this.