Ingrown Toenails Can Be Hard to Treat
There’s really no foot problem more annoying and actually easily preventable than an ingrown toenail. They are most often the result of a rushed job in nail cutting that creates a curve in the nail, allowing the edge to grow into the surrounding tissue rather than over the top.
Some poor folks are born with unnaturally curved nails, and wearing tight fitting shoes can cause a nail to push into the skin as well. Stubbing your toe can also create a starting point for your nail to enter already broken skin, possibly causing an infection.
The symptoms of an ingrown toenail are pretty obvious and involve:
- tenderness and pain on the side of the toenail
- swelling and discoloration around the nail
- possible oozing of pus indicating an infection
It may be necessary to trim the border of the nail and remove any infected tissue. A special solution can then be applied to that part of the nail to keep it from growing into the skin. This procedure can be done in the office under a local anesthetic and the healing period is rapid.
Prevent ingrown toenails in the first place by:
- cutting your nails straight across
- wearing properly fitted shoes that don’t crowd your toes
Check your feet every day, and if an ingrown toenail has you down, make an appointment with your podiatrist. You can try to treat an ingrown toenail yourself, but it is probably best to leave this job to your foot care specialist.
At Fit Feet for Life, our team of board-certified podiatrists has access to advanced technologies and years of experience to help diagnose and treat a variety of foot and ankle problems, including heel pain, sports injuries, toe deformities, nail fungus, and plantar warts. Bonnie Sanchez, DPM, and Gregory Cook, DPM, provide high quality foot and ankle care to patients in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area at our five offices conveniently located in Sun City Center, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and our two Tampa locations. Please contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.