How To Treat An Ingrown Toenail

When the skin surrounding the toe nail gets swollen and becomes red causing an ingrown toenail, it becomes important to treat ingrown toenail. This can be due to lack of proper fitting shoes; nails are not properly trimmed and tearing on the corners of the tail. The common symptoms of ingrown toenail are redness, swelling and severe pain around the nail.

The following points should be taken into consideration to get rid of the ingrown toe nail. To start with wash your instruments in alcohol or betadine. Soak your foot in warm water with 2 capfuls of betadine solution added to it for about 10 minutes. Then remove your foot from water and clean it with a clean towel and let it dry. With the help of a nail clipper, remove the ingrown toenail at a single angle. With the help of cotton dipped in alcohol or betadine solution clean the area. Till the soreness is removed, keep continuing the process. After cleaning the foot in alcohol or betadine solution, allow it to dry and apply some antibiotic cream and cover with a bandage. To keep the pressure off wear loose shoes till your foot is completely recovered from the infection.

Till your foot is completely recovered from the infection wear sandals or flip flops as there are chances of getting infected again. Apply an ice pack for 10 minutes if you notice bleeding in the toe nail and apply some antiseptic on the ingrown nail which gives relief for some time. If still the bleeding does not stop, consult a physician or a podiatrist.

If you are still suffering from the infection and the ingrown nail keeps growing again and again, then consult a doctor immediately. Firstly he makes numb on your toe by giving an injection and completely removes the nail. He cuts the edge of the toenail by using scissors where the skin keeps growing. After this he removes the part of the nail which is also called as partial nail avulsion. The doctor may also use a chemical, electric current or do a small surgery to remove the ingrown nail from the area which is growing again and again. The new nail will take 2 to 4 months to grow to its normal appearance.

The doctor will recommend antibiotics if there are any signs of infection. To avoid recurrence, take proper foot care and have good hygiene practices. The above mentioned remedies help to treat ingrown toenail.

By: Elizabeth Durham

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Elizabeth specializes in all types of medical conditions for human digits. In the foot category, her expertise is in bunions treatment, and treatments for a black toenail, and also for yellow toenails . She also has knowledge of ingrown toenail remedies.