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Ingrown Nails on Toes

A disorder known as an ingrown toenail arises when the sides and corners of the toenail grow unnaturally into the soft tissues. Despite being common, the condition can cause discomfort and result in swelling and redness. The big toe is impacted on one or both sides.
These can be handled at home with ease, but if your ingrown toenail becomes infected and you have other underlying medical conditions (such as diabetes), you may need to see a podiatrist. On the other hand, ingrown toenails can be prevented with prudence.
Consult with Dr. Samipa Mukherjee at The Skin Hair Nail Clinic in Kolkata to discuss the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, course of treatment, and preventive measures.

For Whom Is an Ingrown Toenail More Probable?

An ingrown toenail can happen to anyone. However, your risk is increased if you:

Are you a teenager?

Play any sports?

Feel like your feet are sweating

Have diabetes or high blood sugar

Suffer from severe nerve damage in your leg or foot

Have insufficient blood flow due to an infection around your nail

What Causes Ingrown Toenails?

When the side or corner of a toenail grows into the surrounding tissue, it can cause problems. It usually affects you if your toes are quite long and your feet are sweaty.

However, there are significant additional causes of ingrown toenails, like:

Cutting your toenails far too short.

Give your nail tips a rounded shape.

Warmth: The injured toe feels comfortable or hot.

Putting on shoes that are too small or too tight, causes your toenails to rub.

Injury to your toe from striking anything hard with it.

Stress on the toenails caused by poor posture or physical activity (such as ballet, sports, or jogging)

If you have a family history of ingrown toenails, your chances of getting them are increased.

If your nail is too long for your toe, it is congenital, meaning it was there from birth

Which Signs Are Present in Ingrown Toenails?

The symptoms of an ingrown toenail include the following:

Hard Swelling: An ingrown toenail may first seem painful, hard, and swollen to the touch.

Redness: Later, the affected area becomes unpleasant and turns red.

Warmth: The injured toe feels comfortable or hot.

Pain: The illness hurts a lot. There could be minor to severe pain. Pain starts to make it difficult for you to move or stand.

Bleeding: Inflammation around the ingrown toenail may cause bleeding.

Bacteria can cause infections by penetrating through the irritated, sensitive flesh.

Discharge: It looks like pus, either white or yellow, trickling from the affected area.

Oedema: An accumulation of fluid around the affected region may be the cause of swelling. You might find it difficult to wear fully covered shoes.

How Are Ingrown Toenails Diagnosed?

Depending on the symptoms, indicators, and clinical look of your toe, you may typically diagnose an ingrown toenail on your own. To have your toe examined physically, see a podiatrist (foot specialist). The skin around the border of your toenail will be examined by a podiatrist. A diagnosis of ingrown toenail is made if your skin is:

Expanding past the nail.

Sensitive, swelling, or red.

Pustular and infected.

An ingrown toenail can typically be diagnosed without the need for an X-ray or other tests. On rare occasions, however, if your toenail is severely infected, an X-ray may be required. To determine the organism causing the infection, a blood culture test might also be required. This helps determine which medications are needed to treat the infection.

How Is Prevention of Ingrown Toenails Possible?

It’s better to avoid than to treat, as they say. Preventive actions can also help avoid ingrown toenails. Reduce the possibility of an ingrown toenail:

Put on shoes that fit properly. Tight shoes might force your toenails into the soft tissue by applying excessive pressure.

Keep the nails on your toes moderately long to prevent exposing the sensitive flesh underneath. Chop them off at the toe tips.

Instead of curling or rounding your toenails cut them straight across the toe.

It is advised to wear protective footwear, particularly when participating in activities that raise the possibility of toenail injuries.

Treatment Options for Ingrown Toenails

For minor cases, ingrown toenails can be treated at home; for severe cases, surgery is required. If using over-the-counter treatments doesn’t work to treat ingrown toenails, you might want to see a podiatrist regarding having surgery.

Home Remedies

Soak with soap in warm water.

This reduces edema and discomfort.
You can achieve even more relief by combining water and epsom salts.

Soak in apple-derived vinegar

In addition to being antibacterial; apple cider vinegar soothes pain and inflammation.
Add one-fourth cup of apple cider vinegar to a basin of water.
Soak the affected foot for up to 20 minutes each day.
With a towel, thoroughly dry the area.

Apply a cream that fights bacteria.

This promotes healing and reduces the risk of infection.
Clean & dry the affected area completely.
Use the cream three times a day at the very least.
After applying, place a bandage over the toenail.

Wear cozy shoes and socks.

If you wear shoes and socks that are too tight, your toes could get crowded.
Make sure your shoes fit properly and allow sufficient space for your body.
Wear sandals instead of shoes until the toenail heals.

Put down an OTC pain reliever.

Acetaminophen may help with the discomfort.
Every four to six hours of consumption required.

Wear a toe guard.

It provides a layer of support and cushioning for the ingrown toenail.
These can be bought as rings that fit the affected area effectively.

Use oral antibiotics as prescribed by your doctor.

This lessens pain and swelling while combating the illness.

Surgical Procedure

Wedge excision or resection

Your doctor extracts a portion of your toenail.
This technique is also known as partial nail avulsion.

Removal of toenails

Your doctor can decide to remove your entire toenail.
It takes almost eighteen months for the excised nail to grow back.
But following this procedure, the nail grows back deformed, increasing the likelihood of an ingrown toenail later on.
This process is also known as full nail avulsion.

Surgery performed on the tips of the toes

Your doctor may remove and restructure the soft tissue at the tip of your toe.
This is suggested when all other options are exhausted.

Elimination of the Matrix

The nail and the nail bed are both removed during this treatment.
This is recommended when wedge resection or nail avulsion procedures are ineffective.
There exist multiple variations of matrixectomy.
– Phenol matrix replacement
– Matrixectomy with sodium hydroxide
– Matrixectomy with laser
– Matrixectomy with electrosurgery

Zadek’s method

The entire toenail is extracted during the treatment, along with the tissue that contains the ingrown nail.

What Procedures Are Included in the Surgery to Remove Ingrown Toenails?

For the surgical treatment of ingrown toenails, partial nail avulsion and matrixectomy have demonstrated remarkable efficacy.

Prior to the process

– The complete medical history will be taken by the podiatrist or surgeon.
– An inspection of the ingrown toenail is conducted physically.
– If you are taking medicine, you must let the surgeon know so that they can avoid any negative reactions when giving you anesthesia.

In the process

– They’ll make you lie down in a supine position. You can either hang off the end of the table or lay your foot flat on the operation table.
– An antiseptic solution is used to cleanse the afflicted area.
– A local anesthetic may be administered; although you may be conscious, the physician may numb the area so that your toe is not felt. A sedative or twilight anesthesia—which leaves you conscious but disoriented and possibly forgetting the procedure—may be utilized by some medical professionals.
– A surgical blade is used to remove all or a portion of the toenail.
– To get rid of the nail bed, a cut is made.
– If pus is present in the afflicted location, it is drained.
– Debridement is the process of completely removing the dead tissue by scraping it out.
– The incision is left open without sutures and stuffed with gauze.
– An instrument called a surgical cautery is used to manage bleeding.
– To stop an ingrown toenail from happening again, apply a light solution of phenol to the nail bed.

Following the process

– To reduce pain following your treatment, you may take a modest pain reliever.
– In order to lessen the post-operative edema surrounding the operated toe, wet compression is utilized.
– After getting enough rest, raise your toe for 12 to 24 hours.
– Until your surgeon gives the all-clear, avoid doing any activities that could harm your toe.
– Steer clear of swimming and hot tub use.
– After the procedure, keep the bandage/dressing on for at least one week.
– After the operation, wear shoes that fit loosely for at least two weeks.

Dr. Samipa’s – The Skin Hair Nail Clinic

New Airport Road, Hennur Bagalur Main Rd, above GK Vale, Kothanur, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560077

Clinic Timing :   Monday – Saturday : 10 AM – 7 PM | Sunday : Closed

Phone :  +91-XXXXX 10101 | +91-XXXXXXXXXX
Email :  info@sampaskinclinic.in