Say Goodbye to Ingrown Toenails

Do you have pain or swelling around your big toe? What you could be dealing with is an ingrown toenail! When a corner of your toenail grows into the flesh around the nail, it can create tenderness, making it harder to walk and put pressure on the toe. If you don’t treat it swiftly, infections can show up. But luckily there are ways to treat the condition and give you some pain relief!

Reaching out to your podiatrist for help is the best first step. From there, these are some of the treatment options your doctor might recommend:

Splints

Your foot doctor might recommend a gutter splint. The splint is placed underneath your nail and stays there until your nail grows back normally. This method also helps with pain relief.

Lifting

This method is quite common and is the go-to for minor conditions of an ingrown toenail. Similar to a gutter splint, your podiatrist will lift your toenail and insert some kind of material underneath – usually cotton. This method takes around 2 to 12 weeks to heal and there may be some at-home treatment instructions to follow after your visit. Soaking your toe or applying a medicated cream is usually on the list.

Taping

This is the easiest and most painless option. Here, the surrounding skin will be pulled away from your ingrown toenail using tape.

Partial Removal

If your ingrown toenail is severe and causes a significant amount of pain, it might be necessary to partially remove your toenail.

Total Removal

This method is a last resort, usually for those who keep having ingrown toenails. Your podiatrist may recommend removing your entire nail, including the nail bed, ensuring that the problem won’t repeat. Usually, this is done by using a chemical or laser treatment.

If you suspect you have an ingrown nail, call your podiatrist soon and make an appointment. Leaving an ingrown toenail without treatment can leave you with more pain.

Here at PodiatryCare, PC, and the Heel Pain Center, we specialize in custom orthotics, along with various other foot and ankle ailments. Dr. Charlotte George, Dr. Matthew Tschudy, Dr. Rebecca Wiesner, Dr. Kristen Winters, Dr. Laura Vander Poel, and the rest of our team are dedicated to helping our Hartford County patients. To schedule an appointment at our Enfield location, call (860) 741-3041; for an appointment at our South Windsor location, call (860) 644-6525.