Ingrown toenail help needed

Dogwood

Inactive
Anyone here have a cure (temporary or permanent) for an ingrown toenail? It's not severe but it's a bit painful and I'd like to get rid of it.

TIA.
Dogwood
 
My personal way to deal with them is to soak in the tub for a while, and then take clippers or a knife and cut the toenail out myself, then soak the foot in epsom salts to keep infection down (or put some CS on it). However, a couple of weeks ago I had one ingrow all the way back to the very back, and had to have a doctor take a little over half of my big toenail off - it was infected when I finally broke down and went to the doctor, so I had to take antibiotics for a bit before he'd touch it.

It had been 12 or 14 years since I had to have one cut out, so my in-between solution works fairly well for me... but occasionally things get so bad I can't deal with it anymore.
 

Trek

Inactive
Agreed.. whatever you do, don't let it go too long before taking care of it.

I had stubbed my toe and bent the nail. Hurt, didn't bleed, didn't think much of it. Until the weather warmed up and I had to put closed toe shoes on. By the time I broke down and went to the podiatrist... the nail had worked it's way through to the bone.

Now... no chances taken. Soak... clip the sides of the nail... soak in epsom salts.

It kills me. I hate feet. yuck!
 

Albuburbia

Membership Revoked
Try those special clippers that are angled. I think they're sold as cuticle nippers. They're fantastic for getting into the side area of the nail. They make the cutting portion of the process a lot easier.
 

Dinghy

Veteran Member
I agree with the epsom salts soak. My husband had a very nasty looking toe a couple weeks ago and refused to go to the doctor. It was red and swollen and very sore. I talked him into soaking the foot and after a few days it was much better.
 

DocVan

Contributing Member
Not a cure, but a statement/question about ingrown toe nails: My father and I used to get ingrown toenails, even though we both trimmed our nails straight across, as recommended by the medical profession.

After years of that, we tried trimming them rounded, like you do for finger nails, and neither of us got ingrown toenails again.

Dad is gone now, but I still continue with the rounded nails, and still have had no trouble.

Have any others found this to be the case (so that Dogwood need not suffer a repeat of this painful problem)? I am of course, assuming that Dogwood is trimming in the medically approved straight-across method, at this time....?

DocVan
 
Yes Doc - I have to trim them rounded, if I trim straight across then all ten of them will be ingrown on at least one side and some on both side within two days.
 

ARUBI

Inactive
"Yes Doc - I have to trim them rounded, if I trim straight across then all ten of them will be ingrown on at least one side and some on both side within two days."

Then the cause of that is the shoes you wear......
 
LOL Arubi.. not hardly... it does it in the summer when I'm in sandals and flip flops and there is nothing touching my toes, and it does it in the winter when I'm in enclosed shoes. My dad's feet are the same way.. it's just the way our toenails grow.
 

clem

Veteran Member
Don't screw around, go see the doc if possiable.

If I knew how to post pictures saved on my hard drive, I'd show you why.
 

ARUBI

Inactive
LOL Arubi.. not hardly... it does it in the summer when I'm in sandals and flip flops and there is nothing touching my toes, and it does it in the winter when I'm in enclosed shoes. My dad's feet are the same way.. it's just the way our toenails grow.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I realize the problem. If a person wears ill fitting or toe restricting shoes, socks over the course of time the toes form to a certain position and it will not straighten the problem out by just a few months of sandals/flip flops.

FWIW,

Ingrown toenails are caused by impingement of the skin along the margins of the nail by the nail plate. Improper trimming of toenails, tight fitting shoes which press the toes together, hose or socks that are too tight or loose, abnormally shaped nail plate, usually caused by shoes/socks or trama to toe. Or excessively thick nail plate, usually caused by a fungus. Even the pressure of bed coverings can do this over a period of time.

A good suggestion from clem, see a Podiatrist. Chronic in-growing nails can cause deformity of the nail plate and/or surrounding soft tissues. Infection, if present, may spread to foot and leg, or into blood stream very quickly. A small benign tumor called a granuloma can form along the nail margin. Diabetics and those with poor circulation to the feet must never attempt to treat an ingrown toenail at home, consult with a podiatrist or physician immediately.

Thankfully, I have never had one, but have researched the subject because of DH's stage 2 diabetes.

Like I said FWIW to you I offer what I know.
 

Deborah

Veteran Member
My grandmother had a good solution. Cut a V in the middle of the toenail and the nail will grow inward, away from the skin. It works great.
 
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