Ingrown toenails
| What are ingrown toenails? |
An ingrown toenail is a common condition in which the corner or side of one of your toenails grows into the soft flesh of your toe. The result is pain, redness, swelling and, sometimes, an infection. Most often an ingrown toenail affects your big toe.
You can take care of ingrown toenails on your own in most cases. If the pain is severe or spreading, however, your doctor can take steps to relieve your discomfort and help you avoid complications.
If you have diabetes or another condition that causes poor circulation to your feet, you're at greater risk of complications. Seek a doctor's advice on caring for an ingrown toenail.
| Signs and symptoms |
Signs and symptoms of an ingrown toenail include:
- Pain and tenderness in your toe along one or both sides of the nail
- Redness around your toenail
- Swelling of your toe around the nail
- Infection of the tissue around your toenail
| Causes |
Ingrown toenails result when the nail, usually on your big toe, grows into the flesh at the side of the nail. Common causes include:
- Wearing shoes that crowd your toenails
- Cutting your toenails too short or not straight across
- Injury to your toenail
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| Risk factors |
Anyone can get an ingrown toenail. But you may be more prone to develop one if you have toenails that curve down or grow faster at the edges than at the center.
| Complications |
If you have diabetes, the circulation and nerve supply to your feet can become impaired. Therefore, any relatively minor injury to your foot — cut, scrape, corn, callus or ingrown toenail — can lead to a more serious complication. In rare cases an ingrown toenail can result in a difficult-to-heal open sore (foot ulcer), which could eventually require surgery to clean out. Foot ulcers left untreated may become infected and possibly gangrenous. Sometimes amputation is the only treatment. If you have diabetes, or any circulation impairment to your lower extremities, seek the advice of a foot doctor (podiatrist) on how to properly care for ingrown toenails. Also seek prompt treatment for any foot sore or infection.
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| Treatment |
Most ingrown toenails can be treated at home. If the pain in your toe is severe or spreading, however, see your doctor. Anyone with circulation problems to their feet should seek the advice of a doctor — preferably a foot doctor — on treating an ingrown toenail.
Doctors usually treat ingrown toenails by trimming or removing the ingrown portion of the nail. This helps relieve the pain. Doctors may also recommend the use of topical and oral antibiotics, especially if the toe is infected or at risk of becoming infected.
| Prevention |
To help prevent an ingrown toenail:
- Trim your toenails straight across. Don't curve the nails to match the shape of the front of your
toe. See a podiatrist every 3 months to have your nails professionally trimmed if you have circulation
problems to your feet.
- Leave your toenails at a moderate length. If you trim your toenails too short, the pressure from
your shoes on your toes' tissue may direct your nails to grow into the tissue.
- Wear shoes that fit properly and that don't place excessive pressure on your toes. Shoes that
pinch your toes may cause your nails to grow into surrounding tissue. If you have nerve impairment to
your feet, you may not be able to sense if your shoes fit too tightly. Take care to buy and wear
properly fitted shoes, preferably from a shoe store specializing in fitting shoes for people with foot
problems.
- If your work puts you at risk of injuring your toes, buy footwear, such as steel-toed shoes, that protects your toes. A break in the flesh of a toe may provide a place for a nail to grow.
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| Self-care |
To treat an ingrown toenail at home:
- Soak your feet in warm salt water (1 tablespoon of table salt per quart of water) for 20 to 30
minutes four times a day to reduce swelling and relieve tenderness.
- Put fresh bits of cotton under the ingrown edge after each soaking. This will help the nail
eventually grow above the skin edge.
- Apply an antibiotic ointment to the tender area.
- Consider wearing open-toed shoes or sandals until your toe feels better.
- Trim the ingrown portion of your nail. Sometimes this step alone will relieve pressure and allow the area to heal.
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