Symptoms of an Ingrown Toenail and Treatment

By Guest Blogger Jessica M.

Symptoms of an Ingrown Toenail and Treatment

 

Both genders, male and female, may need to face the issue of an ingrown toenail. No one wants to have one simply because of the pain and discomfort that ingrown toenail can bring.

Symptoms of an ingrown toenail

The signs and symptoms of the ingrown toenail can either or all of the following below:

  • The skin that is next to the nail can be swollen, hard or tender.
  • You can feel a pain when you place pressure on your toe.
  • There is fluid building around the toe area.

What are the signs of infection?

Here is the thing, once you see signs or symptoms that you have an ingrown toenail, it is a must that one should have this treated right away. If things get worse, one may experience infection, and the issue will come harder to handle or treat. Signs of infections may either be or all of the below:

  • Redness of the skin. Redness and to add possible swelling of the toe area.
  • A person who has an infected ingrown toenail may experience moderate to heavy pain around their toes.
  • The toe is bleeding and has pus
  • There is an overgrowth of skin surrounding the toe area.
  • A person may feel a bit warmer on the infected area

 

When you need to contact a medical professional

You can try treating your ingrown toenail by using available over the counter medicines or application of home remedies like olive oil etc. Some may leave their feet soaked in warm water for around 15 minutes to 20, four times in a day. But here is a fact, yes, you can try working on it yourself, unfortunately, not all can be treated by making use of simple remedies, some toenail ingrown may need surgery etc. If you avoid visiting a professional and performed wrong treatment to your toenail, then things may get worse.

It is a must that you consult a medical professional in instances that:

  • If in any cases that a person feels severe and extreme discomfort in your toe. The extreme pain may mean graver issue, thus consulting and contacting a medical professional should be done immediately.
  • If the pus and/or redness is spreading, it is a must that you go to your doctor right away.
  • If you have any other condition like diabetes or any cases of poor blood flow to your feet, you should never hesitate to contact a medical professional and avoid self-medications.
  • Foot sore or infection should let you see a medical professional.

 

Treatment options for ingrown toenail

The treatment is dependent on different factors.

Early stages can be treated by:

  • Soaking of foot in warm water that contains salt or antibacterial soap for good number of minutes
  • Drying of foot and making use of the available over the counter antibacterial ointments.
  • Make use of clean dressing to cover the toenail area.
  • Do not cut your nails, wait for few days for nails to grow out then cut it straight across right away.

More severe issues may require one to undergo surgery. The surgery should be performed by medical professionals.

  • The doctor may cut an open infected area with the use of either a needle or a blade to flush out pus.
  • If the ingrown nail is deep, the doctor may require numbing the patient’s toe with the use of local anesthetic and then after, the doctor will remove a vertical strip on the patient’s nail located in the affected area of the toe. After being removed, the nail now has the chance to grow again, this time without an ingrown edge.

Tips to prevent an ingrown toenail

Good news, one can prevent ingrown toenail. There are different tips that you can work on to prevent the growth of ingrown toenails:

  • One should trim their toenails straight across, and ensure that the edges of the nail will not curve in.
  • There are some who are comfortable, cutting their nails too short, thus putting them at higher risk of an ingrown toenail. Avoid cutting nails too short.
  • Avoid wearing too tight shoes, tights or socks.
  • If working in a hazardous environment, it is recommended that one will wear steel-toed boots.

 

Yes, there are toenail fungus remedies’  that can assist one if they experience ingrown toenail, but there is nothing better than preventing it from happening. As the saying goes, “prevention is always better than cure“.

 Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
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