Ingrown toenails are not an urgent medical condition that requires urgent care because you can take care of them independently. In most cases, if you are experiencing pain, swelling, or inflammation on your big toe, you can try handling it independently, but if the pain persists, you must seek medical help. Similarly, if there is an infection, you should seek help to prevent further complications. Therefore, if your ingrown toenail is causing you pain, infection, or you are seeking help, ingrown toenail Fort Worth specialists provide a solution to your problem. They offer surgical and conservative treatments to alleviate pain caused by your ingrown toenails and treat any infection before it worsens. Let’s learn more about ingrown toenails below.
What are ingrown toenails?
They are also called onychocryptosis, which usually occurs when the corners or sides of your toenail dig into your skin. Ingrown toenails usually affect the big toe, causing swelling, pain, soreness, tenderness, or redness. If your ingrown toenails are left untreated, they may become infected. Your skin might start growing over the ingrown toenail. You are at a greater risk of developing an ingrown toenail if you have a condition that causes poor blood supply to your feet, like peripheral artery disease or diabetes.
What causes ingrown toenails?
In most cases, ingrown toenails usually form when you trim your toenail very short such that the top of your toe is higher than the top of the nail. Similarly, cutting your nails, especially on the side, also causes ingrown toenails. You can prevent ingrown toenails by cutting them correctly. Additional risk factors predisposing you to ingrown toenails include poor foot structure, injury, heredity, or fungal infection. The pressure exerted by your shoes on your nails or tight socks can also lead to the formation of ingrowing toenails.
What treatment options are available for ingrown toenails?
As stated early, you can treat your ingrown toenails at home. You do so by soaking your feet in warm, soapy water several times a day and avoiding wearing tight shoes and socks. But if you got ingrown toenails that cause severe pain or are infected, you should seek health care where the nail is lifted. If you have a slightly ingrown toenail with no pus but causes pain and redness, it might respond to toe lifting. In this case, your care provider usually lifts the edge of your ingrown nail and inserts cotton, a splint, or dental floss under it. Doing so helps separate your ingrown toenail from your skin. It also guides the direction it should grow.
In other cases, your nail may be partially removed when a small segment of the ingrown toenail is removed, especially if it is causing severe pain, redness, and pus. Your toe is numbed with local anesthesia before removing the ingrown part. And if you continuously have the same problem on your toe, your care provider might remove a part of your nail and the nail bed.
Ingrown toenails can cause symptoms like redness, swelling, or pus. Therefore, if your pain persists after using home remedies or infection and you seek help, you can get started by calling Trinity Foot & Ankle specialists today.
