Ingrown Toenail Removal Specialist Q&A

Ingrown toenails are quite common, as the corner of the toenail or side often will grow into the soft flesh. Due to this, you may feel some pain, swelling, inflamed skin that looks quite red, and sometimes an infection. Often ingrown toenails will affect the biggest toe on the foot.

You can either take care of the ingrown toenail on your own; however, if the pain becomes more severe, or spreads, a podiatrist will highly recommend Ingrown toenail removal to help relieve the pain and discomfort as well as avoid any future complications of your ingrown toenail.

The main symptoms to be aware of when it comes to ingrown toenails are:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Tender area
• Inflamed (red) skin
• Infection

If you start experiencing any discomfort in your toes, inflamed (red) skin, pus, or notice it spreading to more area(s) of the toe, schedule a visit to the podiatrist. If you have diabetes or another medical condition that causes poor blood flow to your feet, and you are noticing a foot sore or infection, schedule an appointment with your podiatrist.

Ingrown toenails have many different causes, some of which include:

• Wearing shoes that are too tight and crowd the toenail
• Cutting toenails that may be too short, or not straight across
• Injure the toenail somehow
• Curved toenails
• Nail infections
• Particular medical conditions

You may be at a higher risk of ingrown toenails depending on:

• Your feet sweat a lot more and softens the skin and nail
• If you have certain nail habits that encourage the nail to grow into the skin, this could include cutting your nails too short, or rounding the corners of the nails
• Reduced ability to be able to take care of your nails
• Wearing shoes that are too tight and constrict your toes
• Participate in particular sports and activities that include running, kidding, and putting your toes at a higher risk of injury
• Medical condition including diabetes which causes poor blood flow to the feet

If an ingrown toenail is left untreated, it can cause severe pain, swelling and cause the inability for you to wear certain shoes due to the pain. Noticing signs and symptoms of an ingrown toenail and getting it treated will help to stop any infections from occurring or further issues.

Issues that can occur if you leave an ingrown toenail could be severe pain and tenderness in the affected toe, to the point you can’t wear socks or closed-toe shoes as it hurts too much. Overgrown skin that will grow further over the toenail gets inflamed and red. Finally, you may begin to notice blood or pus that will leak out from the toenail or open sore along with an infection which can cause issues if the infection gets too severe and goes into the bloodstream, which can cause life-threatening issues.

Preventing an ingrown toenail is a much easier task than you may think. Some prevention tips that our podiatrists offer to their patients are:

• Trimming the toenail straight across
• When trimming the toenails, make sure to keep them at a moderate length
• Wear shoes that fit correctly
• Wear protective footwear when necessary
• Check your feet each day

If you have an ingrown toenail, and it may be painful, your podiatrist will suggest the removal of the ingrown toenail. If it has become quite severe, the podiatrist will recommend surgery to remove any and all of the ingrown toenails as well as kill off the root of the part of the toenail so it will not grow back again. During the surgery, the podiatrist will numb the toe to ensure you do not feel any pain or discomfort. Once numb, the podiatrist will then cut the edge of the toenail and down to the root of the nail to pull out the ingrown nail. If you are having surgery to permanently remove the ingrown nail, the podiatrist will go one step further and apply a solution into the root of where the toenail was to ensure the nail does not grow back again.

If you’re currently searching for a reasonably priced podiatrist, check out our team at Tustin Podiatry Clinic, located in Tustin, CA. We are a medical team with certified Dr. Charles Baik that is looking to help you get back on your feet, quite literally. We are here for your needs and would love to help you live a pain-free life. We Serve Patients from Tustin CA, Irvine CA, Garden Grove CA, Orange CA, Anaheim CA, Costa Mesa CA, and Lake Forest CA.