Ingrown Toenail Treatment Q&A

While it is always recommended to seek medical attention for an ingrown toenail, you should especially see a podiatric doctor about an ingrown toenail if you are experiencing any of the following signs indicating a possible infection with the ingrown toenail:

• Abscess
• Irritation
• Malodor
• Pain
• Pus
• Red streak that runs from the toe to the middle of the foot
• Redness
• Swelling
• Warm

There are some ways that you can manage or care for an ingrown toenail at home, but it is still best to consult a medical expert about what to do to mend the ingrown toenail so that you can avoid infection and overcome the injury quickly.

A doctor or podiatrist can use several different strategies and techniques when approaching ingrown toenail treatment. If the home remedies that your doctor or podiatrist recommends fail to treat the ingrown toenail sufficiently, they could attempt any of the following treatment options, depending on the severity of the ingrown toenail:

• Lifting the ingrown edge of the nail and placing cotton, dental floss, or a splint underneath it to separate the nail from the overlapped skin so that the nail can grow above the skin. This procedure is usually done for slightly ingrown nails that are red but do not have any pus draining from them.

• Partial removal of the nail by trimming the ingrown portion. This procedure is performed under local anesthetic and is typically used for more severe ingrown toenails where there is redness, pain, and pus.

• Ingrown nail surgery for patients who experience chronic ingrown nails to remove both the ingrown nail and a portion of the nail bed that lies beneath the ingrown part of the nail. This procedure is considered a mild surgery.

• Oral or topical antibiotics if the ingrown toenail is exhibiting signs of infection.

While some treatments for minor ingrown toenails can be performed at home, the risk of infection and treatment errors is significantly lessened when you visit a podiatric doctor for ingrown toenail treatment. It is not only safer to see a doctor for ingrown toenail removal, but it is also less painful, as a podiatric doctor can perform the procedure using a local anesthetic so that you do not feel any pain during the ingrown toenail removal.

Without treatment, there is no way for an ingrown toenail to go away. However, with successful treatment, an ingrown toenail can clear up within one to two weeks.

For expert ingrown toenail treatment near Tustin, CA, we welcome you to come to Tustin Podiatry Clinic! For an appointment, please feel free to schedule one through our website or call us at during the hours of 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM from Monday to Thursday or from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM on Friday. You can find Tustin Podiatry Clinic at 17400 Irvine Blvd, Suite-H, in Tustin, California.