At first glance, an ingrown toenail does not seem to be a very serious problem. However, this disease can lead to very dangerous consequences. How to treat it correctly?
Our expert is an orthopedic doctor, researcher at the Endocrinological Research Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Sergei Gorokhov .
The most common ingrown toenail is the big toe. The lateral part of the nail plate “cuts” into the periungual fold and continues to grow inside it. This causes pain, swelling, and the roller becomes red and hot to the touch.
Later, purulent or sanguineous discharge may appear from under the cushion and ulceration on it. The body tries to heal the wound - bright red granulation tissue forms at the site of ingrowth. If left untreated or treated incorrectly, over time the granulation becomes dense, and the phalanx on which the nail is located changes its shape and structure. At this stage, the only way to deal with ingrowth is surgery.
But it's not just about pain and discomfort. The wound at the site of ingrowth is an open gate for infection. Therefore, inflammation of the soft tissues – paronychia and panaritium – can become a complication of an ingrown toenail. In advanced cases, inflammation can spread to the entire foot and even affect the bone, leading to osteomyelitis.
Surgeons and orthopedists deal with ingrown toenail problems. You cannot do without their help if there is already discharge from the periungual fold. But at the very early stage, you can limit yourself to a medical pedicure. It is hardware-based, that is, during it the skin of the feet is not soaked in water and no cutting devices are used, but only special grinding rollers. This treatment helps stop ingrowth. Masters of this type of pedicure work in diabetic foot clinics.
You can cope with a nail that has just begun to grow in on your own. But it needs to be done correctly. Many, hoping to solve the problem, cut off the corner of the nail, which is located next to the roller. Because of this, the nail plate cannot subsequently grow evenly beyond the finger, so that its tip soon begins to injure the soft tissue of the roller again. In essence, the disease becomes chronic.
We need to act differently. Foot baths with warm water have a good effect. If possible, do them four times a day. You can add salt, soap, and antibacterial agents to the water, but there is no convincing evidence that this is necessary.
After the bath, try to lift the ingrown corner of the nail. To do this, roll a thin flagellum the size of a wax candle wick from cotton wool or gauze. Place it between your nail and skin. The flagellum needs to be changed every day, gradually moving it a little further towards the base of the nail. So in 7-15 days you can give the nail the right direction, which will prevent further ingrowth.
The flagellum can be soaked in chlorhexidine, miramistin or an aqueous solution of povidone-iodine. They are also good for treating inflamed periungual folds.
It is impossible to smear the site of ingrowth with ointments (including ichthyol and levomekol). To soften the nail and rough skin around it, you need to use special pharmaceutical preparations. Such liquids are in the arsenal of medical pedicure specialists, but they can also be purchased for home use.
If home treatment does not lead to improvement within three days, you should consult a doctor. Today there are several methods for treating ingrown toenails. For example, special pads made of cotton, polymers or plastic are used for this. They are installed on the side of the nail, protecting the skin from its acute angle, and are gradually moved down during the treatment process.
An effective and non-traumatic method is gluing a special plate to the nail. It spreads the edges of the nail and makes it flatter, thus preventing ingrown nails. The plate is covered with gel on top, so that the nail becomes smooth; if desired, it can be painted with varnish, and there will be no problems with shoes.
You can also install a special wire structure on the nail, the operating principle of which is similar to the operating principle of dental braces.
This technique is also widespread - a groove is made in the middle of the nail with a file, due to which the thickness and rigidity of the nail decreases, and the direction of its growth changes.
And finally, the ingrown “sidewall” of the nail can be removed and nail bed plastic surgery performed. In this case, part of the growth zone is necessarily destroyed, so in the future the traumatic corner simply does not grow. This procedure can today be carried out using a laser or radio waves. Healing after this occurs quickly, and the frequency of relapses of the disease is significantly reduced.
There are several factors that increase the risk of ingrown toenails:
At first glance, it may seem that an ingrown toenail is a complete trifle. But still, this is a very serious problem, and those who have encountered it already know about all the inconveniences and painful symptoms that it brings.
Ingrown nails into the skin have a medical basis and are called onychocryptosis. The process looks like this: the edge of the nail grows into the skin in the area of the nail bed.
The most common reasons:
And so, now in order. Genetic heredity is a predisposition that was inherent in a person at the genetic level. It controls the direction of growth of the nail plate, its thickness and shape. Flat feet and curvature of the big toe are also congenital, which can subsequently affect the healthy condition of the nail plate.
If there is a fungus or any other infection, the nail plate becomes deformed, it becomes rougher and thicker, and the surface becomes dull. Healthy shine disappears. The cuticle becomes infected, which can lead to rotting of the nail bed.
After receiving one or another injury (bruise, fracture, cold), involuntary deformation of the nail occurs, which can radically change the direction of growth of the toenail.
The most common cause of ingrown toenails is failure to trim nails properly. It is necessary to cut your nails not very deep so that the edge of the nail is not too short. It is strictly forbidden to cut the corner of the toenails very deeply; it must be carefully rounded.
Uncomfortable shoes are any shoes that restrict the movement of the foot. The leg should feel free. Shoes should not interfere with walking. It is imperative that the toes are not clenched, as this is the first step towards foot deformity, which leads to the nail becoming ingrown into the toe. This often happens to people who wear shoes because of work requirements.
Symptoms of an ingrown toenail include:
Since there are a lot of nerve endings at the ends of a person’s fingers, they therefore have increased sensitivity. If a person suddenly has an ingrown toenail, he will feel a sharp pain when walking, especially in uncomfortable shoes.
It often occurs when a person begins to limp, this can also be a signal that the nail has grown. If the situation has completely worsened, then the nail begins to bother not only when walking, but also at night. Sharp sharp pains will constantly haunt the patient. Constant aching pain indicates that soft tissue is rotting and granulation tissue is forming.
In advanced situations, inflammation leads to the fact that the nail plate becomes dull, begins to flake, and the edge thickens.
Along with medical treatment, there is also treatment with folk remedies. If a problem is discovered, it is necessary to begin treatment immediately so as not to lead to surgery.
The easiest way to treat is to follow the basic rules. The first rule, which is the most basic and important, is to follow the rules of personal hygiene. Namely, wash your feet twice a day and make sure your feet are dry. If necessary, wear replacement shoes and change into dry underwear.
Next up are the shoes. Shoes should be practical and comfortable. It is better to avoid heels during treatment.
In order to get rid of ingrown nails, you need to do water procedures (baths) every evening. After this, you need to lift the edge of the nail that has grown into the skin of the finger and place a mini tampon.
You can make it from gauze or cotton wool. Change your tampon every day. Promote it deeper each time. By doing this simple procedure you can quickly and efficiently get rid of an ingrown toenail. Since the tampon will not allow the nail to touch the skin, because the edge of the nail is very hard and it is advisable to soften it. To do this, you need to make oil masks after each bath.
By regularly lifting a nail, a person’s constant aching pain disappears. When the nail is the proper length, you need to carefully cut it off only in the middle, without cutting off the corners, and in the future this should be done every time you trim your nails.
If suppuration has already appeared, then baths are strictly contraindicated. They will only make the situation worse. If the pain becomes unbearable, it is recommended to take painkillers with an anti-inflammatory effect, such as solpadeine. If the condition does not improve within two days, then you should consult a doctor.
In such situations, you can wash your finger with chamomile decoction or chlorophyllipt solution. After washing, at night, you need to apply a tampon with aloe pulp or ointment. In the morning, remove the tampon, rinse the wound, and reapply the tampon.
Continue doing the procedures until the inflammation and suppuration disappear. Then place a mini tampon under the nail and gradually cut it off, leveling the growth shape of the nail plate.
In the first stages, until it starts to fester or become infected, specialists will offer standard treatment. In the form of a bath, tampons, practical shoes.
In more aggravated situations, doctors offer or perform mini operations, cutting the nail plate in the middle. This changes the shape of the fingernail. Place a plastic plate under the corner of the nail so that it does not put pressure on the flesh. Accordingly, it helped the nail grow evenly.
If the situation requires surgical intervention, that is, an infection has already occurred and the process of suppuration is progressing, then in such situations doctors resort to removing part of the nail plate or the entire nail.
There are a couple of surgical methods. The first method is performed under anesthesia (local or general anesthesia), doctors remove the nail plate completely or partially, and clean out the pus.
In another case, the ingrown part of the nail is removed using laser therapy. At the same time, treating the nail plate, disinfecting everything and without injuring the adjacent tissue areas of the skin, the ingrown edge of the nail is removed.
If a person has already decided to correct the problem with an ingrown toenail, then one should remember about future precautions.
To prevent the appearance of an ingrown toenail, you must follow some prevention rules.
The first and most basic rule is compliance with the rules of personal hygiene. Next, you need to completely abandon narrow, uncomfortable shoes.
During a pedicure, do not cut your nails short, and it is strictly forbidden to cut off the corners of the nail plate. To learn how to do a pedicure correctly, you need to seek help from a specialist.
An excellent way to prevent this is to walk barefoot on the grass or shore of a pond.
It is also very useful to massage your feet. This increases blood circulation and improves the process of exfoliation of rough skin.
There is no need to aggravate the situation; it is especially better to adhere to some rules of remaining a healthy person. After all, healthy legs are the key to the health of the whole body and the full functioning of all body systems. Health is the most precious and hard-to-reach treasure of humanity on planet Earth!
Most often, the process affects the thumbs, but in general it can happen on any other finger, both on the legs and on the arms. The reasons are as follows:
The following reasons are worth highlighting:
Those with the sweet disease diabetes mellitus should be added to the risk group. Another reason is the genetic factor.
There may be several reasons for the development of an unpleasant defect:
You can treat ingrown toenails at home and in a clinical setting. The first option is suitable for the initial stages of ingrowth, when proper pedicure and some other methods can still solve the problem, but the second option is appropriate when serious suppuration begins, and it is not possible to solve the problem with improvised means.
Doctors are visited infrequently, leading to serious consequences, but this happens not because people do not want, are afraid or embarrassed, but because they do not know which doctor to contact.
And the surgeon treats ingrown toenails – onychocryptosis. It will help you quickly get rid of the problem. Another specialist who deals with feet is a podiatrist.
Without a reason, the nail plate will not grow into the nail fold. In order for this finger disease to begin to develop, factors that provoke it are required. Most often they are:
A disease in which the nail plate grows into the soft tissue of the finger is called onychocryptosis. It is characterized by frequent inflammatory processes at the site of ingrowth and excruciating pain that intensifies when walking.
The most common causes of ingrown toenails are:
If we consider in detail all the reasons that lead to the appearance of this problem, it turns out that in most cases we only have ourselves to blame. But it’s too early to be discouraged, because we can just as easily eliminate most of the causes by radically changing the situation.
How to get rid of an ingrown toenail - read on.
This is a disease that has several degrees of severity:
In the first case, pain during walking is mild, since the nerve endings are not yet affected. Inflammation develops in the soft tissues, swelling appears, and the skin turns red.
At grade 2, the acute angle increases and subsequently grows into the bead. Redness on the skin intensifies, tissue swelling becomes more pronounced, a purulent-inflammatory process and ulceration develops.
At 3, a bloody-purulent granuloma begins to form on the finger, the nodules actively bleed. If treatment is not carried out, the inflammatory process continues for a long time and the disease becomes chronic.
And under the influence of a granuloma and due to an increase in the size of the lateral cushion due to swelling, the plate may bend and become duller and thicker.
In the absence of adequate treatment, inflammation spreads and affects the soft tissues of the posterior nail fold, which provokes the following problems:
In severe cases of the disease, a person often loses his ability to work.
Traditional Treatments
It is best to consult a doctor and choose one of the traditional methods. The disease is prone to relapse and is difficult to treat. Therefore, the problem must be approached comprehensively, taking into account the cause of the pathology, the stage of development of the inflammatory process and associated infections.
All traditional methods are divided into 3 types:
The doctor will tell you what kind of therapy should be carried out, depending on the patient’s condition.
1. Conservative treatment.
The main goals are:
An ingrown nail occurs when the space for the growth of the nail plate is blocked by the nail fold. As a result of this, since the growth of the nail does not stop, it cuts into the tissue of such an obstacle.
In order not to miss the disease at the very beginning, it is important to know exactly the symptoms of an ingrown toenail. A pathological process should be suspected if:
Considering the dangerous consequences of the disease, you should definitely pay attention to the most minor changes in the condition of the nail fold and promptly treat the ingrown nail.
A doctor will help you cure an ingrown toenail completely and radically, but there are other methods of dealing with the problem:
These methods involve some unpleasant intervention, so to speak, small operations that will help treat the ingrown toenail. However, there are other methods, one of them is the use of special staples.
A wire loop that is custom made and applied to the nail without requiring cutting. It acts on the principle of a screed, lifting the corners and preventing them from growing in. Over time, the plate straightens.
Before use you need:
A rigid wire is placed across the nail, and the ends are bent over the edges (in the middle). After 3-4 days you can feel the elimination of pain and some relief.
A wire bracket, which is also installed and fixed at the edges. Gradually the nail lifts and straightens. You can wear such a brace for up to six months, visiting a doctor every 1.5 months.
It is important to ensure that the staple does not twist, otherwise it will tear off the nail. All types of braces, including ZTO, are installed only by a doctor.
A small metal bracket of a flat format, one end of which is attached to the edge of the nail, and the other is glued to the plate (ideal if the nail grows in on one side and seems to be rounded).
The doctor’s job is to correctly calculate the tension of the staple so that it does not potentially tear off the nail plate.
Plastic plates that are attached with glue:
Change this accessory, which helps if the nail is ingrown on the big toe and festers, about once a month. Treatment lasts from 3 months to six months.
All plates are an ideal option for solving the problem of an ingrown toenail without resorting to surgery in the first stages. However, the risk of relapse remains quite high.
Ointments and gels are the best way to soften an ingrown nail, kill infections and correct the correct growth of the plate.
However, they are more effective for the first stages. Can be prescribed in complex therapy after surgery:
When choosing a way to get rid of an ingrown toenail, you cannot ignore special liquids for treating the toe during a pedicure, installing a brace or other manipulations:
There is another excellent remedy, like baths - it is quite possible to cure an ingrown toenail on the big toe without surgery in the first stages.
For implementation you will need a small container, if you have a special bath with massage, then that’s just wonderful! You should add several different ingredients to it:
To summarize, we can highlight a diagram of what to do if there is an ingrown toenail on your big toe:
There are many ointments and solutions that are easy to pick up without a doctor. Experts believe that it is advisable to carry out independent procedures only if the nail does not fester.
1. Anti-inflammatory and antiseptic drugs: Furacilin, ethyl alcohol, various ointments. Before applying them, the skin and nails must be softened. The easiest way to do this is with baths. They are also necessary before removing a plate that has grown into the skin.
2. Early in the process, baths are the first remedy. They are made from a decoction of willow or oak bark, herbal infusions of string or chamomile. The solution with sea salt perfectly softens the skin and relieves pain.
3. Magnesium sulfate is often used as a first aid remedy. It helps free the area from under the skin. Baths are prepared based on this drug. Allows you to steam even very hard nails.
5. Local antibiotics in the form of cream or ointment must be used. They kill bacteria and stop the development of infection. Fingers are lubricated along the entire length 2 times a day, which will prevent them from festering. They do this at home so they don’t have to wear shoes for a while.
6. Levomekol has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, so the nail will not fester and the wound will cleanse. Apply to a napkin or gauze and apply to the affected area. You can also lubricate the sore area with it.
7. For home treatment, use ichthyol ointment. It relieves inflammation, relieves pain and removes pus. The ointment is applied to the affected area and covered with a gauze bandage.
8. Vishnevsky’s ointment has a similar effect - it anesthetizes and relieves inflammation, it accelerates the regeneration processes, and the wound heals faster. Treatment is carried out in the morning and evening. But if the nail festers, then use is strictly contraindicated.
To avoid having to treat an ingrown toenail again, you must follow these recommendations:
There are many methods for treating ingrown toenails. Conservative methods include:
This is a good method that has been used for decades. You will need a leaf of the plant, previously peeled from the skin.
Chop it finely and place it in a bowl. Boil water, cool slightly, pour in aloe.
Apply the mixture to the affected area and bandage it. You need to remove the compress in the morning.
For some reason, many people believe that legs are just an aesthetic value. It is enough that they look good, well-groomed and beautiful.
But in fact, few people think about the fact that the edges of our fingers are very sensitive, and if we didn’t have nails, our feet would be constantly exposed to injuries and infections.
Therefore, it is important not only to wash them on time and carry out procedures such as pedicures. A pathology such as an ingrown toenail is dangerous.
And it is best to treat it in medical institutions, according to the recommendations and advice of a doctor. After all, if you start the disease, it can switch to other fingers.
Sooner or later everything will lead to the disease getting worse.
It’s bad enough that pathology does not always manifest itself in the early stages, and a person may not even suspect that something is wrong with him. But after some time, discomfort, pain, and redness around the nail appear. It is at this moment that you need to not just go, but run to the doctor.
If this is not done and no measures are taken on your own, then swelling will periodically appear in the area of the finger, inflammation will begin to progress, and the pain will become more intense. This will cause the patient to limp.
Every day the inflammation will become stronger, it will become noticeable externally, and if there is an infection, pus will form under the nail.
Your doctor will tell you how to cure an ingrown toenail, because it is not always possible to cope with such a problem on your own. Medication methods show high effectiveness in combating the disease.
The most popular medications that doctors prescribe for ingrown toenails can be found in the table.
Onychocryptosis or ingrown nails is a disease that occurs in men and women. It causes a lot of problems: severe pain in the finger tufts, inflammation, swelling, suppuration. In addition, an acute angle of the nail that has grown into the soft tissue of the nail fold looks unaesthetic and hinders movement. If you ignore the problem, there is a risk of infection with serious consequences.
Most often, the problem occurs on the feet, mainly on the big toes and little fingers. In rare cases, a similar phenomenon occurs on the hands. Why is this happening:
Initially, there is pain, discomfort when walking, increasing pain in the finger and nail area. Unpleasant sensations may disappear at night, when the body is resting, and recur during the day, while wearing shoes. A little later, swelling appears around the ingrowth area. If you look at the skin of the nail fold, you will notice that it has become red, inflamed, and feels hot when you touch it.
When toenails grow into the skin, the body responds with inflammation. If you do not see a doctor in time, suppuration will soon begin. The nail gradually digs deeper into the skin, injuring soft tissues. Pus gradually accumulates inside, after which it breaks out along with blood. If the nail has grown in, the area around it has become inflamed, you should take immediate action. Suppuration is an unpleasant sight with serious consequences.
As soon as there are signs that the toenail is inflamed, the first thing to do is visit a doctor. He will examine the damaged skin and advise what to do.
A visit to a specialist is especially important if:
What to do if a nail grows in, what solutions does official medicine offer:
Beauty salons solve the problem of improperly grown nail plates by applying acrylic gel extensions. Part of the nail is cut off, and a gel is applied on top to level it. After a healing procedure, the problem of ingrown nails disappears, they grow correctly and evenly.
If a serious abscess occurs, what should you do? In this situation, they usually resort to partial or complete removal of the nail. The operation is performed by a surgeon, its complexity depends on the severity of the infection and other problems. The nail treatment procedure generally looks like this:
After surgery, a bandage is applied to the damaged nail and kept in place for at least 2 days. After this, it is removed, the wound is washed, and then gauze coated with antibiotic ointment is applied to it. The procedure is repeated twice a day until the wound heals. After 3-5 days, the surgeon checks how the damaged area is healing and makes recommendations.
In the postoperative period, the doctor prescribes painkillers and antibiotics. They must be taken strictly according to his recommendation, following the instructions . Depending on the complexity of the operation, the wound healing process takes from 3 to 15 days. During this time, it is important to wear comfortable shoes that fit comfortably on your feet.
Traditional medicine offers many ways to deal with ingrown toenails and toenails. However, you should not engage in amateur activities. It is advisable to carry out treatment procedures for infected nails in parallel with drug therapy, after consulting a doctor. What you can do:
The most important thing to do is to try to raise the angle of a toenail or fingernail that has grown into the skin. If this is successful, you should take a piece of bandage or cotton wool, twist it, and carefully place it between a soft cloth and the nail plate. The nail will rise and stop digging into the body.
Important! When there is a fever, steaming baths and warm compresses are contraindicated! They can provoke the development of phlegmon with swelling and fever. If help is not provided in time, it leads to death.
Those who have a tendency to onychocryptosis should avoid tight, uncomfortable shoes. Preference should be given to models with wide toes, where the foot feels free and comfortable. When buying new shoes, you should walk a few steps in them to feel whether they fit or not.
Foot hygiene is the main activity that should be given constant attention. Every day they are washed with warm water, socks and stockings are changed more often, and feet are massaged regularly to normalize blood circulation. If you experience regular ingrown toenails, the nail plates should not be cut short. When cutting off the corners, trim them so that the edge protrudes above the surface of the skin.
The nail plates are cut so that the edges are not convex, but concave. As soon as there is a feeling that the nail has begun to grow in, they immediately begin to take warming baths and lubricate the problem area with emollients. The procedures will relieve pain, inflammation, and help remove ingrown edges without any problems. Often problems with nail plates are caused by a lack of vitamins. What to do:
If all else fails, the nail splits, crumbles, you need to consult a doctor. He will prescribe tests that will help determine which vitamin or microelement is missing in the body, and then prescribe a course of treatment. After therapy, the nail plates will become stronger and will no longer become inflamed, digging into the soft tissues of the fingers.
It is known that the horny plates on the legs grow almost 4 times slower than on the arms: only 1.5-2.5 mm per month. For this reason, pedicures can be done somewhat less frequently than manicures. Taking this into account, plus the fact that toenails are almost always “hidden” in shoes, some people neglect timely care and then wonder why one or even several of them began to dig into the skin. And, alas, this is not the only (albeit the most common) reason for ingrowth.
What else can cause a nail to grow into the skin?
Most often, ingrowth of the nail plate into the skin occurs on the thumbs, a little less often on the little fingers, and almost never on the other terminal phalanges. The main reason for this phenomenon has already been established, but it can also occur due to:
Signs of a corneal plate growing into a toe cannot be missed. At first, a person feels slight pain and discomfort only when walking. Then these symptoms increase so much that they do not disappear even during rest. Further - more: since the edge of the nail does not come out, but sticks into the soft tissue, the skin in this area noticeably swells and turns red. When you touch it, you feel the heat.
If treatment for an ingrown toenail is not started in time, a serious inflammatory process appears. The plate digs deeper into the epidermis, and, as a result, suppuration occurs, followed by the release of pus along with blood, or the formation of an ulcer. Despite such unpleasant and painful formations, this is not the last stage of ingrown nails. The acute stage is replaced by a chronic stage, which is characterized by the following symptoms: granulation tissue increases significantly in the area of the ridge, the nail phalanges become denser and deformed. In this situation, inflammation is considered irreversible and can spread to bone tissue.
What can you do if your nail has grown into your toe?
What to do if the nail plate begins to cut into the skin? Experts answer that it all depends on the neglect of the condition. So, for example, if the nail has grown slightly into the side of the finger, then you can fix the problem at home yourself. You just need to pry the edge above the skin so that the regrown and, by coincidence, ingrown part can be free again. If done successfully, you should carefully place a piece of bandage or cotton wool under the raised corner, having, of course, first disinfected everything.
Treatment at home with ointments, compresses, baths and other folk remedies (which will be discussed in more detail at the end of the article) is also possible at the initial stage of nail ingrowth into the finger. However, if symptoms such as suppuration, acute pain, severe swelling and hyperemia appear, then the question of what can be done independently disappears. It is urgent to seek help from a clinic, where, depending on the severity of the case, the doctor will select the optimal treatment method.
If the nail on the big toe or other terminal phalanx begins to dig into the skin, then official medicine offers the following treatment methods:
Everything except surgical intervention is considered gentle. However, in some cases, surgery is the only option for eliminating an ingrown toenail. But more on that later. First, it’s worth talking in more detail about each option.
The main goal is to reduce the intensity of pain in the affected area, fight purulent-inflammatory processes and, of course, create conditions for trouble-free growth of the horny plate. For this, both weak solutions with potassium permanganate and various antimicrobial ointments (for example, Levomikol, Baneocin) can be used.
Since ingrown toenails are almost always characterized by overhanging (due to swelling) of inflamed soft tissues, drug therapy is additionally combined with the application of cotton rolls or, if possible, placing thin gauze strips under the edge of the plate. All accessories, of course, are pre-impregnated with antiseptic agents.
The use of conservative treatment, unfortunately, is ineffective, and therefore it is justified only at the first signs of an ingrown nail. Also, an indication for such therapy is the inability, for one reason or another, to use more radical methods.
2. Orthopedic techniques.
The principle of operation is to gradually straighten and increase the radius of deformation of the ingrown nail by changing the direction of tension. As a result: the problematic edges are raised and separated from the soft tissues of the cushion, which means that the degree of ingrowth and pressure on them is significantly reduced.
To achieve such goals, various springs and brackets can be used. They are similar in many ways to braces and are also custom made. However, recently, correction of ingrown nails with plates made of polymer materials has become increasingly in demand. These devices, as practice shows, adapt better to the curvature of the stratum corneum and any varnish coating can be used on top of them.
3. Laser and radio wave methods.
They are famous for the fact that they allow you to treat ingrown nails by evaporating and cutting the deformed tissue without any trauma, and due to the photocoagulating effect, without bleeding. Using a laser, it becomes possible to remove areas damaged by granulation as accurately and carefully as possible, while neighboring healthy areas do not suffer at all. The advantage of this technique is that it helps to destroy fungal spores and harmful bacteria, and, therefore, the plate recovers and heals faster.
Laser therapy and treatment of ingrown toenails with radio waves are considered by many to be similar procedures. The nail matrix and growth zone are also processed here, and if there is an overgrowth of soft tissues, then their excess is also removed. Only in this case, instead of a laser beam, specialists use radio waves, which, in their opinion, are distinguished by higher accuracy and controllability of the effect.
If the nail has grown into the finger in such a way that the doctor considers surgery with a scalpel to be the only way out of the situation, then it is performed as follows:
An operation using a surgical scalpel is the most radical method for treating an ingrown toenail on the big toe or its other phalanx, and therefore it is used only in exceptional cases.
Surgical intervention is required only when the ingrowth has reached the last stage, that is, the inflammatory and deforming processes have become irreversible. However, there are exceptions. For example, a neglected ingrown toenail can be treated with surgery if other methods do not give the desired result or relapses often occur after them.
At home, you can treat a finger with a nail stuck into the skin using different methods. The main thing is to remember: this is only permissible at the initial stage, that is, when the first symptoms appear. It is also advisable not to neglect consulting a doctor, because self-medication is always accompanied by the risk of developing negative consequences.
So, what to do to save an ingrown toenail at home:
Prepare an infusion of chamomile, string, calendula and St. John's wort by pouring 2 tablespoons of them with one liter of water. Having steamed the herbs for 40 minutes and strained, then you need to hold your feet in the resulting liquid for at least 20-25 minutes. After the procedure, lift the steamed skin.
A honey and onion compress is an excellent homemade way to soften the nail plate. Moreover, preparing it is completely simple. It is enough to mix a small chopped onion with 1 large spoon of honey, apply the mixture to the problem toe, wrap everything with stretch film and bandage it. Having made this compress at night, as reviews indicate, in the morning you can try to remove the ingrown edge of the nail out.
It is better to start home treatment of the finger with aloe as soon as discomfort appears when walking. After all, the leaves of this “fleshy” plant have not only an anti-inflammatory effect, but also an analgesic effect. All you need to do is cut the aloe crosswise, apply one of the halves to the sore spot and bandage it without squeezing the phalanges.
Since nails often grow into the thumbs, this folk method comes in handy. The fact is that here you will need a latex fingertip, and, you see, it’s bad to put it on the other toes because it comes off. As for the therapy itself, it is simple to the point of impossibility. Having bought a fingertip, you should fill it with melted butter and put it on the problematic tip. As a rule, the next day the pain noticeably subsides, the horny plate softens and the edge can be lifted.
If the inflammation has already begun, then you can treat the nail on the big toe in this way. Dilute the antibacterial and anesthetic concentrate Dimexide with water in a 3:1 ratio. Lubricate the affected area with this solution, and then apply Ichthyol ointment or Vishnevsky ointment to the plate, and bandage everything.