A large number of people around the world are faced with the problem of ingrown toenails. And quite a few of them come to the doctor with the fact that their toenail has grown in and is festering. At the same time, they experience severe pain, discomfort and are unable to move normally. Often in this situation, the only way out is surgical intervention, but in some cases other treatment methods can be used.
One of the most common problems in the world is ingrown toenails. They occur even in children and can cause a lot of suffering and anxiety. Moreover, most patients come to the doctor with this problem in rather advanced cases, when inflammation processes have already begun. And some go to the doctor with pronounced purulent changes in the areas of ingrown nail corners.
And every patient is interested in why the nail has grown in and what led to the inflammation. There are many reasons for this, and they should be understood in detail.
Important! There are many additional reasons, among which it is necessary to highlight fungal infection of the nail plate, injuries, chronic diseases (diabetes), and vitamin deficiencies. Often, the occurrence of ingrown toenails is associated with surgical intervention on the toes. It can also lead to flat feet or club feet.
Direct suppuration of the nail occurs due to infection. This can happen during a pedicure or when you roughly try to separate the corner of the nail yourself. And even if everything was done carefully, but no further processing was carried out followed by the application of a clean bandage, the likelihood of infection is high. Often the root cause of nail suppuration is the wounds that form at the sites of ingrowth. This is especially true for diabetics.
A nail that grows deep into the nail bed itself acts as a kind of foreign body for the body. Therefore, gradually he will try to get rid of the problem. The result of this is an inflammatory reaction, which can develop into a purulent process. Especially if it is too late to pay attention to it or do not start treatment. It is important to carry out a course of therapy at the very beginning of deepening the nail plate.
Symptoms of an ingrown nail and the subsequent development of an infectious process are characteristic, and it is difficult to confuse it with another nail pathology. Initially, there is swelling and some redness in the area of ingrowth, which does not cause much discomfort and can only hurt when pressed. Sometimes there is a feeling of fullness or pressure, but at this stage few pay attention to the problem.
Subsequently, swelling and inflammation begin to increase, and if treatment is not started, purulent changes will appear over time. Outwardly, this is manifested by purple discoloration of the periungual fold, from under which pus is often released. The skin in this area becomes hot to the touch. The reason is the addition of a streptococcal or staphylococcal infection. The leading symptoms at this stage are pronounced.
There is a sharp swelling of the nail and intense throbbing pain that is constantly disturbing. A purulent abscess gradually forms, acquiring a yellowish tint due to purulent contents. At this stage, urgent medical attention is required, since in the absence of treatment there is a high probability of the contents breaking through, penetrating under the nail and spreading the infection throughout the body.
Important! A quick and effective solution is to perform an urgent operation to open the suppuration and remove the accumulated pus. It is performed under local anesthesia and rarely takes more than half an hour. Antibacterial therapy is mandatory, and, if necessary, antifungal therapy.
Conservative treatment methods are very effective in the development of ingrown toenails. But only in the very early stages, when the inflammation has not ended in suppuration. And there are no signs in the form of severe swelling, redness, increased local skin temperature or pain. The main goal of treatment will be to push back the sharp corners of the nail plate and trim them carefully.
This can be done after special baths that help steam the soft tissues of the finger and the nail itself. They can be different and based on different ingredients placed in hot water (per 1 liter):
The duration of such a bath should be at least 10–15 minutes, after which you need to thoroughly dry your feet. It is necessary to try to move the edges of the nail beyond the soft tissues by carefully placing a small piece of cotton wool (in the form of a roller) soaked in an antiseptic (brilliant, iodine) under them. You need to try to make the roller longer so that it can be easily pulled out if necessary. If the nail edges cannot be removed immediately, several similar procedures can be performed.
You can carefully remove the edges of the nail plates and speed up recovery using a number of proven pharmaceutical drugs.
Thanks to the listed means, it is easier to release ingrown corners of nails and the periungual fold as they grow.
If inflammation develops in the affected area, you will need to apply a bandage with an antibacterial composition (Vishnevsky ointment, Tetracycline ointment, Gentamicin ointment). If fungus is present, antifungal agents are needed (Lamisil, Nizoral). And in case of severe pain, the bandages can be additionally treated with lidocaine solution. In more severe cases, oral antibiotics will be required. To prescribe them, you should consult a doctor who can select the most suitable drug.
Today, for medical purposes, hardware treatment methods are widely used to help quickly resolve the issue of ingrown nail plates. But it is best to use them at the initial stages of the development of ingrowth processes, while the inflammation is not very pronounced and there are no signs of suppuration yet. Among several methods, the most popular ones should be considered.
Important! Despite the high effectiveness of the listed hardware techniques, before using them it is necessary to undergo a full examination by a specialist. Usually this is a podologist. He will be able to identify the main risks and recommend the most appropriate treatment method.
In the treatment of ingrown nails, folk recipes also have a fairly good therapeutic effect. Their purpose is to give the correct direction of nail growth. This is done by removing the ingrown edges from under the surrounding soft tissues after steaming the toes in the above-mentioned baths.
To accomplish the main task, you can use the following methods:
The result of these actions will be the gradual alignment and unfolding of the nail, which will gradually take the correct position. Thanks to the freed edges, the source of constant trauma and irritation of soft tissues will disappear. As a result, inflammation processes quickly pass.
When suppuration begins in the area of the affected nail, you can stop it with the following home recipes.
In most cases, an ingrown toenail is a disease of the big toe. However, there are cases when onychoprictosis appears on other chicken fingers or toes. Experts have identified several main reasons why a nail grows into a finger.
Each person has their own reasons for the manifestation of the disease, however, the consequences are almost the same: the nail has grown into the epithelium, causing discomfort, pain, and pus is formed.
Shoes. Often the problem arises in women because of their love for high-heeled shoes. Since in this case the toes are under constant pressure from the shoe from all sides. In men, an ingrown toe can occur due to wearing too narrow or incorrectly selected (small) shoe model.
Genetics. It happens that at birth, a newborn is diagnosed with a nail that has already grown into a finger or toe, taking on a shape familiar to this genus. In this case, each family member has a pathology that will have to be dealt with.
Failure to comply with the rules of pedicure and manicure. The most common cause of an ingrown toe is an improperly performed pedicure. Trimming the nail plate should be done after a foot bath using special scissors. If during the procedure it was not possible to cut the nail correctly, then it is better to perform subsequent actions with a nail file. Because an unfiled toenail can lead to ingrown nails and infection.
The first symptoms of the disease are:
Some of the first symptoms of the disease are redness in the area of growth and pain during movement.
If you miss the first symptoms of the disease, there is a risk of waiting for swelling of the limb and purulent discharge. Therefore, if an ingrown toenail has already begun to fester, it is recommended to neglect traditional medicine, put aside poultices and lotions, and consult a specialist.
In the first stages of the disease, experts recommend doing medicinal baths, proper pedicure (manicure), and using traditional medicine recipes.
If there are no results within several days, then you need to consult a specialist, undergo a medical examination and appropriate treatment. So, first things first.
Self-treatment of onychoprictosis is allowed only in the early stages of the disease, when the finger does not fester and the nail is not very ingrown. In this case, it is recommended to take preventive baths with various herbal infusions, soda, and a light solution of potassium permanganate. In this case, if the nail ingrowth is acceptable, you can try to carefully remove the ingrowth yourself after the baths without damaging the healthy area of the nail.
It should be understood that performing a proper pedicure (manicure) is a prerequisite for treatment.
Also, to treat a finger where the nail has grown in, experts recommend using one of the following methods:
Aloe. Treatment of aloe should be done according to the following scheme: peel the leaf and apply it over the inflamed area, securing it with a gauze bandage or a clean cloth. As soon as the pain subsides, it is necessary to trim the growth with sterile scissors and place the aloe vera on top of the wound again. The procedure must be repeated until complete healing.
Healing chamomile baths. Preparing a bath with chamomile for a finger with an ingrown nail involves steaming 6 tbsp. dried inflorescences per 2 liters. boiling water. Close the combined ingredients tightly and leave for an hour. After the time has passed, you need to strain the infusion, reheat it and take baths for the damaged finger until the water cools completely.
After the bath, you need to use sterile scissors to remove the nail that has grown into the epithelium, and place a cotton swab with medicine under the remaining area.
Treatment can be considered completed only after the finger stops bothering you and the nail takes on an aesthetic shape.
Plantain and potassium permanganate. Plantain is known to have excellent wound healing properties. Therefore, it is often used in folk medicine for precisely this purpose. When treating a nail that has grown into the epithelium, you need to take baths with a light solution of potassium permanganate, then apply plantain.
Table salt (sea). One of the most effective treatment methods for ingrown nails is baths with table (sea) salt. After such procedures, the inflammation and redness around the wound resolves, the pus is cured, and the wound heals (provided the ingrowth is eliminated).
Also, ointments (Ichthyol, Vishnevsky) can be used for treatment, preventing the spread of infections, eliminating foreign fluid and purulent discharge. The ointment must be applied in a small amount to a bed bandage, applied to the damaged finger, and wrapped in plastic wrap (to prevent the healing ointment from leaking out).
For a tighter fixation and adherence of the ointment to the surface, it is recommended to fix the therapeutic bandage with a sock or a special fixing product. It is best to do this procedure at night, when the leg is less mobile. After 6 - 8 hours, it is recommended to trim the ingrowth and repeat the application of the ointment.
In the event that the disease cannot be treated, the symptoms do not go away, doctors recommend undergoing one of the following treatment procedures.
Using a laser, the sanitation of epithelial growth around an incorrectly formed nail is realized, eliminating the “unnecessary” part of the nail plate. The main advantage of the procedure is the absence of damage to the healthy part of the nail, plate and skin.
If a “neglected” nail festers, it cannot be treated, and modern operations cannot be performed for some individual reasons. Then doctors can only recommend surgical removal of the damaged nail.
During the operation, it is very important that the doctor corrects the nail plate. Otherwise, a repetition of the situation with growth is simply inevitable. The disadvantages of treatment include: a high percentage of relapses, possible tissue damage, and a long rehabilitation period.
Onychocryptosis can be prevented if preventive measures are taken correctly, namely:
Laser removal of ingrown toenails
Ingrown toenail: how to get rid of it yourself at home
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Often parents are faced with a problem such as an ingrown toenail in a child, which causes pain and interferes with walking. It is a big mistake to leave the situation unresolved, since as a result everything can end in suppuration and an inflammatory process that will require serious and long-term treatment. If you catch it in time, you can avoid such unpleasant consequences and make your baby’s life easier in a matter of days. To prevent this from happening, you need to know what factors can cause this phenomenon and try to protect the baby from them.
Any ingrown toenail in children does not appear on its own, without reason. There are certain factors that can trigger its appearance. These include:
Most often it is the legs that suffer: on the arms this phenomenon is quite rare. Timely treatment of ingrown toenails in children and proper care are necessary to avoid complications. If the defect is noticed immediately, you can cope with the problem at home. If the ingrowth has already occurred too deeply and suppuration has begun, it is better to seek help from a specialist.
Parents should know what to do if a child has an ingrown toenail, whether on the hand or toe. It is necessary to take appropriate measures to prevent destruction of the intact tissue cover, preserve the nail as much as possible and prevent the infection from spreading further. This can be done both at home and with the help of doctors.
Often, treatment of an ingrown toenail in a child ends with surgery. There's nothing wrong with it:
Parents must understand that they themselves are solely responsible for treatment at home. If complications arise, you will have no one to blame but yourself. Therefore, no matter how trivial the situation with an ingrown toenail in a child may seem to you, it is best to consult a doctor and follow his recommendations. This will speed up recovery and make life easier for the baby.
There are a number of conclusions about the dangers of washing cosmetics. Unfortunately, not all new mothers listen to them. 97% of shampoos use the dangerous substance Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or its analogues. Many articles have been written about the effects of this chemistry on the health of both children and adults. At the request of our readers, we tested the most popular brands.
The results were disappointing - the most advertised companies showed the presence of those very dangerous components in their composition. In order not to violate the legal rights of manufacturers, we cannot name specific brands. The Mulsan Cosmetics company, the only one that passed all the tests, successfully received 10 points out of 10 (check out). Each product is made from natural ingredients, completely safe and hypoallergenic.
If you doubt the naturalness of your cosmetics, check the expiration date; it should not exceed 10 months. Be careful when choosing cosmetics, this is important for you and your child.
Who would have thought that a small wound on her leg could turn a woman’s life into a living hell. Every awkward movement causes unbearable pain. You can’t even dream about narrow dress shoes with heels. But the worst thing is traveling on public transport. It just seems like some “elephant” is going to trample your foot. So what should you do if your toenail painfully grows into your big toe? Should I endure it or run to the doctor?
The problem only seems trivial. In fact, an ingrown toenail can cause cellulitis or gangrene. After all, the likelihood of an infection getting into a finger through a small wound, which can easily spread throughout the entire limb, is quite high. The disease is especially dangerous for people suffering from diabetes.
Why is ingrown toenail so painful? Because the fingertips are completely covered with nerve endings. And any damage immediately responds with pain. The edges of the nail plate do not simply grow into the skin. They constantly traumatize her, moving deeper and deeper as she grows.
Why does a pathology appear, which in the language of doctors is called “onychocryptosis”? Several factors can provoke it:
Symptoms of the disease usually appear gradually. From the very beginning, when the nail plate digs slightly into the skin, a person experiences slight discomfort when walking. But as it deepens into the soft tissues, other symptoms appear:
If you notice signs that your nail has grown in at the earliest stage, then immediately take emergency measures. Don't wait for inflammation or suppuration to occur when only surgery to remove the plate can provide relief.
And keep in mind right away that ingrown toenails are a problem that takes a long time to treat. And, if the disease was cured, then preventive measures to prevent it in the future should become an integral part of your life. Otherwise, onychocryptosis will return again in both adults and children.
Treatment at home is aimed at gently freeing the nail that has grown into the skin fold and allowing it to grow to a safe length. This usually takes about 2 weeks. But final recovery occurs only six months after the start of treatment, when both the nail plate on the finger and the skin are completely restored.
If you decide to carry out treatment at home, then do not forget about hygiene procedures. Necessarily:
Salt baths are excellent for preventing inflammation. It is recommended to do them at home 4 times for 10-15 minutes during the day. But, if the first signs of suppuration appear, then treatment with warm baths must be stopped. In this case, removal of pus is carried out using Vishnevsky ointment, which significantly reduces inflammation on the finger. A tampon with medicine is applied at home overnight until the pus completely disappears.
Doctors recommend that the patient do an effective, but rather painful manipulation at home. It is aimed at freeing the tip that has grown into the finger and preventing it from cutting into the skin again. After the salt bath, carefully place a cotton swab under the steamed nail plate. You should change it at home every day, moving it further and further under the ingrown nail.
There are special pads on sale that prevent sharp edges from digging into the skin. They can also be used for home treatment, but be warned that all manipulations are quite painful. They must be done very carefully so as not to aggravate the situation.
Many patients are afraid to seek medical help because until recently, surgery to completely remove an ingrown toenail was the only way to get rid of the problem. Fortunately, medicine does not stand still, and there are more gentle treatment methods that will help avoid surgery:
Unfortunately, onychocryptosis ruins the lives of not only adults. The disease can also manifest itself in a child. There are many reasons for the occurrence of pathology:
Treatment of a disease in a child should only be carried out by a doctor. Fortunately, surgeons now do not use surgery to completely remove a child’s nail plate. The specialist removes only the fragment that has directly grown into the skin. The doctor carefully stitches up the resulting wound on the thumb.
If children over 10 years of age undergo surgery under local anesthesia, then a younger child must undergo manipulations under general anesthesia. And the point is not that the operation is extremely painful for the child. It’s just that the baby may get scared and try to remove his leg at the most crucial moment.
After the operation, children are at home under parental supervision. Only dressings will have to be done in the clinic for the first 2-3 days. After the bandages are removed, mom will treat the wound at home with brilliant green. Usually it is possible to cure a child’s disease within a week.
If the problem once made itself felt, then you will have to think about how to behave correctly in everyday life so as not to become a victim of the disease again. Choose your shoes carefully, trim your nails correctly, and keep your feet clean. And then your walk will be light and graceful, as befits a real woman.
For certain reasons, a child may experience an ingrown toenail.
This pathology is accompanied by unpleasant sensations and pain .
If the baby is not treated, suppuration and inflammation are possible, so action must be taken as early as possible.
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Ingrown toenail on a child's big toe - photo:
An ingrown nail is the ingrowth of part of the nail plate into the lateral edge of the nail fold tissue . The outer edge of the big toe is most often affected. If ingrowth occurs, the finger becomes very red and hurts. Swelling occurs and an inflammatory process is possible.
This happens much less often on the hands.
Usually, parents notice the disease at a late stage, when the nail has already grown into the tissue of the nail fold.
The child cries, complains of pain in his finger, and finds it difficult to move. Over time, pus may appear .
The main causes of the disease are:
In newborns, the disease occurs due to improper cutting of the nail plate.
If parents cut the nail unevenly and used scissors that were too large, there is a risk of injury to the nail fold. A nail cut unevenly, at an angle, can grow into the skin.
Also, parents often put booties on their babies that are too tight , socks that squeeze the baby’s feet and toes and lead to pathology.
In older children, the disease appears due to improperly selected shoes and injured fingers. An active child can hit a leg or injure a finger, which will lead to pathology.
It is also very important to choose the right shoes. Parents choose shoes that are too tight for their children, which squeeze their toes. The likelihood of ingrown toenails increases.
How to treat acute balanoposthitis in a boy? Find out about this from our article.
If the pathology is not treated, negative consequences may occur:
Timely and correct treatment will avoid complications and keep the baby healthy.
You can learn about the causes and treatment of ingrown toenails from the video:
How to treat ingrown toenails in children? The following methods may help:
Read about the symptoms and treatment of hemorrhagic vasculitis in children here.
What to do, what medications can be used?
Recommendations for the treatment of vitiligo in children can be found on our website.
Nail removal is prescribed only as a last resort, if medications and folk remedies are powerless . The doctor prescribes complete or partial removal of the nail. There are three methods for removing nails:
If the affected area has been completely removed, there is no recurrence of the pathology. The patient recovers in two to three weeks.
After recovery, he does not deny himself anything and leads his usual lifestyle. However, we must not forget about wearing loose, non-tightening shoes. You need to remember to take care of your nails regularly.
If the lesion was not completely removed, the pathology may recur. This occurs infrequently, since the methods for eliminating the painful area are effective, the affected area is completely eliminated.
This disease causes considerable harm to the child and is accompanied by severe pain. With timely and proper treatment, the baby will recover quickly and avoid complications.
Dr. Komarovsky about children's nails in this video:
We kindly ask you not to self-medicate. Make an appointment with a doctor!
When faced with the fact that a child needs to begin treatment for an ingrown toenail, mothers must read reviews from those who have experienced something similar. It is not recommended to try “proven” methods on your baby without consulting a doctor.
The baby began to be capricious, stopped getting up in the crib, and curled up one leg. Mommy is worried, what happened? When examining the child, the doctor finds irritation on one of the toes and a bubble near the nail. Even babies face problems with ingrown toenails! Or rather, their parents.
There is nothing surprising about this. Malformation of the nail plate can be inherited. The nail is supposed to lie flat on the nail bed and grow forward, but instead it grows down, cutting into the edges of the nail fold. In this case, no matter how much you feel sorry for the baby, treatment of the ingrown toenail is impossible - surgery is needed.
Modern operations are not so painful, and the rehabilitation period after them takes no more than 5 days. No one completely removes the nail plate; during the operation, only the growth zone of the nail is destroyed and its direction is changed. If parents can keep the baby from sudden movements, then even general anesthesia is not required. And only two dressings are required - immediately after the operation and the next day.
Fortunately, ingrown toenails are rarely inherited. Much more often, ingrown toenails in children occur because parents do not properly care for their feet in childhood. Teenagers already take care of their feet themselves, and ingrown nails at this age are caused by the fact that boys spend little time on their feet, and girls spend too much time. If your nails are regularly cut incorrectly, it is impossible to protect the nail plate from ingrown nails.
Ingrown toenails in children are also caused by tight, ill-fitting shoes and nail diseases, more often vitamin deficiency and metabolic disorders, even fungal. The latter is rare in children, but unfortunately it does happen. It’s a shame for the children; if adults had been more attentive and careful, problems would have been avoided and onychocryptosis – ingrown nails – would not have occurred.
If the disease is detected at the very beginning, then you can cope with it yourself, if an infectious process does not develop around the nail. You'll have to learn how to cut your nails correctly. It is believed that the nails on children’s fingers should be cut, giving them a rounded shape, and those on the legs should be trimmed straight. The opinion about hands is correct, but under no circumstances should children’s toenails be cut straight. The sharp edge injures the leg.
Toenails are not cut very short, slightly rounded, and carefully filing the edge. There should always be a white edge visible at the end of the nail. If onychocryptosis was noticed at an early stage, then treatment of ingrown toenails in children can be carried out at home.
Soak the baby's feet two or three times a day in warm water, to which you can add sea salt, potassium permanganate, furatsilin, soda or regular soap. Something from which the child does not experience allergies or discomfort. Very young children will enjoy splashing in the water; older children will have to explain the importance of the procedure.
Allow your child to run barefoot as much as possible to avoid rubbing the sore spot with a sock or even comfortable shoes. At the same time, you need to make sure that the child does not catch a cold!
If the edge of the nail plate turns red or thickens, then you cannot do without antibiotic ointment. It is better to consult with a specialist, but if for some reason this cannot be done, then you should apply bandages - in no case pressing - with tetracycline ointment, syntomycin emulsion or something similar.
If it comes to an abscess, you can apply ichthyol ointment or Vishnevsky's liniment-balm, but still at this stage you need to see a doctor. Self-medication when an abscess appears is fraught with sepsis.
To treat ingrown toenails, traditional medicine is often used. The nail is softened with lamb fat and a bandage is applied for several hours. An infusion of herbs that have antiseptic and healing properties is added to the baths: string, chamomile, yarrow, calendula.
The infusion should be rich in color, and the water in the bath should only change color slightly. The amount of herb for infusion is taken by visually assessing the color of the resulting liquid.
To relieve inflammation, a remedy prepared from aloe leaves is used. If you don’t have a prepared sheet that was stored in the refrigerator in dark paper, you can cut a fresh one. Remove the thorns, make a paste and apply a bandage. It is almost impossible to use traditional medicine with small children - they are unlikely to tolerate a bandage on their leg.
If you decide to start treating an ingrown toenail yourself, you should definitely read the reviews of those who have already encountered this problem. Find out how this or that remedy works on children depending on their age, how to teach teenagers how to take care of their feet on their own.
There are a lot of tips for treatment - you need to place a gauze or cotton pad under the edge, lifting the nail. According to reviews, children do not allow this method to be used on themselves; it is very painful. Also, you should not follow the advice of “traditional healers” who advise treating an ingrown toenail with grease or ash.
Very good reviews on the method of correcting ingrown toenails using special staples. For someone whose ingrown nails are inherited, this is the only method to avoid surgery. Braces can be installed on children as young as 5 years old.
Treatment of ingrown toenails in children should begin as soon as the problem is discovered. If the inflammation recurs, you should definitely consult a doctor to find out the cause of the ingrown nail.
Dear readers, today we will talk about such a nuisance for many people as an ingrown toenail. When I first heard this phrase, I admit, I didn’t attach practically any meaning to it: there are few cosmetic problems: calluses, corns, for example. But then I learned from my acquaintances, my friend, what a terrible problem this is, and how much suffering it can cause. So what is an ingrown toenail, what to do and how to treat it, that’s what we’ll talk about today.
Ingrown toenail - this phenomenon also has a medical name - “onygrogryphosis” or, in other words, “onychrocryptosis”. As the name suggests, an ingrown toenail is the ingrowth of the sharp (outer) edge of the nail (nail plate) into the flesh of the finger. Most often, the nail grows in the corners and on the outside of the finger, although it happens that ingrowth occurs in the middle. An ingrown toenail most often occurs on the big toe, but can occur on any toe or even on the hands.
To understand how to deal with this disease and avoid its occurrence, we need to find out the reasons for the appearance of an ingrown toenail:
Usually, most of us, to be honest, are inattentive to ourselves. This is especially true for men. “Is your finger red? -What's so scary here? Maybe we rubbed it on our shoes. Maybe they crushed him. Hence the swelling. “No big deal,” we think. Of course, in case of the slightest pain, you should not run to the doctor - this is an extreme thing, but leaving the onset of an ingrown nail in this case is also carelessness, from which you will have to suffer for a long time. I say all this to mean that people usually skip the first stage of this disease.
During the first stage, pain appears in the nail plate and under it, the flesh near the nail becomes inflamed, and swelling occurs.
Second stage . The nail grows deeper and deeper, damaging the skin. Blood and pus appear, and an infection naturally sets in.
Third stage . Inflammation at the site of ingrowth becomes chronic. The nail thickens and so-called “wild meat” may appear. At this stage, if no action is taken, inflammation can spread to the bone (osteomyelitis) and even lead to gangrene of the limb. But to bring yourself to such a state, you need to “try” very hard.
Of course, it is easiest to deal with an ingrown toenail in the first stage of the disease, when the nail has just begun to grow in. Baths can come to our aid to soften the nail plate, for example, soda or chamomile baths.
Soda bath . In 3 l. water 39-40 degrees dissolve 1-2 tbsp. soda The duration of the procedure is 20 minutes.
Chamomile bath . 6 tbsp. chamomile pour 1 liter. boiling water, leave for half an hour. When the infusion is ready, add 1 liter to it. hot water so that the total temperature is about 40 degrees. Duration of the procedure is 20-30 minutes.
And here is another recipe for a foot bath with castor oil and sea salt . Castor oil works well on curved and deformed nails. For 3 l. water about 40 degrees add 1 tbsp. sea salt and 100 ml. castor oil. Do these baths for several days in a row.
When the nail softens, you can try to remove the ingrown part. Even at an early stage of the disease, this can be a painful process, and what can we say when the disease is advanced and it even hurts to touch the nail.
When a nail has been cut, some people advise cutting it off. And this recommendation can be understood, since the nail cuts into the flesh of the finger and it hurts. But here everything is not so simple: your task is not to cut the nail deeply from the sides, but to just grow it and then cut it correctly - in a straight line. And to achieve this, you need to try to change the shape of the nail plate so that it does not grow in. For these purposes, for example, pharmacies sell special splints that protect the skin from the sharp edge of the nail.
To correct the growth of the nail plate, traditional medicine recommends the following simple procedure: roll a thin flagellum out of cotton wool, soak it in alcohol, iodine or simply sea buckthorn or other oil and, using, for example, a thin watch screwdriver, slide it under the nail between the nail plate and the skin, closer to growing edge. You can also use fundizol softening ointment for these purposes. With this action you slightly lift the tip of the nail. The tampon is left for a day or two, and then replaced with a new one, but they try to slip it even closer to the edge. At first, these actions cause pain, which goes away after a while and sometimes relief comes even after the first procedure.
For the same purpose, doctors use a special bracket that is placed on the ingrown nail. This brace does not interfere with walking, you can even play sports with it. Once a month the doctor corrects it and after 7-9 months of treatment the problem goes away.
If the nail has grown deeply and causes pain, then of course this part can be cut out, but again the shape of the nail plate should be corrected, otherwise it will most likely grow back. You can use the same cotton or gauze flagellum.
It is important to remember that if the disease has progressed far, the finger is very inflamed, it is very suppurating, then it is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE . It is also prohibited to wrap your finger in plastic when using compresses. By doing this, you create a greenhouse effect, which will contribute to the very rapid development of infection. In general, my personal opinion is that in very advanced cases you should consult a doctor. It is possible that the nail will be removed. Then, if the nail still grows in, you can use traditional methods of treatment. It is unlikely that at this stage of the disease a person will be able to overcome the pain and do something at home.
In parallel, to relieve inflammation and suppuration, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents are used, for example, levomikolev or streptocyte ointment, or Vishnevsky ointment.
For a more serious stage of ingrown nails, and also if for some reason baths for softening the nail plate are not suitable, for example, the nail is very thick, then you can use other methods.
Butter . You will need a rubber fingertip, which should be filled with butter and put on the sore finger, then a sock and kept until the morning. Repeat the procedure for 2-3 weeks.
Aloe . Cut a piece of aloe leaf the size of the sore nail lengthwise and hold it over the fire with the cut side up until the leaf becomes soft (you can scald it with boiling water), and bandage it to the ingrown nail. Keep it until the morning.
The kombucha needs to be divided into layers and wrapped with one of them, then covered with polyethylene and put on socks: first plain, and then woolen. Keep it until the morning. The course of treatment is 2-3 days.
To make the process of working with a sore nail cause less pain, you can use painkillers, for example, chlorethyl. This product is available in large ampoules with a “beak” and can be bought in pharmacies. You break off the “beak” and freezing gas comes out, which you direct to the sore finger.
There is another group of folk remedies for treating ingrown toenails at home; judging by the numerous positive reviews, they are very effective.
First method . You will need a nail file or there are small files called metalworker's files, you need a triangular one. The instrument should be disinfected. For this purpose, it can be boiled for 2-3 minutes. or just wipe with alcohol. Now you need to carefully cut a groove vertically from the top edge of the nail to the bottom with a nail file or needle file. You should file until the pink skin begins to show through under the thin layer of the nail, i.e. You need to cut through about 2/3 of the thickness of the nail. To make it easier to work with, you can pre-steam the nail. Lubricate the treated nail plate with Lugol 2 times a day for 3-5 days. After a day or a little longer, the edges of the ingrown nail will pop out from under the skin.
The sawn groove does not heal over time. When a new piece of nail grows, it should also be sawed off. This procedure is repeated for six months to a year and that’s it – the problem and torment for many goes away forever! Some people who have a hereditary problem with ingrown toenails undergo this procedure constantly, but it is still better than running to the surgeon for surgery every time.
For those who have thick toenails, to make sawing easier, first take a flat metalworker’s file and, also working from the top edge of the nail to the bottom, reduce its thickness in the middle, and then make a groove. Or you can simply thin the vertical middle of the nail plate with a flat file. To provide additional assistance to the nail plate for leveling, you can use the cotton or gauze tape mentioned above.
Another method was patented by a St. Petersburg professor. He has helped more than a dozen people get rid of ingrown toenails. First you need to steam your nails for 10-15 minutes. in warm soapy water. Then take a nail file or a flat file and carefully file down the ENTIRE nail plate to a thickness of approximately 0.1-0.2 mm. Problem areas can be cut down thinner. Since the nail becomes thin and stops putting pressure on the ingrown places, then after 10-20 minutes. The pain that has been tormenting me for a long time goes away. The nail treated in this way also needs to be lubricated with Lugol 2 times a day for 3-5 days, which will help eliminate and heal wounds and suppurations. The procedure should be repeated for six months.
And in conclusion, I would like to note that treating an ingrown toenail is a long process, sometimes up to a year. So you need to be patient. Once again, I will repeat, it is best not to delay visiting a doctor.
Let's watch a video about an ingrown toenail. How to carry out treatment correctly, what we all need to know about this problem.
Many people are afraid to go to the doctor to treat an ingrown toenail because they think that they will be asked to remove it right away. Of course, if you delay the visit and bring your finger to the last stage of the disease, then most likely this will be the case. In the initial stages, doctors first suggest other, non-surgical, methods. If they do not help, then there is already talk about surgery. It is carried out right there in the surgeon’s office in the clinic under local anesthesia.
The doctor suggests removing either the part of the nail that is growing in, or the entire nail plate. The whole difficulty is that removing a nail does not guarantee that it will not grow in the future. Many people literally live from operation to operation. So in any case, traditional methods of treatment are preferable, but you should not delay the start of treatment.
The operation is carried out either with a conventional surgical method or with more modern ones: radio wave or laser. The radio wave and laser method does not imply complete removal of the nail plate, but only part of it, while the surrounding tissues are disinfected, including from fungal infections. In addition, the last two methods are more gentle and healing occurs very quickly. Therefore, if you still decide to remove an ingrown toenail, it is better to choose them.
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