Ingrown toenails are a fairly common problem for many people. This is a disease in which a fingernail or toenail grows into the skin of the finger. In medicine, this disease is called “onychocryptosis.”
This is a very unpleasant phenomenon, firstly, because of the severe pain, and secondly, because of its completely unaesthetic appearance. Ingrown toenails most often occur on the big toe, although there are cases with other nails, but they are extremely rare. An ingrown fingernail is even less common.
This kind of trouble happens most often to young people of the most active age - from 18 to 32 years old, a little less often in teenagers and the elderly, and very rarely in children and infants. It is worth noting one very interesting fact - women are much less susceptible to this disease than the stronger sex.
In this article we will look at how to treat an ingrown toenail at home so that the treatment is successful and without relapse.
Experts believe that the only cause of an ingrown toenail is improper trimming. This is probably the main cause of ingrown toenails, but there may actually be more.
These include reasons such as:
At the initial stage, an ingrown toenail can be treated at home. This is possible if the nail is not dug too deep inside, there are no obvious signs of pus, and pain appears only when touching the problem area or when wearing shoes that compress the foot.
The tips of human fingers have increased sensitivity, since many nerve endings are located in the tissues. Therefore, an ingrown toenail will make itself felt by a sharp pain, which will intensify when walking in tight shoes.
The main symptoms of an ingrown toenail are:
As a result of the progressive inflammatory process, the nail loses its natural shine, begins to peel off and becomes thicker at the edges.
Doctors distinguish three stages of onychocryptosis on the toes according to severity:
Onychocryptosis is a chronic and recurrent disease that tends to constantly increase. Among other purulent-inflammatory diseases, the problem of an ingrown nail plate on the toe ranks second after traumatic diseases that are complicated by infection.
See what an ingrown toenail looks like, we offer detailed photos of the disease for viewing.
To exclude the development of complications and quickly cure an ingrown toenail, you should contact a surgeon or podiatrist (foot diseases). He will direct to:
If you suspect toenail fungus, you should consult a dermatologist for comprehensive treatment, since in this case, an ingrown toenail is only a consequence of a fungal infection, and treating the consequences, and not the disease itself, is futile.
If an ingrown toenail is left untreated, the disease can progress and cause serious complications. Prolonged inflammation in the nail phalanx can cause other, more severe infections.
The risk of inflammation of the phalanx bone or even gangrene increases. Ultimately, if an ingrown toenail is left untreated, amputation of the nail phalanx may be necessary.
If the process has gone far, then you have to resort to surgical methods to remove the ingrown nail. Operations are performed under local anesthesia. There are several operating methods:
Any method of surgical treatment requires the professionalism of a doctor and careful care of the wound. Postoperative care includes changing dressings and preventing infection. Even after laser treatment of an ingrown toenail, you may experience pain in the wound area, but this can be relieved with regular painkillers.
An alternative to surgical intervention is the use of special corrective devices that are installed on the nail plate and gradually smooth out its deformed part. Metal or plastic plates, springs, and staples are attached to the nail.
They are small in size and do not interfere with leading a normal lifestyle, including wearing regular shoes and playing sports. They can be painted over with varnish along with the nail. With the help of such devices for treating ingrown toenails, the nail plate is completely straightened, and inflammation and pain disappear. For similar procedures for treating ingrown toenails, you can contact a pedicurist.
However, the use of conservative treatment is usually ineffective. After it, frequent relapses occur again. Therefore, it is justified only in the initial stages of the disease, as well as in cases where the patient refuses more radical methods or is unable to use them for some reason.
There are also traditional methods for treating an ingrown toenail; they can give quite good results, especially in the initial stages of the disease.
Remember that you can cure an ingrown toenail at home, but only if the problem has not gone too far, that is, slight pain and swelling have appeared. In case of severe inflammation and suppuration, you should not bother with the question of how to treat the noma nail, but immediately seek help from a specialist.
Prevention mainly involves choosing the right shoes and caring for your nails. Shoes should not restrict the movement of your toes. It is necessary to cut your nails not too short and without cutting off the corners, so that their edge forms a straight line and protrudes slightly above the soft tissues.
These simple rules are very important to follow not only during the treatment of inflammation, but also during remission of the disease. This will help prevent it from happening again. However, sometimes even such measures turn out to be ineffective. This may be due to the structure of the nail or its high growth rate.
Many who are faced with this problem do not realize the complexity of the disease, do not take measures to eliminate it, and turn to specialists only when the nail is deeply embedded in the skin of the finger, the symptoms are pronounced, and a large inflammation or abscess forms on the finger.
Improper nail care and wearing shoes that are too tight lead to the development of a disease such as onychocryptosis, or a more popularly known condition - an ingrown nail.
In such cases, it is quite difficult and almost impossible to do without surgical treatment. You can prevent all sorts of complications and progression of the disease in the early stages, when slight discomfort is felt in the area of the finger, and slight pain appears when pressing on the skin near the nail.
If the inflammatory process is minor, and the first signs of an ingrown toenail are noticeable immediately, the disease can be stopped at home using simple and proven methods of traditional medicine, which have been able to get rid of onychocryptosis for decades.
Treatment of ingrown toenails at home using folk remedies is necessary at the first symptoms or to prevent relapses of the disease. There are quite a few ways to remove an ingrown toenail.
Most of the products used for procedures to remove nails are found in every home and do not require significant financial costs.
It is important to remember that folk remedies will be effective only at the beginning of the disease. If inflammation affects the deep tissues of the skin near the nail or purulent foci of the disease are noted, folk remedies will not bring the desired result.
Many doctors and specialists in the field of dermatology and cosmetology recognize traditional medicine and assure that with its help you can really stop the disease in the early stages and prevent its progression.
Onychomycosis in the early stages of ego development can be cured with iodine, with the help of various herbal plants, essential oils, vegetable oil, soap solution, ordinary kitchen salt and other means.
Let's look at several recipes using improvised means to remove an ingrown toenail.
An ingrown toenail can be softened and removed using a paste of aloe leaves. To prepare the recipe, you will need 1 aloe leaf, which needs to be washed and crushed to a smooth paste. After that, the finished mixture should be applied to the nail, wrapped in plastic, put on a warm sock and left overnight. In the morning, you need to wash off the paste from your toe and try to lift the ingrown toenail to trim it. If it was not possible to soften the nail, you can repeat the procedure or take a bath with sea salt.
An ingrown toenail can be softened and removed using a paste of aloe leaves.
A fairly effective and common way to remove an ingrown toenail. To prepare, you will need regular kitchen or sea salt in the amount of 1 tablespoon. The salt should be diluted in fairly warm water and the nail should be soaked for 15 - 20 minutes. It is recommended to carry out this procedure once a day for 3 to 4 days. Water will help soften the skin around the finger, and salt will reduce inflammation, relieve swelling, and make the nail softer. Such procedures can be used for both children and adults.
A simple and convenient method to treat onycocryptosis with butter. To carry out the procedure, just take a small amount of butter, apply it to the nail, and bandage it with a sterile bandage for the whole night. Butter will help soften the nail and trim it in the morning. You can do this procedure every day until the ingrown toenail is completely removed.
A simple and convenient method to treat onycocryptosis with butter. To carry out the procedure, just take a small amount of butter, apply it to the nail, and bandage it with a sterile bandage for the whole night.
A good result for an ingrown toenail can be obtained by using a soap bath. To prepare, you will need to dissolve a small piece of soap in hot water and soak your feet in the prepared solution for 20 minutes. After the procedure, you need to dry your feet and treat them with any disinfectant (you can use iodine 1:1 diluted with water). Then you need to try to lift the nail a little and put a piece of sterile cotton wool under it. This action will allow the ingrown nail to come out of the skin and reduce pain.
You need to do this procedure until the edges can be trimmed.
Lemon zest and a small amount of vegetable oil will help get rid of the problem. To prepare, you will need to grind the lemon zest, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, mix and apply to the affected toe. Place a clean gauze bandage on top and secure firmly. You need to keep the compress for several hours. In cases where the nail has entered deep into the skin or small wounds are observed, it is better to refuse this procedure.
You shouldn’t use onion itself for an ingrown toenail, but you can mix it with honey. To prepare such a compress, you need to take a small onion, chop it in a blender, mix with a teaspoon of honey, mix and apply to the nail for 8 hours. After the time has passed, you need to wash off the slurry and try to lift the edges of the nail. If it was not possible to soften it, you can repeat the procedure. As in the case of lemon, you should not make a compress if there are wounds on the skin.
You can get rid of an ingrown toenail using folk remedies, using lamb lard and laundry soap. To cure the disease and soften the nail, you need to grind the lard, heat it a little, add soap shavings, mix and apply to the sore toe for 5 - 6 hours. Place a clean cloth on top and wrap your finger in polyethylene, then put on a warm sock. After time, the nail plate can be slightly raised and the edges trimmed.
You can also treat an ingrown toenail with a milk compress. To prepare it, you need to soak cotton wool in warm milk and apply it to your finger for 3 – 4 hours. Wrap the top with foil and put on a warm sock. After 4 hours, you need to remove the compress, wash your feet and trim your nails.
Onychocryptosis can be treated with iodine, which disinfects the skin well and prevents the development of all kinds of complications. In addition, wild meat can be treated with iodine. During treatment with iodine, you need to take several ordinary threads, moisten them with iodine and stretch them under the nail. Such procedures need to be done several times a day.
If a nail grows into your finger, you can get rid of it using propolis tincture, which not only has an antibacterial and antimicrobial effect, but also allows you to heal the nail faster. When using propolis, you can make compresses at night, you can wash your sore finger with it, or you can soak a cotton swab in the tincture and place it under the nail. Both adults and children can treat their nails with propolis until the pain goes away and the nail plate itself lifts and is trimmed.
There are other folk remedies that can soften the nail and get rid of the disease, but in any case, any of the recipes will bring positive results only at the first signs of the disease. When nails grow deep into the skin, inflammation of the soft tissues occurs, “wild meat” appears, and folk remedies cannot solve the problem.
Treating an ingrown toenail at home should be abandoned in cases where folk remedies are not effective or the disease progresses, the nail goes deeper into the skin of the finger, and it is painful for a person to walk and difficult to make the slightest movements.
Ingrown toenail: how to get rid of it yourself at home
Treatment for ingrown toenails at home
How to treat an ingrown toenail with folk remedies. Treatment of an ingrown toenail
The terrible word “onychocryptosis” is deciphered extremely simply - an ingrown nail. Quite a large number of people are familiar with this phenomenon. It means a banal ingrowth of the nail plate into the nail fold, more precisely into its lateral parts. The most “favorite” place for this pathology is the big toes, but with equal success it can occur on other fingers and, much less often, even on the hands.
Of course, the appearance of onychocryptosis cannot beautify a woman’s foot in particular, and besides, it is very painful, uncomfortable and threatens with various unpleasant complications such as inflammation and suppuration on a finger injured by such a nail. There is no need to describe the concept of “ingrown toenail” in words; a photo can depict it much more eloquently.
Naturally, the occurrence of such a problem has its own reason. And not just one.
The well-known saying that a disease is easier to prevent than to treat is 100% true in this case. Moreover, it is not at all difficult to do this. What is needed for that? The most important condition is to eliminate the causes leading to this problem.
Firstly , when doing a pedicure, trim your nails correctly, without making them too short. Leave them fingertip-length. Since most often the problem of ingrown toenails concerns the thumb, pay special attention to it. Use scissors with straight (not rounded!) tips.
Secondly , it would be wise to refuse shoes that are super fashionable, but can cause ingrown toenails. The pressure on your thumb will immediately decrease significantly.
Thirdly , carefully monitor the condition of your feet to avoid fungal infections. If you suspect it, consult a doctor immediately.
This also includes, fourthly , foot hygiene as an indispensable condition for the prevention of fungus, and in the further sad prospect of ingrown nails. This primarily concerns increased sweating of the feet.
Fifthly , you should not give up in case of congenital irregular nail shape. A properly and efficiently performed pedicure will help you cope with this without difficulty. The same applies to the form acquired as a result of injury.
We warn you that the photos and pictures are not pleasant for ordinary people who are not used to this. So we hid them under a spoiler at first.
If you have just felt discomfort, the pain is not yet very strong and the matter has not reached the point of inflammation, you can use a few simple tips.
Chamomile is poured with boiling water, the dishes are covered. You need to insist for an hour.
It may happen that the situation is already quite advanced, serious inflammation has arisen, the cause of which is an ingrown toenail. Photos illustrating this process do not inspire optimism, and you will have to seek medical help. Surgical excision, laser or radio wave correction of the nail is possible here.
In the first case, the ingrown edges, bed and root of the nail will be removed to the required width. The intervention takes place under local anesthesia.
Laser correction is currently the most effective method of getting rid of an ingrown toenail. During its course, the ingrown part of the nail and its bed seem to evaporate, and the surrounding soft tissues are cleaned and disinfected, which prevents the occurrence of an inflammatory process.
Correction with high frequency radio waves is similar in action and effect to the previous one.
The toenail, growing into the soft tissue, causes severe discomfort. It hurts unbearably and makes it difficult to move. Typically, onychocryptosis occurs on the thumb. If you periodically worry about an ingrown toenail, doctors will tell you how to treat it. They recommend methods of official and traditional medicine.
Inaccurate nail trimming is the main cause of onychocryptosis . But there are other factors. These include:
It is possible to treat an ingrown toenail at home if it has penetrated shallowly into the tissue, there is no infection with pus discharge, and pain occurs when walking and wearing shoes.
Treatment of ingrown toenails begins after the cause of the defect has been established and the symptoms of the disease have been dealt with. When ingrown nail plates appear, the following signs appear:
When onychocryptosis becomes chronic, the finger becomes deformed and the periungual fold is injured. The soft tissues in the affected area grow. The plate cuts into the deep layers of the epithelium.
If onychocryptosis is not treated, it will go through several stages of development. The problem of what to do when a nail has grown into a toe is solved depending on the severity of the condition:
In patients with diabetes mellitus or other pathologies, dangerous complications arise:
An advanced case cannot be cured in the usual home conditions. The nail plate must be removed. For this purpose, a suitable surgical method is used:
Patients who have undergone surgery are prescribed:
If the condition of the defect allows you to do without surgery, it is recommended to use devices to straighten the nail plate. The devices are fixed on the nail. Metal brackets and plastic plates do not cause discomfort, do not restrict movement, and do not reduce activity. The devices allow you to do a pedicure and apply nail polish.
But they do not exclude the development of relapse. After some time, the nail may grow back into the toe.
Home is where most people choose to receive treatment. True, there are diseases that cannot be cured without hospitalization. If an ingrown toenail occurs on the big toe, it is most often treated on an outpatient basis.
You can independently cure the initial stages of onychocryptosis, until a purulent infection occurs or the disease develops into a chronic form.
Typically, the following procedures are done at home for ingrown toenails:
For onychocryptosis the following are contraindicated:
Simple folk methods help to quickly cope with the problem. To combat ingrown toenails, foot baths and applications are used.
Warm solutions soften tissues, facilitate removal of the deformed plate, disinfect, and relieve inflammation. For treatment prepare:
Steamed nail plates are pliable. They can be trimmed without any problems, removing deformed areas and ingrowths is easy and quick.
Dressings with plant extracts relieve inflammation, suppress the development of infection, and help release and remove ingrown toenails:
During treatment, the following scheme is followed:
The toenail will not grow if you carry out hygiene procedures on time, wear comfortable shoes, and do a careful pedicure. When discomfort, pain and other symptoms of onychocryptosis occur, treatment begins immediately. In advanced conditions, visit a doctor.
If we consider the age range, it should be noted that onychocryptosis occurs in patients between 18 and 35 years old, and somewhat less often in elderly people and adolescents. The question of how to treat an ingrown toenail is most often asked by representatives of the stronger sex. Let's take a closer look at how this disease manifests itself and what to do if the nail grows. If you cannot help yourself, it is recommended to consult a surgeon.
If you ask specialists about the causes of ingrown toenails, the most common answer will be improper trimming of the nail plates. In fact, there may be many more factors:
Treatment of an ingrown toenail at home becomes possible only if it does not penetrate too deeply, there is no purulent infection attached, and pain appears only when in contact with shoes or walking.
[adrotate banner=»4″]Before understanding the question of how to treat an ingrown toenail, you need to highlight the symptoms of the disease. They are quite typical:
If the process becomes chronic, then there is deformation of the finger, trauma to the periungual fold and the growth of soft tissue in the place where the nail cuts into the skin.
If an ingrown toenail occurs, how to treat this disease? Use one of several methods to solve the problem.
At a later stage, doctors recommend removing the nail. There are many different methods for this:
In the postoperative period, a patient with an ingrown toenail should change bandages and use anti-inflammatory ointments and gels. If there is pain at the removal site, it is recommended to take a pain reliever.
For those who are terrified of any surgical intervention, there are alternative ways to cure an ingrown toenail. For this purpose, the patient is recommended to wear special devices; they are placed on the nail plate and help to gradually straighten the deformed part.
Modern products allow you to move freely and do not interfere with sports or any other active activity. The device will not interfere with pedicures or applying nail polish.
But before you decide on how to treat an ingrown toenail, you need to understand that many of the methods do not completely eliminate the problem. The likelihood of relapse when straightening the nail remains quite high.
At the first stage, you can try to help yourself. But such treatment at home cannot be used for suppuration or a chronic process.
It is necessary to keep the foot with the sore nail in a warm solution with the addition of soap and soda for at least half an hour. After the nail plate has steamed, its corner must be carefully pulled out from the place where the nail has grown into the skin and trimmed. This should be done with extreme caution. Before performing the manipulation, treat the application point with antiseptic solutions. For this purpose, it is best to use chlorhexidine rather than alcohol.
To draw out the pus, you can make a bandage with ointments by placing it on a clean, dry cloth . Ichthyol ointment is quite effective in this regard. It should be left overnight.
Disinfection can be carried out using hydrogen peroxide. Before doing this, your finger needs to be soaked in a solution of soda or salt, then dried and treated with peroxide. During treatment, you should constantly keep your feet clean, following all the rules of hygiene.
If the nail grows, you should not do the following:
How to treat an ingrown toenail at home to ensure that you get rid of the problem? For this purpose, after steaming, you need to cut out a small hollow in the middle of the problem nail. After some time, the ingrown ends will come out from under the skin on their own, after which all that remains is to cut them off. This must be done carefully and remove the nail plate only by 2/3 of its thickness.
You can use folk remedies to improve your condition:
To prevent ingrown toenails, it is necessary to maintain hygiene and not wear tight shoes made of artificial materials. If there is a hereditary tendency, it is important to be as careful as possible when performing a pedicure and contact experienced professionals. If pain and other signs of deviation appear, you must immediately take action or consult a specialist.