The fancy medicinal term for ingrown toenail is onychocryptosis, not that anyone truly cares when they have one. All anyone cares about with an ingrown toenail is how to relieve the pain and pressure and treating the annoying condition as quickly and safely as possible. However, many people do not understand how too properly treat an ingrown toenail, which leads to more pain and a deeper infection in the toe. Understanding what an ingrown toenail is is the proper way to get to the solution for solving this painful condition.
What is an Ingrown Toenail?
An ingrown toenail is when the sharp edges of the toenail dig and curl deep into the skin of the corner of the toe causing inflammation, pain, redness, puss and even infection if not properly treated right away. Ingrown toenails can happen in anyone’s toes, but the big toes are usually more prone to this condition. Men seem to get ingrown toenails more than women do, but anyone of any age can gets them really. I got one in my early teen years and it was painful.
What are the Causes of an Ingrown Toenail?
Tight fitting shoes Fungal infections of the toenails Toenails trimmed improperly Genetics Injury
What are the Treatments for Ingrown Toenails?
Warm Foot Soaks – Warm foot soaks are best for treating mild ingrown toenail infections, or for soothing and cleansing the ingrown toe. The foot soak usually consist of a footbath filled with warm water and a cup of Epsom salts or sea salts. After, the toe is soaked in the salty footbath for 30 minutes to help relieve any discomfort and cleanse the infections from puss and bacteria.
Oral Antibiotics – your doctor might prescribe Antibiotics if the infection caused by the ingrown toenail is full of puss and deeper in the toe.
Herbal Treatments – If the ingrown toenail is caused by fungal infection foot soaks made with tea tree oil will help kill the fungal infections natural since tea tree oil contains antifungal and bacterial properties in it. Other herbs to use to help relieve inflammation and pain caused by the ingrown toenail are Echinacea, Goldenseal, St. Johns Wort and Licorice Root. These herbal are also useful for boosting the immune system naturally so it can help fight the infection of the ingrown toenail better.
Surgery – When an ingrown toenail has the nail deep within the skin of the toe ablation surgery is needed to remove the nail from the skin. The first thing that is down before surgery is numbing of the toe with an anesthetic. Once the toe is numb, the doctor will cut and pull the toenail out of the skin and wrap the toe up in hospital gauze to help the toe heal and prevent infection.
My Personal Experience with Ingrown Toenail
When I was in my teens like I mentioned I developed an ingrown toenail from wearing tight shoes. An infection did develop and my toe was swollen with yellow puss coming out of it. Antibiotics and foot soaks did not cure my infections so the surgery was needed. The surgery was painless and lasted all of 30 minutes. After I was sent home and was not in any pain at all. I did however do plenty of salt-water foot soaks after the surgery to prevent further infection in my toe and help speed up the healing. I also took Echinacea and vitamins C and E supplements three times a daily to help with the healing processes as well. Within a week, my toe was healed and my toenail grew back healthier. So far, I have not had any ingrown toenails since. In addition, I believe it is because I wear the proper footwear, trim my toenails straight instead of curved, and soak my feet each week to keep them pampered. I believe these steps can help you prevent an ingrown toenail as well.