Ingrown toenail is medically called as Nail avulusion or Onychocryptosis. It very often develops on the corner of the nail and bends down touching the skin surface till the toe. There may or may not be pain and swelling surrounding the nail.
Ingrown Toenail Causes
Ingrown toenail develops due to number of factors, but in majority wearing small sized shoes is the common cause. By wearing tight shoes, you are forcing the toes and in turn the nails forward and hence the skin gets infected and swelling develops. It can occur in any toe starting from great toe to the last toe.
Whenever you walk or run, it puts some amount of pressure on the toes and gradually toenail suffers. In some cases, abnormalities in the foot and foot injury can cause this disorder. When you are not trimming your toe nails properly, it can cause this problem. Likewise, if you trim your nails too short, then it projects the toe outside subjecting it to wear and tear. Nail infection may also give rise to ingrown toenail. You may have fungal infection for getting bent toenail. Lastly, hereditary is also a factor which contributes to ingrown toenail.
Diagnoses
Your skin doctor will examine the foot and the nail condition for detecting this problem. The skin along the corners of the nail will be bent forward, covering over the nail. The skin covering the nails may look swollen or red thus exposing inflammation inside.
Ingrown Toenail Treatment
For diabetic people, treating ingrown toenail may create some problem and continuous monitoring is needed. Several homemade remedies are available for treating this problem. Keep the feet immersed in warm water tub for 20 minutes. This would facilitate blood circulation in the toes. You can gently massage the toes with olive oil and apply ointment on the inflamed skin. Treat the infected nail with antiseptic lotion. If the pain is severe with infection, you can take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for killing pain.
Before trimming the nails, you should keep the foot in warm water so that the nails would soften. Always use a clean trimmer for cutting the nail. You should wear sandals till the inflammation is fully gone. In case of severe infection, you can consult your doctor.
Removing part of the toenail is another form of treatment. You need not have to worry since the nail will grow fully in 2-3 months. This technique is called partial nail avulsion. For some patients, doctor may administer electric current or surgical tools for removing the part of nail that is bent.
Read more on Home Remedies For Toenail Fungus
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Prevention
You need to wear proper fitting shoes to avoid this sort of infection. Make sure that the shoes have enough space for breathing and circulating air inside. Avoid pricking the nails or tearing it.
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