An ingrown toenail occurs when the edge or the corner of the nails curves and grows into the nearby skin. It may cause redness, swelling, and pain. The condition can affect both men and women and affects mostly your bug tie.
Common causes of ingrown toenails include; wearing too-tight shoes, cutting nails too short, cutting toenails at an angle, and hitting your toe. It is essential to treat ingrown toenails as they happen to prevent infections. You can treat mild ingrown toenails with minor treatment and home remedies, while extreme cases might require surgery.
Here are remedies for ingrown toenails:
- Soak the toenails in warm water.
Soaking the affected area in warm water will prevent inflammation and reduce pain. You need to wash your feet in warm, foamy water at least three times a day and let them rest in the water for 3o minutes. You can use castile soap in warm water and add Epsom salt to the water to bring more relief.
- Soak in apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar is a good home remedy for almost any problem; you can use it to treat ingrown toenails. It has abilities to relieve pain and inflammation. Take a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar and add it to the basin of water. Soak your affected feet in the mixture for about 20 minutes. Ensure you dry your feet well after soaking.
- Place cotton or dental floss on the affected area.
Some health clinics recommend tucking small pieces of cotton or dental floss around the ingrown toenail to help the nail grow properly. Ensure you soak the cotton and the floss in alcohol before placing them on the affected toenail.
- Apply antibiotic ointment.
Using the over counter antibiotics can help to reduce ingrown toenail pain and prevent infection risk. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when applying the ointment cream on the ingrown toenail; some indicate two times in a day. You can use ointments like Polysporin, Bactroban, and Neosporin. It would be best to bandage the toe after applying the antibiotic cream.
- Avoid wearing tight shoes and socks.
Wearing Socks and shoes that are too tight can harm your ties, and they are one of the things that cause ingrown toenails. Wear shoes and socks that are comfortable and leave a space around the toes to prevent ingrown toenails from becoming worse. Avoid closed shoes or wear sandals during the ingrown toenails healing process to lessen pressure on your nails.
- Use toe brace.
Toe braces are made of adhesive, thin composite material and are attached on top of your affected toe. They help protect you from painful ingrown toenails, and they lift the nail edges as it grows. You can order toe braces online or buy from your local chemists.
- Use a toe protector.
A toe protector acts as a mitigating block for your ingrown toenails. Toe protectors are designed as rings that you can put around the affected region or cover the whole toe. Most toe protector brands have medicated gel for softening the toenails for easy trimming. Use the treatments following your doctor’s advice until the ingrown toenail heals.
- Consult your doctor on oral antibiotics.
If you have an infected ingrown toenail, consult your doctor to prescribe oral antibiotics to you. You can know your nail is infected if you notice increased redness, too much pain, increased swelling, odor, and pus. Antibiotics for ingrown toenail treatment include amoxicillin, ampicillin, and vancomycin.
- Consider ingrown toenail removal.
If an ingrown toenail does not heal after home remedies, you should consider partial or full nail removal. The clinician will use anesthetics to remove the underlying nail bed, part of the nail’s border, or part of the idle plate.
If you have a severe recurring ingrown toenail, the doctor will remove the entire toenail as the last option. Removing the nail can be very painful and can cause more infection risk. After your toenail removal, there is a chance of deformation of the toenail as it grows back.
Bottom line.
Ingrown toenails can cause severe complications. If you have an ingrown toenail problem, you should consult a doctor before the condition can become extreme. Your ingrown toenails can improve after few days after applying home remedies such as soaking your feet in warm soapy water, using a toe protector, and using antibiotic creams. If you do not treat your ingrown toenail immediately, it may cause severe pain, infections that can spread to the bones. Ingrown toenails can persist if you fail to take the necessary steps to prevent them.