Swelling, reddened flesh, shooting pain, and pus are just some of the incredibly uncomfortable symptoms of having an ingrown toenail.  Although this condition can sometimes be successfully treated through home remedies, ingrown toenails often progress to the point of infection, a point that then requires professional treatment.  Read on to learn what causes this problem, when it’s right to seek medical help, and how our podiatrists can help get your foot back to a healthy state! 

The Causes and Symptoms

Before we cover how to treat ingrown toenails, let’s first review the core causes and symptoms that hallmark this condition…

Ingrown toenails initially develop due to a few different factors, including:

Cutting the toenail too short

Rounding the toenail during grooming

Wearing improperly fitting shoes

Experiencing toe trauma

If the flesh on the side of the toe has become red, swollen, and tender, you likely have an ingrown toenail.  If you have caught this problem while it’s still in its early stages, you can try implementing some of the home remedies listed in the next section.  However, if your toe is exhibiting some of the following signs of infection, you should seek professional podiatric help:

Pervasive shooting or throbbing toe pain

Regular bleeding

The presence of a pus-filled blister

The skin has started growing over the nail

Home Remedies

As mentioned above, if an ingrown toenail is caught before infection sets in, there are a few different methods that you can practice at home in order to clear up the issue.  Some of these include:

Around 3 to 4 times a day, submerge your foot into warm water for 15 to 20 minutes.  Regularly doing this should reduce swelling and provide pain relief. 

Following each soaking, use cotton to separate the ingrown toenail from the flesh that it is starting to grow under.  This should allow the nail to grow above the skin again. 

Avoid snug or constraining shoes. 

If these actions fail to clear up the problem in 2 to 3 days, you should pursue professional treatment. 

Professional Treatments

In the case of a severe or recurring infection, there are a few different procedures that your podiatrist can perform to make your toe healthy again.  Depending on the specifics of your ingrown toenail, one of the following treatments may be recommended:

Partial Nail Removal: In the case of a severe ingrown toenail, your doctor can numb your toe before physically removing the ingrown portion of the nail. 

Nail and Tissue Removal: If the same toe is repeatedly experiencing the same ingrown toenail problem, this procedure can be performed to prevent future recurrences.  It entails your podiatrist removing a portion of the underlying nail bed, thus preventing the nail from become ingrown again.