Q: In order to reduce the pain and swelling involved with an ingrown toenail, soak the foot with the ingrown toenail for 10-20 minutes in warm, soapy water, three times a day for one to two weeks. The Epsom salt can also help with pain and inflammation. Fill a tub with warm water and add 1-2 tablespoons of Epsom salts. Place your foot into the water, and relax while it soaks. When finished soaking, dry your toe completely. You can do this multiple times a day if the pain gets too much for you. Never soak your foot in hot water. It should always be soaked in warm water. To relieve the pressure under the ingrown edge of the toenail, doctors sometimes suggest propping the nail up slightly. This is done by sticking a small piece of cotton or thick floss under the edge of the nail. This technique helps pull the nail away from the skin, so it no longer digs into the skin. If you use cotton, you can dip it in antiseptic to help ease the pain and prevent infection under the nail. If the nail is infected, this may also help to soak up any moisture that is trapped under the nail. If you use thick floss, make sure that it is unflavored and unwaxed. Do not insert a metal tool under the nail to try to insert cotton or floss. This could damage the toe further. Antibacterial ointment is helpful when dealing with an infected ingrown toenail. Before you apply the ointment, dry your toe completely. Cover the infected area with an antibacterial cream. Apply the ointments in a thick coat over the infected area of the toe. Wrap your toe with a bandage such as a large band-aid. This prevents debris from entering the wound and keeps the ointment in place. Use antibacterial ointments such as Neosporin. Ingrown toenails that become infected should not be treated at home, which is true for most infected wounds. Visit a podiatrist, more commonly known as a foot doctor, to get treatment for your infection. If the infection and nail are bad enough, minor surgery may be required. For the most part, however, a simple surgical procedure involving numbing the nail bed and then removing part of the ingrown nail with clippers or scissors by the doctor, You may be prescribed oral antibiotics, which are taken by mouth, to help fend off further infections. If you are prescribed antibiotics, make sure you complete the entire course and follow up with your doctor as needed.
A: Soak your toe. Prop up the edge of the nail. Apply antibacterial ointment. Visit a foot doctor (podiatrist).

Q: One of the most common pieces of advice you may find online when trying to remove dried silicone from your hands is to use acetone. Acetone, an organic chemical frequently used in nail polish removers, is able to dissolve some plastics (like, for instance, acrylic nail polish) with ease. Its ability to dissolve or weaken silicone caulk is less definite. However, many online sources attest to its usefulness. To use this method, soak the corner of a paper towel with pure acetone or a nail polish remover containing acetone and gently wet the spots on your hands covered with acetone. Don't pour the acetone all over your hands this is wasteful and can produce noxious unpleasant fumes. If using nail polish remover, check the ingredient label to be sure it contains acetone before using. Silicone, like many other synthetic compounds, will eventually weaken if heated up gradually. Because of this property, some sources recommend using a hair dryer to loosen the caulk's hold on your hands. Turn the dryer on and wave it over the affected areas, allowing the silicone to gradually warm. Once you feel that the silicone has heated up, try scrubbing with a sponge or another mild abrasive to get it off. If you want to try this method, be sure to start with the lowest possible setting on the hair dryer. Gradually increase the heat as needed and stop immediately if the heat becomes intense or painful. Silicone isn't worth burning yourself over it will eventually fall off on its own. Another way to get silicone off of your hands is simply to rub (and rub, and rub...) until there's none left. However, this method requires a warning. Silicone is quite tough in fact, for most purposes, it's tougher than your skin. Because of this, you'll want to be very careful as you use your abrasive to remove the silicone to avoid rubbing your skin raw. Use only mild abrasives, not harsh ones like steel wool. Stop rubbing well before you think you might be sore. Remember, the silicone will eventually fall off on its own, so there's no reason to hurt yourself trying to get it off. Just a few appropriate abrasives you might consider using are: Kitchen sponges Fine-grit sandpaper (if you're careful) Pumice stones Like acetone, mineral spirits (a turpentine substitute sometimes called "white spirits" in the UK) are sometimes prescribed for the task of weakening stubborn silicone caulk. As with acetone, the actual usefulness of mineral spirits is the subject of some doubt, though some home improvement sites recommend them. If you have some mineral spirits handy, try applying some to dried-on silicone lightly with a soaked paper towel. Follow with abrasion once the spirits have had a chance to weaken the silicone. If you don't have mineral spirits, you can usually find some at major hardware stores for fairly cheap (usually not much more than $10 per gallon). While mineral spirits are usually not dangerous to touch, be sure to thoroughly wash yourself after coming into contact with them. Being in direct contact with mineral spirits for several hours or longer can lead to seriously nasty chemical burns. Sometimes, particularly stubborn spots of silicone caulk can stick to your hands despite your repeated efforts to get it off. In these cases, your best option may be simply to wait for it to fall off on its own, rather than wear your hands red trying to get it off. Your body naturally sheds dead skin cells nearly constantly. Once the skin under the dried-on silicone dies, it will eventually fall off, taking the caulk with it. The human body usually takes about 27 days to completely shed and replenish an entire layer of skin. The silicon gel dried to your hands will probably take less time to fall off (on the order of a week or so). When it comes to getting silicone caulk off of your hands, stick to the safe methods described in this article don't risk trying anything that may hurt you. For instance, while acetone and mineral spirits are generally safe for brief use on your hands, other, harsher chemicals can present serious problems. Many noxious or caustic solvents can be harmful if touched, inhaled, or ingested, so you'll want to stay far away from them. Below are just a few of the sorts of chemicals you definitely won't want to use to get caulk off of your hands: Bleach Drain cleaner Paint thinner Lye Strong acids or bases. Never use a sharp tool or a harsh abrasive to physically remove silicone caulk from your hands. Though it may be tempting to use a knife or a handful of steel wool to scrape or cut annoying dried-on caulk away from your hands, these methods run a high risk of injuring your hands. On top of this, there's very little guarantee that they work well against the gummy, clingy texture of silicone. Though this advice probably goes without saying for most, in the interests of safety, it bears mentioning.
A:
Try acetone. Try (cautiously) using a hair dryer. Try an abrasive. Try mineral spirits. When all else fails, simply wait. Don't use harsh solvents. Don't scrape or gouge the caulk.