Treating Ingrown Toenails

By ​Hesh Amaraskera

An ​ingrown toenail​ is something that most of us may have experienced before. So what is an ingrown nail and why does it hurt so much? The medical name for an ingrown toenail is onychocryptosis, and why it hurts so much is because the skin on one or both sides of a nail grows over the edges of the nail, or the nail itself grows into the skin.

An ingrown toenail is one of the most common reasons to visit a Podiatrist as it can occur after being too aggressive when trimming your toenails (too short), stubbing your nail when walking, getting stood on when playing sport, or even wearing the shoe that’s a bit too tight (narrow) for too long, If left untreated the potential for pain, swelling, redness and infection can increase.

So if you’re at home looking down at your painful ingrown nail and wondering what do I do with this nail, well, you’re reading the right blog. At ​The Foot and Ankle Clinic​ our highly qualified team of Podiatrists are trained to diagnose and effectively treat ingrown toenails. The treatment may include conservative routine nail care and nail spike removal, if conservative management has failed our Podiatrists can offer a long term treatment in the form of  Nail Surgery.

Ingrown toenail surgery​ is used for long term management for ingrowing toenails and often needed in cases where abnormally curved, thickened, damaged or fungal infected nails are a problem. The procedure itself typically take between 30-45 minutes and in some cases can be covered by​ ​Private Health Insurance​,​ ​TAC​, Workcover​,​ ​DVA​ or​ ​NDIS​.

For more detailed information about ingrown toenail surgery please ​CLICK HERE​.

If you’re reading this and wanting to avoid an ingrown nail, here are some tips about how to avoid such a problem.

• Trim your toenails straight across and make sure that the edges do not curve in.
• Avoid cutting toenails too short.
• Wear proper fitting shoes, socks, and tights.
• If your toenails are abnormally curved or thick, seek podiatry treatment for assessment and a treatment plan (surgery may be necessary to prevent ingrown nails)