Treatment Ingrown Toenail Sufferers Can Try
An ingrown toenail is a foot condition that more often than not is found on the big toe. It looks just as it sounds, part of the nail has grown inwards towards or even into the skin. This can be very unsightly and uncomfortable, luckily when it comes to treatment ingrown toenail is not difficult to deal with. For mild cases, you can deal with the problem at home. The first step is to keep the feet clean and dry so fungus does not develop as a secondary problem. You may want to wear sandals to allow air to reach the feet until the ingrown nail is healed.
To deal with an ingrown toenail at home, take a small roll of gauze and try to lift the ingrown nail away from the skin so you can insert the gauze. This causes a gap so the nail will not grow into the skin but will grow out and can be clipped. Some doctors will use a splint made for this problem, and in the most severe cases they may need to perform minor surgery to remove the ingrown toenail. This, however, is usually a last resort when other treatments have failed.
Prevention is important if you don't want to develop this problem, or if you've suffered through it in the past and don't want to deal with it again. As mentioned before, it is usually the big toenail that becomes ingrown. It is important to keep the toenails trimmed straight across and not curved at the sides. If the nail is shaped improperly and gets too long there is a chance of ingrown toenail. Regular pedicures can be a good preventative measure and something luxurious to do for yourself, even men can enjoy pedicures designed especially for them. Some guys balk at the idea of a pedicure, but don't worry, polish is optional!
As you can see, the treatment ingrown toenail sufferers can use is fairly easy to implement at home. And the measures to prevent the problem are as easy as trimming your toenails regularly and straight across. If you are unable to deal with an ingrown toenail or it becomes painful see a podiatrist, who can easily take care of the toenail and any pain caused by it. Rarely does this condition get infected, although it is a good idea to treat it before any such risk occurs.
