Ingrown Toenail Remedies
The Truth About Ingrown Toenail Remedies
If you have the condition then you might be eager to hear about any ingrown toenail remedies. An ingrown toenail can be really painful. It happens when a nail begins to grow in the wrong direction and starts to cut into the skin. In this article we will examine the usual causes for this unpleasant condition and see what options there are to treat it as well as prevent it.
The reason that the problems occurs is that the skin starts to grow over a bit of the nail; this could be on either side of toenail or even on both sides. The first symptom that people tend to notice is that there toe feels a bit swollen and tender to the touch. After a while it may become inflamed and very sore, because the area has become infected; you might also begin to notice some pus coming from the area.
The most usual cause for an ingrown toenail is not cutting your toenails correctly, or not cutting them at all. If you cut them too short then when they grow back they may start to grow under the skin. It is also possible for it to develop if we are wearing foot-ware that is just too tight. Some people have been born with a nail that is just too big for their toes, and other people may develop the problem because they have banged their toe. No matter what the cause ingrown toenail remedies will be on the cards.
There are some ingrown toenail remedies that you will be able to try before resorting to medical intervention. The first and most popular is to soak your toe in warm water for about twenty minutes and afterwards place some cotton wool under the ingrown area of the nail. Soak about four times a day and keep the foot dry the rest of the time. Some people recommend adding Epsom salts to the water. If it looks red and inflamed you might want to consider some antibacterial ointment; you will need to see your doctor if it is infected. Make sure you use comfortable foot-ware that isn’t going to be making things worse. If your pain is too much you will be able to use some pain relief medications for this.
Sometimes home ingrown toenail remedies are just not enough and you need more aggressive treatment. This might involve surgically removing a section of your toenail or maybe even a section of the nail bed and skin. In most cases it will be a minor procedure that your doctor can perform in his office while just using a local anaesthetic. If the condition is chronic then it might be decided to remove the nail completely; this will involve a bigger surgical procedure, but the problem ever happening again.
The way that you can prevent the need for any ingrown toenail remedies is by taking care of your toes. Don’t wear shoes that are too small and try and keep them out of the way of accidents. If you are working in a job that means risk of things falling on your toes then you might be wise to purchase some shoes with steel toe protectors. When cutting your nails you should always try and cut straight across and avoid following the contour of the toes. Never cut your nails shorter than the edge of the toes.
Ingrown toenails can most often be prevented if you we take care of our toes so we really should follow the advice about how to do this. If it does develop then hopefully home remedies can help, but sometimes you will just need to visit the doctor. If it gets infected you should definitely see your doctor.