Ingrown nails, as the name suggests are those toenails that start to grow deep inside your skin. They are also called onychocryptosis or unguis incarnates in medical terms. They are quite painful and uncomfortable that can even get worse over time. Thus, we must get proper treatment done before it becomes worse.
During the first stage, an ingrown nail might look tender, swollen, and very hard to touch. They might begin to appear red and inflamed with sometimes pus coming out of them. You might also smell some foul odor coming out of it. This might appear on the bigger toe, which can progress to the other toes of your leg.
For ingrown toenails pico robertson, beverly hills bunions you can contact Easy Foot & Ankle. Here Dr. Albert Elhiani can help you to get relief from the pain and can solve your foot problem without many surgical complications. They also have many alternative therapies like laser treatment that can treat such toenail fungal infections.
To understand it better, here we have some important facts to learn about Ingrown toenails.
Causes Of Ingrown Toenails
Various factors can cause ingrown toenails:
- Trimming your nails too short or making the toenail round around the corner
- Physical injuries caused to the nails
- Games like soccer or ballet can cause trauma to the toenails
- Wearing tight shoes that can crowd your toenails
- Hereditary
- Too much sweat on the feet
- Having excess weight can put pressure on the toenails
- Medical conditions like diabetes
Prevention of Ingrown Toenails
There are simple steps to follow for the prevention of these ingrown toenails:
- Make sure that you trim the nails straight instead of round.
- While playing sports like football make sure that you wear protective shoes.
- Wear a well-fitted shoe
- Wear well-ventilated shoes to get enough air for your feet.
Home treatments for Ingrown Toenails
Ingrown toenails can be treated at home with some easy remedies here:
- Take over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen.
- Soak your foot in warm water with soap or salt added. This will make the skin soft which will ultimately let you separate the skin from the nail.
- Apply over-the-counter pain-relieving gel for fast relief.
Clinical Treatment For Ingrown Toenails
During your visit to the doctor at Beverly Hills, he will check the toenail for any infection. If the nail needs to be treated with surgery, the doctor will first give you a local anesthetic. This will numb your toe area and the nails. He will then make an incision alongside the nail to remove the portion stuck into your skin. He will then cut off the piece of nail infected or the entire nail (to prevent any further infection).
The doctor will then apply an antifungal medication on the nail bed and wrap it up with a bandage. Other than this, many clinics at Beverly Hills do provide laser treatments to destroy the nail fungus and to restore the infected nails.
Such surgeries are usually less invasive and you can get back home immediately after the treatment. The toe once treated will get better in a few weeks. However, certain precautions are to be taken, which will be informed by your doctor.