Ingrown Toenails

Summer has arrived. And your swimsuit isn’t the only thing seeing the light of day more. Those toenails are coming outside more too. However podiatrists see your toenails come year-round, usually as an ingrown toenail. This painful condition occurs when the edge of a nail grows down and into the skin of the toe, or when the skin enlarges and the folds cut into the nail. This usually presents with pain, redness, and swelling around the nail.

You can suspect you have an ingrown toenail if you start having pain along the side of a toenail and it becomes extremely painful to the touch. Infections can also form here and show up with pus if the nail pokes through the skin. While part of this can be genetic in cause, how you cut your nail can also affect it. Be sure to cut straight across or gently curved if you allow your nail to stay longer. Also avoid improperly fitting footwear.

If you suspect you have an ingrown toenail you should come see Dr.Grimm or Dr.Pattison. They may start with an antibiotic and soaking the foot to prevent an infection from occurring. To correct the nail, a podiatrist can trim the nail border in hopes of the nail growing back straight. Ingrown toenails do have a high probability of coming back, in which case your podiatrist may recommend the nail border of the whole nail be removed. This surgery is very common and can be performed with a local numbing anesthetic in your podiatrist’s office. And as usual, for this or any other foot problems, come by and see Dr.Grimm or Dr.Pattison at Foot Associates of Central Texas.