What is an ingrown toenail

An ingrown toenail is a condition that occurs on the toes, an ailment that occurs when the edge of the nail digs into the skin of the toe. In most cases it presents pain, redness and inflammation around the nail, even soft tissue infection.

Why does ingrown toenail occur?

There are different circumstances that cause the condition but ill-fitting shoes or wearing shoes that are too tight and improperly trimmed toenails are the most common causes. The big toe is usually the most affected but any toenail can become ingrown.

Are there degrees of ingrown toenails and can an ingrown toenail be “cured”?

There are three stages of ingrown toenails:

  • Stage 1: consists of a small reddening of the skin with slight pain.
  • Stage 2: the nail is visibly nailed into the skin, around it there is inflammation and a vesicle with pus, and the patient reports pain.
  • Stage 3: around the ingrown nail we can see deformity of the finger, with a reddened granular tissue with great inflammation, these are cases in which it is necessary to resort to surgery.

When should I go to the podiatrist if I have pain in the nail and I think it is ingrown?

We should go to the podiatrist from the first moment, since we would avoid complications, we could prevent it from happening again by finding out the origin and through some tips for treatment at home.

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What does the podiatric treatment of ingrown toenails consist of?

There is the conservative treatment, which consists of removing the ingrown part of the nail, using the spiculectomy technique, the only thing that becomes ingrown again when the nail grows. There is also a conservative and painless treatment called orthonyxia, this treatment consists of modifying the curvature of the nail by means of a tutor that is glued to the plate, but it would not be indicated for all types of nails or stages.

Ingrown toenails can be operated on and eliminated forever and stop bothering you. Even so, the podiatrist can also practice this simple surgery in which a small amount of anesthesia is used in the area. The intervention consists of a small cut in the nail that is causing the pain, eliminating the matrix of the nail to prevent its growth in the problematic area. Infection caused by an ingrown toenail in patients with diabetes can lead to serious complications.