How can I Get Rid of an Ingrown Toenail?
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The severity of an ingrown toenail can vary, but in some cases, it can be treated at home without the assistance of a podiatrist. The most important thing to remember when it comes to an ingrown toenail is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Since an ingrown toenail can result from wearing tight fitting shoes, make sure that your footwear is comfortable and that there is adequate room to wiggle your toes. When trimming your toenails, be sure to cut the nail straight across rather than at an angle, especially if you have had an ingrown toenail in the past. A common myth associated with preventing an ingrown toenail is to cut a v-shape in the center of the nail. This technique is not only ineffective, but actually increases the chance of developing an ingrown toenail.
If you already have an ingrown toenail, the best way to remedy the problem is to soak your foot in warm salted water at least twice a day. This will soften the toenail and reduce swelling. After you have soaked the ingrown toenail, swab it with an antiseptic, such as hydrogen peroxide or iodine, to prevent infection. Next, take a piece of clean cotton and gently place it under the ingrown toenail so that it is raised. Finally, apply an antibacterial ointment to the ingrown toenail to prevent infection. Repeat these steps until the toenail has grown out and away from the cuticle.
It is important to keep your feet clean and to replace the cotton at least daily to reduce your chances of infection. If you already suspect infection or if your ingrown toenail is too painful to follow the above procedures, seek medical advice. If left untreated, an ingrown toenail infection can spread to the bones of the feet, resulting in serious complications. Fever and chills often accompany redness, pain, and swelling in the event of a serious infection.
Although it is possible to surgically remove an ingrown toenail at home, it is not advisable. Cutting and removing the ingrown toenail yourself may temporarily remedy the problem; however, this usually results in a chronic recurrence of the ingrown toenail.
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26
when i was little i had an ingrown toenail but i didn't even know it until my sister got one. hers was really bad. but by then i already got rid of it by just ripping it off with the toenail connected. it felt good for a couple of days then it came back.
it's been two years now and it really swollen and i really hurt. and i cant get rid of it like the way i did before. i tried cutting it off but that really hurts. my mom says to just let it grow out but it just keeps getting worse. I'm going to try the soaking thing. - anon53690
25
If you haven't had one before, it just means you're active. I'm 14 and I've had one for three years. These steps work, and follow them correctly and you're sure to get yours gone. The key is that it's an infection. Take this seriously. In the second year of mine, it was bleeding. Yeah, that's how bad it can get. - anon53102
24
dude! i have had these many times! the best thing to do is to get surgery! it doesn't even hurt. you can walk and be on your feet 2 seconds after the surgery! no pain they numb you up and you dont feel crap! trust me it's for the best of all of you!! i waited way too long to get mine done! and it was so infected the numbing proccess didnt work i had to deal with the pain. - anon51194
23
my toe has been hurting me a lot for the past year. i don't know what to do about it, though i am only 15 and i don't know how to get rid of it and it doesn't just come and stay. mine actually comes for a while goes aways and does the same thing repeatedly. What should i do? - anon50418
22
Hey, I am a Dancer I take ballet tap jazz clogging and modern and I have an ingrown toenail and I am only 11. I am going to follow these steps but I have never had one of these ever before. - anon49120
21
i am a ballet dancer so i dance on my toes a lot! i get ingrowns so much but i can usually just clip them myself. i soak my feet in epsom salts. that usually helps. i should try a cuticle cutter. i don't have the time to get surgery. i have to rehearse for nutcracker. - anon48774
20
I feel your pain -- literally-- don't want to have surgery. I wait until I can't stand the pain anymore and cut the nail myself. It's a hard thing to do because my nail can get imbedded in the skin. The comments are right --the ingrown nail can creep up on you, so keep the nail clean and keep your nail cutter very clean as well.
- anon41170
19
how is an ingrown toenail supposed to feel after it is removed??? - anon35180
18
I use the tip of a cotton swab its just the right size and fits nicely under the inflamed skin. I've had them for 15+ yrs now and surgery is a quick fix. Was told that the doctor can cut the nail so it stops growing and no more ingrown toenail. Well now the toe nail grows up half way and the spreads out an extra 1/4 inch into the skin until it reaches the top and kills my foot. I just do the surgery myself when I feel it right away, if I wait a day I'm screwed. - anon35116
17
i remove my ingrown toe nails by myself. all i do is get a pair of toe nail clippers, then cut slanted on the toe nail then rip the cut piece towards where the ingrown toenail is at then rip it out i get it every time i have an ingrown toenail, but it's veryyy painful. - anon34522
16
my friend had an ingrown toe nail as do I, he went to his doctor and he gave him a shot that popped a nerve in his brain and paralyzed the entire right half of his body, for about a week. he is alright right now and is no longer in the hospital, but be careful so that the same doesn't happen to you. - anon34271
15
To all the people who are having trouble putting the cloth under their nail because the nail is deeply ingrown and the pain is unbearable.Step 1: Soak your nail like the article say's and the the skin all soft. Step 2: To get rid of the pain, numb your foot. (To numb your foot, i suggest sitting on a couch cross legged with the foot with the ingrown nail on top folded as much as possible with something heavy placed on top of your knee until it gets numb.) Step 3:once your foot is really numb, you won't feel most of the pain from lifting the ingrown nail and placing the cloth. - anon33477
14
I have had surgery twice to remove an ingrown toenail, once was a removal of the full nail and the second time was just the side of the nail. The surgery is not bad as long as you have a good doctor that knows how to give a shot. Having the full nail removed is a pain and takes forever to grow back but it's all good, surgery does not mean you will never have it again though, I still get ingrown toenails a few times a year and remove them myself. - anon33453
13
my ingrown toenails are really far into the flesh and being able to put cotton under it is just plain impossible. for one i can't get that far and number two is that y it hurts just too much? i did at one point have an infection in one of them but that is treated now. any advice? - anon32984
12
well i have had one for about 4-6 months and i play rough at school. i am accident prone and i get hit on my toe with basketballs on a daily basis. when i get home, it is like dried up blood there where the ingrown part is. what do i do? plz help me. - anon32771
11
i've had a ingrown toenail for about 6-7 years. will it go away or not? i'm only 16 and i can't play football coz it really hurts. any advice? - anon31922
10
I have had my ingrown toenail 4 like a year. I have 1 on each toe. I started 2 soak it then I stopped. Then it got worse, lol, but I am soaking it now so it's getting better. - anon28592
9
my toenail is growing backwards on its self and i am unsure what to do about this! any suggestions? cuz i have a terrible fear of surgery. any other ways? regards j. - anon27627
8
I just had surgery today on my ingrown toenail (Big toe on my left foot). It's healing very well and the process isn't painful at all. The only part that caused pain was the numbing shot. Which didn't hurt but a little more than a regular shot. After that, my toe was completely numb and it was fun to watch!I've had it for almost a year, and it only took 5 minutes to cure in a hospital clinic! I soaked my toe most everyday in epson salt and water, and it helped, but only for a short period of time. I'm in my younger teen years, and it didn't hurt hardly at all! So your best option is to just tell a doctor and get it taken care of! I guarantee you won't regret it! I got back to my house a few hours ago, and I will admit, once the numbing wears off, it will hurt for a little while, but it's a small price to pay when it'll never happen again! My doctor said that there is a 90%-95% chance it will work the first time, and if it doesn't, the second time is just fine, and will cure your toe once and for all. Right now I have a red cast around just my toe, and it looks kinda funny, but I can still comfortably wear my socks and shoes over it. Once again, you won't regret it! - anon26623
7
I have had ingrown toenails on every toe for years and years. Thanks to my mother cutting them so short they curl and they are really painful. I was wanting to try the soaking thing, but when it came to putting the cotton thing in my nails they were just too curly. Is my only option surgery? - missymoo
6
If you do have an ingrown toenail, I would definitely have it surgically removed. I had an ingrown toenail for a few years and I had been always putting it off b/c I hate the idea of surgery. It felt so much better once they had it removed. - anon22750
5
By "putting the cotton under the ingrown toenail" the author means that a small wad of cotton (just enough to lift the toenail away from the skin) should be placed between the nail and the skin. The idea is to relieve the pressure of the nail pushing into the skin. Be sure to change it at least daily. - anon19734
4
I need help on how to do this cause i just recently noticed that i had one and it only started to hurt yesterday. I am soaking my feet and i need to know what you mean by putting the cotton under the ingrown toenail. Do you mean like by placing it under the toe or the toenail? - anon19697
3
pixiedust you hit the nail right on the head... getting them early makes ingrown toenails a nonissue for me. if i am lazy and let them grow in while they are barely noticeable, they end up creeping up on you - and then they can really hurt.
so, all i do, is pay attention to my toes - whenever i feel even the slightest hint of an ingrowner i snip it out. as long as i keep up with it, ingrown toenails (which were once big problems for me), are now trivial. - concordski
2
The key for me has been to _not_ wear tight-fitting shoes. But if that can't be avoided, I's use a cuticle cutter to cut the nail along the side where it's pushing into the flesh of the toe. The key is making the cut at the earliest signs that the toenail may be growing in. If it's too hard to make a cut, I'll make the cut after a hot shower -- the hot water loosens the nail, flesh and cuticles. - pixiedust
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Written by
J.Gunsch
Last Modified: 25 November 2009
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