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Ingrown toenail

More often seen on the big toe, it may happen that the toe nail follows a path that harms the skin in its trajectory. The causes are diverse but the treatment is efficient.
Still a frequent cause of consultation in emergency rooms, an ingrown toenail can easily be treated in a podiatry clinic. Patients of all ages can be affected by this highly incapacitating problem.

Symptoms:

  • Pain when pressing the affected corner, or on the nail in general

  • Redness

  • Swelling or peeling of the skin around the affected zone

  • Difficulty with wearing shoes or with any type of contact

  • Sometimes, we might also observe: 

  • Bloody, purulent or clear discharge

  • Presence of a highly vascularized and sensitive lesion (granuloma) 
     

Causes:

  • Tight shoes

  • Bad nail cut

  • Claw or thick nails

  • Heredity

  • Friable nails (fungi, psoriasis, trauma, etc.)

Home treatments:

  • Make dips with water and salt
    2 to 3 times a day

  • Wear looser shoes

  • DO NOT attempt to cut into the corner if you cannot see what you are doing
     

Treatments by the podiatrist:

There are several ways to treat ingrown toenails. The podiatrist is able to choose the most effective method while minimizing pain during treatment.

  • It is possible to make a small angled cut of the nail with precise instruments

  • There is also a permanent solution under local anesthesia which is very effective and aesthetically satisfying. During this procedure, a strip a few millimeters wide is removed and the nail matrix (responsible for nail growth) is chemically burned, so that the part that hurts the skin never grows back.  

For more answers to your questions, ​​
see your neighborhood podiatrist.

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