Feel your toes scrunched up at the front of your shoe? Does your big toe itch on one side or the other? Is there pain in these areas? You could have the start of an ingrown nail!
Ingrown toenails result when part of your toe nail curls in and/or hooks into the side of (usually) your large toe, other wise known as the hallux. These can start as irritating nuisances and become worse over time. Over time and exacerbated by poor gait and biomechanics, an ingrown nail can become red, puffy and swollen. This is a sign of infection and is not something to sit on. If your ingrown nail as progressed to this level, IMMEDIATELY seek medical treatment. Call our office or your closest medical facility to make sure your ingrown nail is not infected and creating bigger problems.
At EvenKeel Podiatry, we believe that there is more to the cause of these minor toe infractions than just bad toe nail management. Sure, there’s something to be said about good hygiene and knowing how to properly cut your toe nails (we’ll come back to this). But often times the ingrown nail is being directly caused by the way a person walks. In the simplest of terms, gait patterns can often cause a toe to lift up into the top or side of the shoe, and over time, this wears on the side of the toe, causing nail to grow differently. Eventually the nail is cut, but because of this rubbing that has occurred, the nail is not completely cut and a little hook is left over that hides behind the skin on the side of the toe.
The process repeats, and the toe gets squeezed between the hook and the side of the shoe. And after a few weeks or months of this – BOOM! – the toenail becomes completely ingrown.
Removing an ingrown toenail is not difficult, but it takes some time and prevention going forward may require gait training, better fitting shoes and custom foot orthotics. Additionally, avoid walking around barefoot with a potentially infected toenail.
In addition to seeking immediate medical treatment, it is a good idea to soak a potentially ingrown nail in lukewarm salt water. Follow these instructions:
1. Pour two quarts of lukewarm water into a container with 1 tablespoon of salt. Stir it around and let your foot soak for at least five (5) minutes.
2. Apply povidone-iodine solution (Betadine) to the affected toe after the bath and let it air dry or cover with a piece of gauze and paper-tape before inserting putting on CLEAN socks and shoes. If you do not have any provodine-iodine solution around you can use hydrogen peroxide but then be sure to thoroughly dry the affected area.
For more wound care instructions click here (coming soon)
If you show signs of this type of nail problem. Give us a call today or email us and we’ll happy to help you.