Many people inherit the tendency to develop ingrown toenails from one or both parents. Ill-fitting footwear. Crowding your feet into socks and shoes that are too short or tight can set up an environment for painful ingrown toenails to develop. This is why adolescents and teens often get ingrown toenails.
In this post
Who is at risk for ingrown toenail?
Risk factors
Being an adolescent, when feet tend to perspire more, which softens the nail and skin. Having nail care habits that encourage the nail to grow into the skin, such as cutting the nails too short or rounding the corners. Having a reduced ability to care for your nails. Wearing shoes that constrict the toes.
Why do I get ingrown toenails easily?
There are several reasons why people develop ingrown toenails, including: Overly curved toenails. Wearing shoes that cram your toes together. Trimming your toenails improperly (not straight across)
What is the most common cause of ingrown toenails?
Ingrown nails may develop for many reasons. Some cases are congenital—the nail is just too large for the toe. Trauma, such as stubbing the toe or having the toe stepped on, may also cause an ingrown nail. However, the most common cause is tight shoe wear or improper grooming and trimming of the nail.
How can I permanently fix an ingrown toenail?
An ingrown toenail can be permanently corrected with a procedure called a chemical matrixectomy. This procedure involves removing either a portion of the nail that is ingrown or the entire toenail in certain cases.
Can an ingrown toenail fix itself?
Minor ingrown toenails can heal on their own as the nail grows out. However, severe or infected ingrown nails require professional medical care. It’s important to learn the signs of an ingrown nail infection so you know when it’s time to go to the doctor.
How do I cut my toenails to avoid ingrown toenails?
To avoid painful ingrown toenails, cut your toenails straight across. For many people, this is easiest to do in two cuts — the first one with the clippers slightly off the side of the nail to create a straight edge; the second to remove the rest of the nail following the line of the straight cut.
How do you dig out an ingrown toenail?
Use a pair of tweezers to gently push a tiny piece of cotton or gauze into the corner of your toenail where it’s ingrown. This helps to make a space between the nail and the skin. Cut the visible nail corner or the ingrown spur away to help relieve the pressure and pain.
Why do ingrown toenails keep coming back?
Cutting your nails too short, for example, can risk damage to the underlying nail bed. Not only does this hurt, but it can cause the nails to grow back in a non-standard way. Similarly, rounding the corners of your toenails too much can cause their growth to start to curve downward, into the flesh.
Are ingrown toenails caused by stress?
In many people, the tendency for ingrown toenails is hereditary. Trauma. An ingrown toenail sometimes occurs as a result of a trauma. The stubbing of your toe or a repetitive activity such as running can cause severe stress to your toes.
Does cutting nails too short cause ingrown toenails?
The most common reason for ingrown toenails is cutting toenails too short. When people cut their nails too short, the skin on the sides can cover the corners of the nail. This causes the nail to grow back into the skin.
Should you cut an ingrown toenail?
A common approach to ingrown toenails is to “dig them out.” Podiatrists caution against this. When cutting out your ingrown toenail, you might lacerate the skin, making it easy for an infection to set in. Although it may seem easy to dig it out, and perhaps you have done it before, you should not.
Does Vaseline help ingrown toenails?
After each soaking, put fresh bits of cotton or waxed dental floss under the ingrown edge. This will help the nail grow above the skin edge. Apply petroleum jelly. Put petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on the tender area and bandage the toe.
Do ingrown toenails grow back after removal?
Can an ingrown toenail grow back after surgery? Yes, an ingrown toenail can sometimes grow back after surgical treatment, but this is not common. During your procedure we apply a chemical called phenol to the nail bed to stop the edge of your nail from regrowing.
How painful is ingrown toenail surgery?
Since the surgery is carried out under a local anaesthetic, the patients do not experience any pain during the procedure. However, when the anaesthesia wears off after the surgery, patients often experience some level of soreness around the toe that underwent surgery.
What vitamin deficiency causes ingrown toenails?
Vitamin A, D and calcium – Lack of vitamin A, vitamin D, and calcium can cause toenails to become dry and brittle. Sources of these vitamins include milk, cereal, juices, salt-water fish, fish-liver oils, and some vegetables.
What do Podiatrists do for ingrown toenails?
A podiatrist will remove the ingrown portion of the nail and may prescribe a topical or oral medication to treat the infection. If ingrown nails are a chronic problem, your podiatrist can perform a procedure to permanently prevent ingrown nails.
How long do ingrown toenails last?
How Long Does It Take an Ingrown Toenail to Heal? If you treat an ingrown toenail at home, it may heal in 2 to 3 days if it doesn’t become infected. However, your ingrown toenail may require more extensive treatment such as antibiotics or surgery, in which case could take longer.
Do nail salons cause ingrown toenails?
Nothing wrong with that, but make sure to go to an experienced technician. “Pedicures can cause ingrown nails if the nail technician is overly aggressive in cutting back a toenail,” says podiatrist Dina Stock, DPM.
How often should a podiatrist cut your toenails?
How often should you ask for the help of a specialist? Toenails grow about two millimeters per month, so your loved one may need a trim every six to eight weeks.
What is the white stuff under my toenails?
Nail fungus is a common infection of the nail. It begins as a white or yellow-brown spot under the tip of your fingernail or toenail. As the fungal infection goes deeper, the nail may discolor, thicken and crumble at the edge.