“How can I treat an ingrown toenail?”
I'm 21 years old and I have an ingrown toenail that hurts. How can I treat ingrown toenail at home?
19 Answers
Not much. Usually soaking and antibiotic ointment. But best way is to call local podiatry office ASAP.
It's best to be evaluated by a specialist
You can try soaking with Epsom salts and then cutting a wedge out of the center. However this is usually a short-term fix. You need to have a podiatrist perform a permanent procedure on the ingrown nail so it is no longer in growing.
The treatment will be determined by the severity of the ingrown nail. The most common treatment is a nail procedure, which is an in-office procedure and you can walk out of the office right after.
It is not easy at home to treat these because it is hard to get the whole ingrown nail. But can attempt epsom salt soaks to soften the nail and try to get the edge out but really recommend seeing someone to have this properly taken care of.
To treat your ingrown toenail at home, try these things first:
1. Warm water soaks for about 20 minutes several times a day.
2. Take a small thin cotton, dip it in tea tree oil or olive oil. Next, apply the thin cotton between your skin and the ingrown nail. This will pushing skin away from the toenail edge.
3. There are some over the counter medications you can use such as topical antibiotic to prevent infection.
4. If home treatment does not work within 48hrs and the pain worsens, please follow up with your doctor.
1. Warm water soaks for about 20 minutes several times a day.
2. Take a small thin cotton, dip it in tea tree oil or olive oil. Next, apply the thin cotton between your skin and the ingrown nail. This will pushing skin away from the toenail edge.
3. There are some over the counter medications you can use such as topical antibiotic to prevent infection.
4. If home treatment does not work within 48hrs and the pain worsens, please follow up with your doctor.
Soak with epsom salts and water. If no relief in a few days, I recommend you see your podiatrist
It will be difficult to treat an ingrown toenail at home. See a foot doctor. it may require local anesthesia and an expert eye/hand
Go to a doctor and have them do it the correct way. Otherwise, it will keep coming back.
Depending on where the ingrown toe nail is actually ingrowing into the skin, you may need to seek out a podiatrist to resolve it. If the ingrown nail is located on the tip of the toe, then you could probably carefully trim it back. If the ingrown toe nail is closer to the nail fold and lunula, then your toe will have to be anesthetized with local anesthetic to remove that portion of your nail
Soak in warm salt water for 10 minutes twice a day and apply antibiotic cream. If there is pus or if this doesn’t work, go see a podiatrist. Bathroom surgery, where you try to get it out by yourself is foolish and generally makes it much worse.
First, warm salt water soaking. Don't do bathroom surgery, it only make things worse. Get to your podiatrist and he/she can fix it quickly for you.
Epsom salt soaks and topical antibiotics. If it hurts enough to trim it out you will likely make it worse, so just go to a specialist and have he or she advise you how to take care of it before it gets an infection and it becomes an emergency
Hello and thank you for your question. Home treatment for an ingrown nail includes warm soapy water epsom salt soaks twice a day and ‘bathroom’ surgery. Bathroom surgery is where people attempt to cut back the nail as far as they can to the nail cuticle as possible without anesthesia. I do not recommend this. If your paronychia or ingrown nail becomes worse ie more red, hot and swollen I suggest you see a professional. Good luck to you.
Hello,
You can buy an angled nail clipper to cut the corner of the ingrown nail out. You can try to lift the corner of the nail that is ingrown and pack cotton from a Q-tip to lift the nail. If this fails see a specialist.
Dr. Lui
You can buy an angled nail clipper to cut the corner of the ingrown nail out. You can try to lift the corner of the nail that is ingrown and pack cotton from a Q-tip to lift the nail. If this fails see a specialist.
Dr. Lui
You can try the following steps at home to relieve the pain caused by your ingrown toenail and help it grow out. If you have diabetes or poor circulation do not attemp home treatment but call your podiatrist:
Soak your sore toe in warm water mixed in epson salt for 15 minutes 2 to 3 times each day.
Wedge cotton ball, under the ingrown corner of your nail to help lift the nail off of the skin as it grows out.
Apply topical antibiotic, such as polysporin, to the affected area and wear a loose fitting, clean sock
Avoid digging into the prone toe. Ingrown toenails easily become infected.
Wear soft, loose, comfortable shoes or sandals to avoid pressure on your toe.
Soak your sore toe in warm water mixed in epson salt for 15 minutes 2 to 3 times each day.
Wedge cotton ball, under the ingrown corner of your nail to help lift the nail off of the skin as it grows out.
Apply topical antibiotic, such as polysporin, to the affected area and wear a loose fitting, clean sock
Avoid digging into the prone toe. Ingrown toenails easily become infected.
Wear soft, loose, comfortable shoes or sandals to avoid pressure on your toe.
You may soak it in warm salt water 20 mins 2-3 times daily, but if it gets worse or does not improve, you should see your podiatrist
It is unwise to try to treat your ingrown toenail at home. By the time they are very uncomfortable, they are often infected and need to be treated with oral antibiotics to get rid of the infection, and the offending nail border must be removed aggressively, or the infection will recur as soon as the course of antibiotics is finished. Soaking in Epsom salts or Dial antibacterial hand soap in warm water, then keeping the area covered with a band aid and topical antibiotic ointment is the best way to handle the problem until you can see a Podiatrist. There will be 2 choices of treatment at the Podiatrist's office: A removal of the offending border, or a more permanent removal of the side of the nail that is bothering you by doing a procedure called a Matricectomy in the office. This yields a good cosmetic result, and usually stops the edge that is bothering you from growing back.
Ingrown toenails can be a difficult problem. Allow the nail to grow past the tip of the toe. Do not cut into the corners. If it becomes inflamed, I recommend you see a foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist) to have this addressed
