Pain and swelling are warning signs of an ingrown toenail, which commonly affects your big toe. Albert Samandarov, DPM, of Ideal Foot Care in Queens, New York, offers expert care for ingrown toenails to save you from complications, such as bacterial or fungal infections. If you’ve been treating an ingrown toenail at home and it’s not getting better, you need the help of a podiatrist. Call the Astoria office today, or book a consultation online.
Ingrown nails are a painful, common condition where the nail grows into the skin instead of over it. The medical name for this ailment is onychocryptosis. Typical symptoms include:
Ingrown toenails usually affect your big toe, but other toes can be affected, too. The condition often appears among teenagers who repeatedly injure their toes.
Left untreated, your skin will continue to grow over the nail, causing irreversible changes that frequently lead to infection, more pain, and more inflammation. That’s why it’s best to seek treatment from Ideal Foot Care as soon as possible.
The condition occurs for several reasons, including:
Stubbing or jamming your toe also may cause an ingrown toenail to form.
An ingrown toenail provides the perfect environment for various infections, such as:
People with diabetes are at higher risk of complications from an ingrown toenail. Prompt treatment at Ideal Foot Care can prevent complications from occurring.
After examining your toenail, your podiatrist at Ideal Foot Care recommends one of the following treatments:
Your podiatrist places a splint under the edge of your nail to separate it from the skin. This treatment is typically used with a slightly ingrown nail that’s causing some pain and inflammation but no pus.
For a more severe ingrown toenail, your podiatrist trims or removes the ingrown portion of the nail. Your toe is numbed with a local anesthetic before the procedure.
Your podiatrist removes a portion of your toenail along with the underlying nail bed. This procedure is recommended when your ingrown toenail hasn’t gotten better with other treatments.
If you have a painful ingrown toenail, you can rely on Ideal Foot Care to treat your toenail before it gets worse. Don’t delay — call today or book a consultation online.
