Ingrown toenail

Ingrown toenails are very common but very painful when not treated. Ingrown nails happen when the edge or corner of the nail grows into the skin, piercing the skin causing the toe to become inflamed, tender or infected. It can affect one or both sides of the toe. The most common cause of ingrown nails are cutting the nail incorrectly and wearing tight fitting shoes.

Symptoms	Treatment
red swollen hot painful bleeding oozing or pussing	attend your GP or podiatrist to have diagnosed and treat soak your foot in warm salted water 3x a day gently push away the skin at the edge of your toe wear shoes with enough room for your toes. your GP or podiatrist may recommend nail surgery

Causes

• cutting nails too short
• diving down the edge of the nail with scissors and not able to cut of the nail correctly
• tight fitting shoes squeeze the toes together and cause the toenail to press into the skin
• poor foot hygiene
• injury or trauma to the toe
• bone shape determines the shape of the nail, a tight curved bone will have a tightly involved (curved) nail

Nail surgery

This involves the toe to be numbed with local anaesthetic and the portion of the nail causing the problem removed. This can include the whole or partial nail removal which can be temporary ( the nail being allowed to grow back) or permanent (the chemical phenol used to stop the nail growing back).

After the local anaesthetic wears off, your toe will be tender and you are recommended to wear an open-toed sandal or soft shoe for a week or two.