Ingrown toenails are a problem that many people face. They are painful, swollen, sometimes purulent and can interfere with normal shoe wear, affecting not only your gait, but your entire posture and body.
An ingrown toenail makes the skin hard, red, swollen, sensitive and very painful. Wearing shoes and walking can become a mission impossible. In most cases, you can influence the ingrown toenail yourself, and this can help alleviate its condition. If the pain and swelling do not go away, you should seek medical help.
How to tell if the nail is ingrown?
An ingrown toenail occurs when a small part of the nail, especially the corner of its outer part, gets stuck in the skin around it. This causes an inflammatory reaction in the body, and as a result, redness first appears, then swelling.
Inflammatory tissue begins to grow, swelling even more, filling with pus. The nail becomes painful, the skin around it is increasingly swollen and stretched. It becomes sensitive to touch.
In more severe infections, a granuloma may form, making the skin of the nail extremely painful and almost impossible to touch.
What causes an ingrown toenail?
One of the most common causes of this unpleasant and painful problem is improper nail trimming. Ingrown hairs can also be caused by wearing shoes that are uncomfortable and too tight.
In other cases, growth can occur due to sports activity - running, jumping, climbing. In some sports, the toes are stressed, which, combined with the friction in the shoes, contributes to the ingrowth of the nail.
How to relieve ingrown toenail and reduce inflammation?
Soak your feet
Soak feet in warm soapy water. You can also add a few drops of Epsom s alt and essential oils to soften the skin and reduce inflammation. Soaking the feet brings relief and widens the pores of the skin, allowing pus and dead skin cells to be shed more easily. Don't wear tight socks and shoes for a while.
Separate the nail
If the nail has not grown too deep, but only the corner of it has stuck into the skin, causing inflammation, you can separate it very carefully with floss or a nail file. Don't make the mistake of cutting it deep. This will make the problem worse. Separate only the corner of the nail, allowing it to extend over the skin. Carefully remove a small particle from the corner to prevent it from sticking again. Clean the area with a cotton swab with rivanol or alcohol.
Reduce swelling, inflammation and redness
Apply an antiseptic or anti-inflammatory gel, cream to the site of inflammation. It will reduce inflammation and support tissue healing processes.
If none of the methods help to relieve the inflammation and pain, seek medical help. The doctor will remove the ingrown toenail and give you appropriate treatment for the inflammation depending on its degree.
