Educational Resources

Six Keys to Preventing and Treating Ingrown Toenails

Looking for the best method for treating ingrown toenails? Here in Spring, TX, we can wear sandals and open-toed shoes for most of the year. Except, if you have curved or infected ingrown toenails, you may want to keep them hidden. So let’s help you get back to showing off your toes–and improving your pain.

Treating Ingrown Toenails: Start with Prevention

There are six keys to preventing ingrown nails.

Be careful with your cuticles,
Wear the right shoe shape
Clip nails with caution,
Give your feet space,
Soak your toes if problems develop, and clean and treat the affected nails.
Avoid tight-fitting shoes that will squish the toes, and allow already ingrown toenails to soak in iodine and warm water before applying an antibiotic cream and covering with a bandage or bandaid.

Treating Ingrown Toenails in Spring, TX

We can easily fix ingrown toenails, if you come to the office. Suffering from a painful ingrown toenail? Contact our team of podiatrists at Louetta Foot and Ankle Specialists, P.A.

What Causes Ingrown Toenails?

You develop ingrown toenails when a toenail grows sideways into the bed of your nail, causing pain, swelling, and possibly infection.

This can happen for several reasons, including

Bacterial infections
Improper nail cutting, either trimming too short or following the curve of your nail bed
Trauma to the toe, such as stubbing, which causes the nail to grow back irregularly
Ill-fitting shoes that bunch your toes too close together or cause your nails to ram into the end of your shoe
Genetic predisposition

Prevention

Wearing properly fitting shoes and using proper cutting techniques will help decrease your risk of developing ingrown toenails. If you can’t cut your nails on your own, you could try this crazy YouTube hack. (We don’t actually recommend this option.) Or you could come see us for a luxurious–and safe–medical pedicure.

Treating Ingrown Toenails

When you don’t have an infected ingrown toenail, we can prevent infection by soaking the affected area in salt or with antibacterial soaps. In more severe cases, you may need surgery to correct the ingrowth and offer pain relief. In either case, coming into the office at the first sign of ingrowth will lead to better treatment outcomes.

If you have any questions, please contact one of our offices in Spring and Tomball, TX. We offer the newest diagnostic and treatment technologies for all your foot and ankle injuries.