What To Do With An Ingrown Toenail At Home? 3 Effective Ways

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

What to do with an ingrown toenail at home?

An ingrown toenail is a disease that is accompanied by the introduction of the nail plate into the soft tissues of the lateral ridges of the finger. You can cope with the problem with conservative means, or with the help of a surgeon. If the nail has just begun to grow in and the process is not accompanied by suppuration, then treatment can be carried out at home.

Most often, the nail grows on the big toe. This does not happen instantly. At first, a person experiences discomfort and pain while walking, then the damaged soft tissues become inflamed, turn red, and swell. The finger on the side of the ingrown nail increases in size. A light liquid may be released from the wound.

If an infection gets into the tissues, they begin to fester. This complication requires medical attention. This condition is especially dangerous for people who suffer from diabetes mellitus or diseases leading to a deterioration in the blood supply to the lower extremities.

Content:

• How to grow a nail of the correct shape?
• Treating inflammation
• Treating an ingrown toenail at home

How to grow a nail of the correct shape?

To get rid of an ingrown toenail, you need to do a proper pedicure. Often, precisely because of the violation of his technique, the edge of the plate begins to grow into soft tissues. You need to cut the nail at the top of the soft tissues. The corners of the nail should not be rounded off with scissors, they are cut in such a way that a right angle remains. To prevent it from clinging to clothing, you can file it slightly. To do this, use a nail file, with which the edge of the nail is carefully processed. Do not cut the nail plate too short.

When the soft tissues of the roller are located high, and the corner of the nail grows into them, but there is no inflammation, you need to carefully move the skin and cut off the sharp edge of the plate.

To make it easier to care for ingrown nails, you can use pharmacy products:

• Nogtinorm. This is a balm that needs to be applied to the nail 1-2 times a day.
• Uroderm. It is an ointment that contains urea. Applying the product to the nail will soften it, making it easier to cut the sharp edge.
• Nogitsymin. This tool should only be applied to the area of the nail that grows into the soft tissue. It is enough to treat the problem area for 4 days, after which the legs are steamed in a soda solution and the ingrown nail is cut off.
• Sholl. It is a liquid used to treat an ingrown toenail. It is used 2 times a day for a week.

All of these tools make the process of nail care easier, help to soften the hard edges of the plate and their exit from the periungual roller. In the future, with proper care, the nail will not grow into soft tissues.

Treating inflammation

If the nail has grown into soft tissue, then the person will experience pain. It always gets worse while walking. For the same reason, it is difficult to process the nail plate. Therefore, a person is faced with the task of anesthetizing the affected area. The pain is especially severe, accompanied by swelling and inflammation. When you press on the soft tissue, mucus can be released from under the nail. If no infection has occurred, the liquid will be clear. Sometimes it contains blood. When bacteria enter the wound, the exudate becomes purulent. Not surprisingly, this whole process is accompanied by pain. Inflammation should not be ignored; efforts should be made to eliminate it. Otherwise, complications cannot be avoided.

To cope with the problem at home, you need to do foot baths every day. Antiseptic agents are added to them, for example, Chlorhexidine, potassium permanganate, Furacilin, herbal decoctions (chamomile, calendula, celandine, eucalyptus, St. John's wort, peony). To prepare the broth, you need a liter of water and two tablespoons of dry raw materials.

After the foot bath, the nail will become softer, so cutting off the sharp edge will be easier. When the treatment is complete, a bandage with an ointment or emulsion is applied to the finger. It is good if it contains an antibacterial or antiseptic component. It is recommended to use either Syntomycin or Levomycetin ointment.

To reduce pain, you need to use funds, the composition of which is supplemented with lidocaine. The inflamed tissue of the roller is gently pushed back with a spatula or cotton swab. Gauze is inserted into the resulting space, which was previously impregnated with an antibacterial agent.

Vishnevsky ointment or Levomekol allows you to quickly cope with purulent inflammation. For the best effect, gauze should be applied at night, and changed in the morning. It is necessary to repeat the treatment of the nail every day, until the inflammation is completely eliminated.

Treating an ingrown toenail at home

There are 3 effective ways to make your nail grow as usual without ingrowing:

1. After the nail is softened in a hot bath, you need to scrape its surface in the middle and lateral sections. This will make the plate thinner. Then a gauze swab is introduced under the ingrown nail, which is pre-soaked with a disinfectant. You need to repeat the procedure until the nail edge is evened out.

2. You can use a plastic plate to set the sharp edge in the correct direction of growth. It is placed under the edge of the nail, as well as gauze. The plate is pre-treated with alcohol or Chlorhexidine. To prevent the plate from moving, it must be fixed with a bandage or plaster.

   

3. You can adjust the width of the nail by sawing it with a regular nail file. For this, the finger is steamed, or the nail is softened using pharmacy products. Then the nail and nail file are treated with alcohol. The cut is made in the center of the nail, starting from the top and up to the middle of the bed. The cutting width should not exceed 5 mm. In depth, it should be 2/3 of the nail. Two of the same furrows are made closer to the affected area. As it grows, the nail will unfold, its edges will rise, which will help to cope with the problem.

Video: "Doctor Vlad" will tell you more about this method:

All of these methods allow not only to prevent further injury to soft tissues, but also to eliminate inflammation.

Self-treatment of an ingrown toenail is possible if the disorder has just begun to develop. If the problem persists for a long time, then you need to seek medical help. Otherwise, the threat of inflammation increases.

The author of the article: Volkov Dmitry Sergeevich | c. m. n. surgeon, phlebologist

Education: Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry (1996). In 2003 he received a diploma from the Educational and Scientific Medical Center of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.