Ingrown toenail
More often seen on the big toe, it may happen that the toe nail follows a path that harms the skin in its trajectory. The causes are diverse but the treatment is efficient.
Still a frequent cause of consultation in emergency rooms, an ingrown toenail can easily be treated in a podiatry clinic. Patients of all ages can be affected by this highly incapacitating problem.
Symptoms:
-
Pain when pressing the affected corner, or on the nail in general
-
Redness
-
Swelling or peeling of the skin around the affected zone
-
Difficulty with wearing shoes or with any type of contact
-
Sometimes, we might also observe:
-
Bloody, purulent or clear discharge
-
Presence of a highly vascularized and sensitive lesion (granuloma)
Causes:
-
Tight shoes
-
Bad nail cut
-
Claw or thick nails
-
Heredity
-
Friable nails (fungi, psoriasis, trauma, etc.)
Ongle incarné - Onychocryptose
Schéma de la chirurgie de l'ongle incarné
Ongle incarné - Onychocryptose
Home treatments:
-
Make dips with water and salt
2 to 3 times a day -
Wear looser shoes
-
DO NOT attempt to cut into the corner if you cannot see what you are doing
Treatments by the podiatrist:
There are several ways to treat ingrown toenails. The podiatrist is able to choose the most effective method while minimizing pain during treatment.
-
It is possible to make a small angled cut of the nail with precise instruments
-
There is also a permanent solution under local anesthesia which is very effective and aesthetically satisfying. During this procedure, a strip a few millimeters wide is removed and the nail matrix (responsible for nail growth) is chemically burned, so that the part that hurts the skin never grows back.