Our Services / Ingrown Toenails

What is an ingrown toenail?

An ingrown toenail forms when the side or corner of your toenail starts growing into the soft flesh surrounding it. Ingrown toenails usually affect your big toe but can happen in any toe.

Ingrown toenails can be quite painful, especially when the nail sinks deep into the toe. The nail can curve in on itself as it grows, causing extreme tenderness. You might have trouble wearing socks and shoes over a severe ingrown toenail.

Ingrown toenails can also make it hard to walk or run. The toe will likely develop inflammation, and, in some cases, ingrown toenails can become infected. This is particularly concerning for people with diabetes, who are prone to diabetic ulcers.

These open wounds form when nerve damage (neuropathy) prevents you from feeling foot injuries. Healing them is challenging, and they can cause severe complications, sometimes leading to limb amputation.

What causes ingrown toenails?

Most of the time, ingrown toenails are caused by improper trimming — cutting your nails too short and/or shaping the sides. Other things that encourage ingrown toenails include:

Ill-fitting footwear

Tight shoes compress your toes, causing abnormal nail development.

Fungal infections

Fungal nails thicken and widen, making ingrown toenails more likely.

Genetics

Your chance of developing ingrown toenails is higher if a family member has them.

Injuries

Trauma to the nail can change how it grows and trigger ingrowth.

To avoid ingrown toenails, leave them the same length as your toe and cut them straight across.

What symptoms do ingrown toenails cause?

Common ingrown toenail symptoms include:

• Pain on one or both sides of the toe
• Redness around the affected toenail
• Inflammation in the soft flesh around the toenail

Infection might cause pus to leak from under the toenail.

What treatments do ingrown toenails need?

The Adler Foot and Ankle team can often resolve an ingrown toenail in one visit. They raise and clean the ingrown nail and remove excess tissue. If you have an infection, they’ll prescribe antibiotics.

Patients whose ingrown toenails are severe or keep returning might benefit from partial toenail removal. Your podiatrist takes underlying tissue, too, so that the nail won’t be distorted when it grows back. Ingrown toenail removal is a simple in-office procedure done under a local anesthetic.

Call Adler Foot and Ankle today or book an appointment online for fast relief from painful ingrown toenails.