Ingrown toenails occur when part of a nail pierces the surrounding skin and begins to grow inwards, causing pain, swelling, redness and much discomfort. It commonly affects the big toe, can occur on one or both sides of the toenail, and can affect one or both feet. Once the nail penetrates the skin, the toe becomes vulnerable to complications like infection – especially as the wound is unable to close while the nail continues to grow deeper.
Ingrown toenails are often easy to identify because of the marked swelling at one or more sides of the nail combined with significant pain for those affected. Other symptoms may include:
If you have an ingrown toenail, see your Podiatrist as soon as possible – before the nail grows deeper into the skin or an infection develops. Conditions including diabetes, nerve damage and poor circulation can increase your risk of developing an infection, so it’s important to get your toe treated.
We can manage your ingrown toenail as a one-off treatment or correct them permanently. For a one-off treatment for first-time ingrown toenails, we can trim back the painful nail edge or spicule using specialised nail tools. Removing that spicule means that the pierced skin is able to heal, the inflammation, and hence pain, will also be able to settle. This is done with or without anaesthetic, depending on your preference and level of pain.
If you’ve had ingrown toenail infections previously, then you may wish to permanently correct the problem. The procedure for the permanent correction is called a Partial Nail Avulsion (PNA). It involves surgically removing a small section of nail under local anaesthetic and applying a chemical to destroy the nail growing cells. The result is a clean, straight nail edge that is only marginally shorter than your standard nail and is often barely noticeable after it has healed.