One of the most painful things that I have experienced is an ingrown toenail. I try to keep my feet healthy, but sometimes these are unavoidable. I wanted to share with you some things you can do to treat them on your own.
What is an Ingrown Toenail?
An ingrown toenail is when the edges or corners of your toe nail curve and grow into the skin. If caught quickly, a little toenail trim will solve this issue. There are many causes of ingrown toenails, which we will explore in the next section.
If you are have a diabetic neuropathy or other type of neuropathy you are at increased risk to an ingrown toenail. Studies have not found a definitive reason, but it is suspected that it is due to decreased circulation and sensation in the lower legs and feet.
Your big toe is the most likely culprit to have an ingrown toenail.
What Causes Ingrown Toenails?
There are many things that cause ingrown toenails. Not all of these are controllable, so it is best to try and control the ones that you can in order to increase your chances of avoiding ingrown toenails.
Cutting Toenails Incorrectly - try to cut nails straight across to avoid them being able to grow into your skin
Injury to the Area - someone stepping on your toe or a fracture can change the way the nail grows
Curved Toenails
Poor Footwear - shoes that pinch on your toes can cause toenails to grow into the skin
Genetic Predisposition
Poor Foot Hygiene - by not taking care of your feet, you can get ingrown toenails
Poor Posture - this relates to the position of your foot, but poor upper body posture can cause your foot to be in a poor position.
The ones that you can focus on are cutting your toenails, treating injury carefully to the area, finding shoes that fit your feet, and taking care of your feet.
If you want to know more about footwear, check out this video.
Other risk factors include your activity level. High contact sports that involve running, jumping, and/or kicking can increase your risk of getting ingrown toenails.
ballet
football
soccer
kickboxing
zoomba
volleyball
running
Fixing Ingrown Toenails by Yourself
There are many things you can do to treat your own ingrown toenails. These are the treatments that I recommend.
Epson salt bath with warm water - this will loosen the skin around your toenail. This will make it easier to push the skin away from the nail
Push skin away - do this with a cotton ball (it's soft) with olive oil on it. The olive oil will moisturize your skin helping it stay away from the toenail
Getting a pedicure - pedicures will help your overall foot health, but the experts can help you to clip the nail that is ingrown without causing more damage
The goal here is to soften the skin and the nail. If you feel you can cut your nail on your own, go for it. I find it hard to do fine skills on my feet and it's easier on me if I let someone else help.
If this helps you, that's great (kind of the whole point).
If you still have issues, it may be time to go seek the health of a podiatrist. They specialize in things like ingrown toenails.
Getting your nail issues fixed will help you get through your day with less pain and let you be more healthy overall.
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