Ingrown Toenail

What Is An Ingrown Toenail?

This is a common condition in which the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh. Ingrown toenails usually affect the big toes but can occur on the smaller nails too. They can be very painful and sometimes result in a development of hypergranulation tissue. This is a bulbous growth of skin which is very vascular so bleeds very easily.  Once this has developed it will not shrink until the offending part of nail is cleared or removed.

What You Might Experience:

• Pain, redness and odour
• Inflammation of the skin
• White or yellow pus coming from the affected area

How It Can Be Treated

As it is an open wound; this is a port for bacteria to grow therefore an infection is highly likely in an ingrown toenail. When an infection is present, antibiotics will need to be prescribed by your GP. This will resolve the infection however; the nail will still be problematic and ingrown.  An appointment with a podiatrist is essential to treat the nail and prevent recurrent infections. For some, this can be managed with regular conservative treatment but most people will require nail surgery to remove part or all of the affected nail.