Ingrown Nails - Causes, Complications and Treatment

An ingrown nail is also known as an ingrown toenail and this is a common nail disease. An ingrown toenail usually affects your big toe. In medical terms, this is also known as unguis incarnatus and Onychocryptosis.

It is a painful condition in which the toenail grows into the soft flesh of that toe in such a way that it cuts into either one or both sides of the nail bed or paronychium. Ingrown nails can be painful, as the nail will start cutting into the nail beds with the onset of time. Such growth can also give rise to many infections, bringing about further complications along with the pain.
Proper care must be taken to avoid such growth, and to set right any abnormal growth that may occur.

Causes of Ingrown Nails
One of the main causes of this kind of nail disease is the use of unsuitable footwear. This may be due to the daily use of shoes, which provide very little space for the toes. Wearing extremely tight stockings that apply pressure on the top and sides of the toes can also cause ingrown nails.Sometimes even the damp and humid conditions within the enclosed shoes soften the nail plates and swell the epididymis keratin, and this increases the convex arch of the toenail permanently. Sometimes improper nail cutting and shaping may lead the nail to grow into the nail bed, thereby causing pain to the affected person.

Improper Care of Nails
If the nail is not cared for properly (this includes carelessly cutting the nail), ingrown nails can occur. Ingrown toenails can occur because the nail has been cut too short, rounded off at the tip or peeled off at the edges instead of being cut straight.

Fitting shoes:
Shoes that are not right, some of which are extremely narrow thereby providing very little space to the toe can cause ingrown nails. This may cause the nail to curl and then bore into the skin.

Physical Trauma:
Stubbing the toenail, dropping things on the toe can cause trauma to the nail plate or toe. This results in the flesh getting injured and causes the nail to grow irregularly into the flesh.

Original Defects:
Sometimes improper growth also happens due to the abnormal shape of the nails, which may be due to a kind of nail deformity due to some disease or genetic defects.

Infections:
Bacterial infection may also cause ingrown toenails.

Hyperhidrosis:
Excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis may cause this kind of disease and the individual may have difficulty walking due to the extreme pain caused by the infection.

Complications of Ingrown Toenails
Ingrown toenails should be taken seriously and you must immediately get the disease treated by a physician. If left untreated, it may result in serious bone infections.

Inflammation of the toenail:
An ingrown toenail can cause inflammation and this causes thickening of the nail skin fold. The protruding piece of nail keeps on digging into the nail which results in extreme pain to the affected person.

Diabetic Complications:
If a person is suffering from diabetes then this can lead to further complications. The nerve supply and circulation of the feet can be disrupted in diabetic patients suffering from ingrown toenail. Sometimes complications may force the doctors to conduct a surgery in order to avoid gangrene or in extreme cases amputate the affected part.

Other complications:
In order to repair this medical condition, sometimes the lateral nail plate along with the lateral matricectomy needs to be removed. This may lead to infection of the nail bed or a regrowth of a nail spicule. Other infections like candida, pseudomonas and staphylococcus can also take place in the foot skin.After ingrown toenail removal, in most cases infection may still continue which leads to redness, swelling and pain. This needs to be further evaluated by the physician.

Treatment of Ingrown Toenails
If the ingrown toenail is detected at an early stage then surgery can be avoided and some effective home care tips like soaking the toe in lukewarm water, wearing proper shoes and frequently cleaning the nail can be employed to cure this infection. A doctor may recommend using a splint so that the skin is protected from the sharp corner of the nail.

Cotton wicks, plastic strips, plastic tubes on the side of the nail and glue based substances are some types of splints which a doctor may advise a patient to use.The doctor may also remove the extra tissue growth around the inflamed skin area so that it heals faster. A physician may administer oral antibiotics to treat ingrown toenails. In extreme cases, surgery has to be performed which involves the removal of the embedded nail away from the toe.

Sometimes at least one thirds of the nail may have to be removed surgically.Healing takes a lot of time especially after surgery and you must take a lot of precautions so that no infections surface after a toenail operation.

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Ingrown Toenail Problem – Causes and Relief | Toe Fungus Treatment

When it comes to toe nail problems, there are different kinds. Though the problems are not so threatening, some of them may be embarrassing due to the discomforts created to the foot nail condition. Among these, ingrown toenail is one. Because the intensity of the problem depends on the fungal attack, the nail condition needs proper diagnosis and right treatment. Whatever maybe the condition of the foot nail, consulting a podiatrist who is practicing professionally is good. He is the competent person to decide the risks. He may help in all aspects to get rid of nail fungus fast. Even though the infected nail is not usually an intolerable foot problem, the ugly look and the discomforts behind the nail problems may be quite upsetting mental peace.

Nature of ingrown toe nail:

There is the latent development of the fungus due to which the edges of the nail on both sides acquire curvy shape and the entire nail looks ugly with abnormal shape. The condition is felt still worsening when the nail edges begin to penetrate into the skin. So, chance is there for the ingrown toenail infection to have its spread on both sides of the edge of the nail.

What causes ingrown toenails?

It may be surprising when one begins to ponder over the causes. It is reliably an accepted report that a person having developed infected toenail is more often than not coupled with insanitary upholding of the foot nails. Another risk factor is the continuance of wearing unmatched shoes as well as dirty socks. The room floor with damp condition also has link with developing ingrown nail problems when it happens to walk on bare foot. These external factors can be controlled to one’s will and pleasure and nail infection can be avoided. But some people claim that there is an uncontrolled factor of heredity in some rare cases for which no evidence is produced sufficiently.

Ways for ingrown toenail relief:

The nail fungus may not cause intolerable pain. However, a mild discomfort with partial nail avulsion at the root or at the tip of the nail may be felt. It may cause discomfort in free walk. Such condition should not be ignored. There are simple and affordable ingrown toenail remedies that can help to do away with the root cause of the infection and thereby eliminate ingrown nail fungus at the beginning itself. If at all the ingrown toenail pain is with intolerable pinching, it is best suggested to consult a podiatrist for treatment. He may take blood sample for tests and cultures. If it is a case of serious infection, x-ray is advised before deciding treatment, of course, with antibiotics. If no step is taken just by tolerating the infected nail and the pain symptoms, there is chance for ingrown toenail removal, partially or totally, using local anesthetics according to the infection level. Prevention steps are taken first and then ingrown toenail treatment is started. These are the gradual steps to completely get rid of toenail fungus.

Another related problem:

One more problem of fungal infection is the appearance of thick nails and crumbles to fall off. With this condition, discolored nails will be the result. Discoloration of the nails is not a magical change in color but it will reflect the damaged condition of the nail.

A final say:

If it is felt that the infection is not so serious to worry, the podiatrist may choose to trim the nail on two corners so that the infection has least chance to spread over. The nail is treated with application of chemical base solutions to keep safe from further infection. If one has faith in ingrown toenail home treatment, the most effective treatment for infected nail is to treat with Vinegar or Listerine.

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