Footfriend - Ingrowing Toenail Treatment
Sometimes referred to as Onychocryptosis, ingrowing toenails can become painful if left untreated. Make an appointment with our chiropodists today.
Diagnosis & Symptoms
This painful problem is diagnosed through careful professional examination in our clinic.
With a true ingrowing toenail, the nail pierces the flesh and becomes embedded in it. These same symptoms can be experienced if your nail is involuted (excessively curved). An involuted nail can progress to become an ingrowing nail as it gets longer.
Pain not associated to injury is the earliest symptom of an ingrowing toenail. You will eventually be restricted to your roomiest or opened toed shoes due to the pain, as it can be very intense. Sufferers also typically report that they cannot even bear the weight of their duvet in bed on the toe affected.
If the nail pierces the flesh near the tip of your toe a pus filled blister may develop. This can be visible as a greenish yellow area immediately adjacent to the nail. The toe may also bocome red, hot and swollen.
Sometimes hypergranulation tissue forms down the side of the nail. This is where the nail has pierced the skin and your body tries to heal the pierced area, producing extra tissue which is usually reddish and wet. It can weep and sometimes bleeds if disturbed.
Typical Causes
Ingrowing toenails are often due to poor nail cutting.
They may also develop due to trauma at the site – either a single incident or due to repeated trauma such as playing football or repeated pressure from a tight shoe.
They can often appear to develop spontaneously, which may happen if the nail is very wide or involuted.
Picking at nails or pulling skin down the side of the nail can also lead to an ingrowing toenail.
Types of Ingrowing Toenail Treatment
If caught very early, a simple clinic appointment can solve this problem.
If not caught early enough, nail surgery using local anaesthetic is the only answer to this painful problem.
Patient Stories
I first visited Footfriend eight years ago when I needed urgent attention for an ingrowing toenail, which was so bad, it was constantly bleeding. I received an emergency same day appointment and received attention, which gave me immense pain relief. I returned a few days later and on removal of the dressing all was back to normal. I now visit Footfriend every six weeks for continued professional maintenance of my feet, which I have never regretted. During all these years I have a couple of toes which from time to time ingrow and create discomfort but because of having the regular attention Damian is excellent in knowing my problems and treating them accordingly. Regular attention to my feet certainly works for me and I wouldn’t go without it and I recommend Footfriend extremely highly to anyone who encounters similar problems or just requires simple foot maintenance. Its well worth it.”
B.Valentine, Beverley
How we can help
- We can often provide immediate relief with professional treatment in clinic.
- We do need to see your problem face to face in order to provide this treatment.
- If the problem has progressed too far, we will assess you for nail surgery which is a common procedure available in our clinic at your initial consultation.
- We will then arrange your nail surgery appointment as soon as possible, at a time and date to suit you.
- Prompt action is needed to solve this problem to minimise infection risk.
To solve your painful ingrowing nail problem, please book an appointment at our Beverley Clinic; serving Beverley, Hull and surrounding villages.
