Do you find yourself having to manage the pain from ingrown toenails? Although it may not seem like a big deal, ingrown toenails can prevent your toenail from healing properly—potentially leading to a more serious issue. Dr. Zahid Ladha with Foot First Podiatry in New Albany, IN, has shared a few ways in which you can prevent ingrown toenails.
Understanding Ingrown Toenails
An ingrown toenail develops when the edge of your toenail grows into the skin of your toe. Ingrown toenails commonly result in pain, swelling, and redness, typically on the big toe. More often than not, causes behind experiencing an ingrown toenail include:
- damage (e.g. stubbing your toe)
- wearing improper footwear (i.e. shoes that are too tight)
- trimming your toenails too short
- cutting your toenails at an angle, rather than straight across
Key Steps To Preventing Ingrown Toenails
One crucial aspect of maintaining nail hygiene includes trimming your nails, but with the proper technique. When aiming to prevent an ingrown toenail in New Albany, IN, you should ensure that you are:
- cutting the nail straight across,
- keeping the nail level with the tips of your toes
- not cutting the edge of the nail to be shorter than the rest of your toenail
Other ways to prevent ingrown toenails include:
- wearing shoes that aren't too tight—you should have enough space between the tips of your toes and front edge of your shoe to wiggle your toes. If you can't wiggle your toes, your shoes are too tie, which puts pressure on your toenails and can lead to ingrown toenails.
- soak your feet in warm water for 10-20 minutes—before trimming your toenails at home, soaking your feet helps to soften the nail before cutting them.
Knowing When It's Time To Seek Help From Your Podiatrist
If you have diabetes, nerve issues in your legs or feet, or poor blood circulation in your feet, you should be checking your feet regularly for any signs of ingrown toenails. If you have an ingrown toenail or an infection around your toenail, do not try to treat it by yourself at home and schedule an appointment with Dr. Ladha right away.
In cases where you attempted to treat your ingrown toenail at-home and it's not improving, healing incorrectly, or you have severe pain and swelling, Foot First Podiatry encourages you to visit with us. For additional questions on how to prevent an ingrown toenail in New Albany, IN, or to schedule an appointment, give our office a call at (812) 945-9221, today.