Ingrown toenails Gatineau

Treatment of painful nails that injure the surrounding skin

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Ingrown toenail

What is an ingrown toenail? An ingrown toenail, or onychocryptosis, is a condition that occurs when part of a nail injures the surrounding skin. This problem particularly affects the big toe. The digging of the nail into the skin creates swelling and redness. When left untreated, the ingrown toenail can become infected or lead to the formation of a granuloma, increasing pain. Thanks to several highly effective treatment methods from your team at Médecine podiatrique du Plateau, you have options to fix your ingrown problems.

How to recognize it? An ingrown toenail is a common toe problem. When this happens, the nail irritates the skin and can puncture it, allowing bacteria to enter the flesh. If one or more of your toes have any of the following signs, you may have an ingrown toenail:

Redness
Swelling
Pus
Pain

If you think you have this problem, make an appointment with one of our podiatrists to get appropriate treatment.

Prevention

Cut your nails in a straight line, that is, do not round the corners.
Wear shoes that are the right size for the shape of your foot (length, width, thickness in the toe region).
Get treatment for injured nails.
Consult your podiatrist for toe deviations that may cause impingement with shoes or other toes.

Home treatments for nail pain

– Wear wide shoes or sandals.
– Avoid shoes that compress the toes.
– Soak your toe in warm water with Epsom salt.

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Treatments

Podiatric foot care

A professional nail care at your podiatrist’s office is the basic treatment for ingrown toenail relief. Your podiatrist, after assessing the condition of your feet, will be able to clear the edges of your nails. Beyond the trimming of nails, the care includes the treatment of your toenail edges with different specialized instruments such as the burr. This rotary tool helps reduce callus buildup along the nail edges. Foot care at your podiatrist’s allows, among other things, to:

receive treatment based on your health condition
benefit from the use of specialized and sterilized instruments adapted to your condition
have assurance of the sterility of the instruments used
benefit from all the services in one place, ranging from routine care to minor surgical intervention to eliminate the ingrown toenail permanently.

Digital orthotics and adapted shoes

Your podiatrist’s examination will determine if factors such as deformities in your toes or feet or inadequate shoes are contributing to the problem. For example, your podiatrist might suggest toe separators to reduce the pressure between two neighbouring toes that leads to an ingrown toenail.

Ingrown toenail surgery

A surgical procedure called partial onycectomy, or matricectomy, is often the most practical solution to overcome a stubborn ingrown toenail or a severe ingrown toenail. After explaining the procedure to you, your podiatrist will numb your toe by injecting an anesthetic. Next, a strip a few millimeters wide is cut from the sides of the affected nail. Then, a medication is applied to the nail matrix (the root) to prevent regrowth there. Finally, your podiatrist cleans the surgical site and applies a suitable dressing. The local anesthetic which numbs your toe lasts for a few hours. When the anesthesia starts to fade, you may feel tingling. This procedure will solve your ingrown toenail problem in an aesthetic and lasting way. You will have some instructions to follow to ensure healing, such as the application of certain dressings and medications. The practice of physical activities and the wearing of certain shoes will be restricted in the first phase of healing in order to speed up your recovery. Your podiatrist will explain the procedure to you and give you written advice.