One of the most common problems seen by Dr. Ronald Douglas at A Home of Happy Feet in Spokane Washington are painful ingrown toenails.
Very often a patient will call first thing in the morning after being awake most of the night with the pain from the ingrown toenail. Sometimes they report drainage or redness that may indicate an infection. We make every effort to see the patient that day to relieve their pain and treat the infection. Others have suffered for weeks, trying soaks and other home remedies without success. I tell patients most ingrown toenails are like splinters of wood in you skin. As long as the splinter is in your skin, it will be painful, red and swollen. Once the splinter is removed, the skin usually heals. Similarly, most ingrown toenails will not get better until the “splinter” or ingrown portion of the toenail is removed. In mild cases of ingrown toenails, Dr. Douglas may be able to simply trim out the ingrown portion of the toenail. More often, the ingrown toenail is painful enough that a local anesthetic is given at the base of the toe before the ingrown portion of the toenail is removed. In general, this procedure will relieve the patient’s pain and reduce the redness and swelling.
Unfortunately, as the removed “splinter” of toenail grows back, the same problem can happen again. If the ingrown toenail becomes chronic, an office procedure can remove the ingrown portion of the toenail permanently, without disturbing the rest of the toenail.
If you suffer from painful ingrown toenails please call the office for an appointment at 509-838-2929
For more information about ingrown toenails, check the link below to the American Podiatric Medical Association Website:
Good post!