Ingrown toenails can get really painful, really fast. So much so, that I know many patients will avoid calling Lexington Podiatry because they fear the treatment will be even worse. But I’m here to assure you that it’s not. In fact, we can usually have your painful toe feeling ten times better before you even leave the office. Isn’t that worth the risk?
An ingrown toenail happens when the outer corner of the toenail, usually on the big toe, cuts into the skin as it grows. If left untreated, that part of the toe can become inflamed, start leaking nasty fluid, and even get infected.
It’s a condition that is frequently ignored until it becomes painful to put on shoes. That might be easy to deal with in the summertime when flip flops abound, but who wants to look at your red, leaky, infected toe all summer?
Instead, call for an appointment and we’ll make every effort to get you right in, because we know how much ingrown toenails can hurt. We will numb your toe first before we do anything, and once you can’t feel a thing, we’ll gently trim the nail so it is no longer cutting into your toe. In some persistent cases, we might even trim it down to the cuticle, but you won’t be able to tell and it won’t hurt because your toe will be numb. I promise.
There are a couple of things that can lead to ingrown toenails, like tight shoes that push the toes together, cutting your toenails on a curve, keeping toenails too short, and even some types of injuries that change the way the toenail grows.
If you have diabetes, circulation problems or are on chemotherapy and get an ingrown toenail, call the office right away. These can interfere with your body’s ability to heal itself, and we need to take care of it before your toe becomes infected.
So if you are suffering from an ingrown toenail, be a big boy (or girl) and give us a call. We’ll give you a sticker when you’re all done!