Ingrown toenails

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What is an Ingrown toe nail aka Onychocryptosis?

It occurs when part of the nail penetrates/brakes the skin. As your skin acts as a protective barrier to the inside of your body, this can allow bacteria that naturally grows on the skin to enter the site and lead to infections. 

An ingrown toenail is usually painful and does not resolve by time. 

Signs of an ingrown nail include:

1. Heat
2. Redness
3. Swelling
4. Pain with direct pressure and in footwear. 
5. Exudate / puss

Note: an ingrown toe nail does not only occur in the big toe, it can affect the lesser toes as well.

Management options at Foot Health Podiatry:

• Offending nail spike: on the day our expert and highly trained podiatrists will aim to remove the offending nail spike which often continues to drive the pain and the infection.
• You will be provided with advice on management at home until full resolution.
• You may be referred to your GP for antibiotics prescription.
• Education will be provided to you on how to prevent the recurrence of  this. 
• Nail surgery may be recommend as a last resort.