Painful ingrown toenails can often be avoided by addressing some fairly common sense issues that often lead to this annoying and debilitating condition.
Avoid toe injuries—Injuring your toes by dropping something heavy on your foot or by stubbing your toe can cause an ingrown toenail to develop. Keep your feet protected with supportive shoes that have steel toes if necessary.
Use proper toenail cutting technique—Ingrown toenails often get started due to improper nail cutting. Always make sure to cut your toenails straight across and not too short. This will help to prevent the sharp edge of the nails from coming into contact with the tender skin on the edge of your toes.
Wear properly-fitted shoes with a wide toebox—Avoid wearing high-heeled shoes that push your toes together. Choose wider shoes that don’t constrict your toes to help prevent the conditions that can cause a toenail to grow into your skin.
Check for overpronation problems—Overpronation is a gait abnormality that causes your foot to roll inward putting excess pressure on the side of your foot and contributing to ingrown toenail problems. Your foot doctor can diagnose overpronation problems with a computerized gait analysis.
If you need help treating painful ingrown toenails, see your foot doctor for an evaluation. Dr. Scott Nelson of Foot and Ankle Medical Clinic in Garland, TX (in the county of Dallas), is a board-certified and highly experienced podiatrist who has helped people suffering from all types of foot and ankle injuries and deformities. From bunions, to diabetic foot problems, sports injuries and fungal nails, you can trust that Dr. Nelson and his staff are wholeheartedly devoted to your foot health. Please contact our office with any questions you may have or to schedule an appointment by calling 972-414-9800.
