Fix Ingrown Toenails Quickly and Easily
Ingrown toenails can be extremely annoying and very painful. If left untreated, ingrown toenails can become infected and ooze a gross puss like substance that will need an antibiotic to clear up. Before you get to this point, understand that there are ways to quickly and easily relieve ingrown toenails and the pain they cause. Read on for more information on caring for and fixing ingrown toenails. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Soak your feet in a foot bath with medium hot water and Epsom salt. Hot water and Epsom salt work to soften the toes and nails and clean out any dirt or debris under the toenail skin. Epsom salt is also great for relieve pain and helping to prevent infection. Soak feet in the foot bath for about 15-20 minutes until the skin on your toes and feet begins to prune a little. This means that your toenail and the skin around it will be easier to access for removing the ingrown nail.
2. Clip nails straight across using large, heavy duty toenail clippers. Do not clip the sides of the toenail as it can create more problems with ingrown nails later. Instead clip each toenail straight across and file down jagged edges. On big toes, where ingrown toenails usually occur, clip a small angled piece into the side of the ingrown nail. Pull that nail out to expose a small area of skin on the toe. You will be able to see where the toenail has grown into the skin so that you can easily pull it out and remove it.
3. Dig the ingrown toenail out with a heavy duty nail file or file that's built into the toenail clippers. This is going to be a bit painful, but do the best you can. It's worth the pain to get this ingrown toenail out of the skin it's in. Once the toe nail has been dug out and you can see an end to it, clip it with the nail clippers or small nail scissors. You want to be sure you have cut the sharp piece of nail off completely that was embedded into your toe's skin to prevent it from growing back into the skin.
4. Cut a 'V' into the side of the toenail that is opposite from where the ingrown toenail was. Use one side of the nail clippers to create the first angle to the 'V', then flip the clippers the other way to make the angle for the other side of the 'V'. Be sure to do this on the opposite side from where you had the ingrown toenail. For instance, if the ingrown nail was on the right side of your toe, cut the 'V' into the left side of the toenail. Leave a small amount of room between the very end of the toenail and the 'V'. Cutting a 'V' in the opposite side encourages the ingrown toenail to grow out away from skin toward the 'V' opening to close the 'V'.
5. Keep an eye on the ingrown toenail for a few days. Chances are, the ingrown nail will not grow back in right away, but unfortunately, unless you have the nail surgically removed or cared for by a podiatrist, the ingrown toenail can occur again. Once you get ingrown toenails, your chances for getting them again are pretty prevalent. However, if you dig them out enough, you may be able to condition the toenail to grow away from skin and into a normal direction. Just keep an eye on the ingrown nail to be sure that no infection occurs and that it has indeed been removed completely.
Tags: ingrown toenail, ingrown nail, Epsom salt, ingrown toenails, toenail skin, where ingrown
