just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Sorry to BORE yall with this question.
Just needed to KNOW "IF" there are ANY home remedies for an ingrown toe nail. Seems I am blessed with this.
I doubt it is lyme related BUT I do seem to get alot of them lately!!
Are toe nail conditions a sx of bart??
I am always getting my toes stepped on,one way or another,,,maybe I need toe reduction surgery!!LOL.
It doesnt hurt to walk flat so much, then I step on something and roll my foot forward and yeowch.
Maybe I NEED new shoes,,,they always get too TIGHT!!Specially in the toe department!! Course the inserts inside dont help any!!remaining--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
My daughter has had to go and have the sides of her toenails removed due to ingrown toenails.
I'm not sure what contributes to it. She has a foot phobia, so she keeps socks on 24/7. I'm sure it chaps her that I walk around barefoot
This is what we used to do. Soak your foot in warm water 2-3 times a day.
When you can get that skin good and soft around the nail, see if you can get a tiny bit of cotton ball under the nail at the corners.
That should help lift it up and out as it grows.
The podiatrist also had my daughter soak cotton balls with epsom salt water solution and put those on her toes several times a day. It has a drawing affect.
Hope this helps. Otherwise, like my daughter, her toe got seriously infected. Just taking antibiotics doesn't cut it, you have to have the nail removed to allow drainage.
map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
just don, I remember how painful in grown toe nails were. About 20 yrs ago both my big toes were in-grown. At that time I worked on my feet and walking all the time. I couldn't wear flip flops to work. lol
I had the foot specialist finally do his thing and cut out the sides on both. One foot at a time. Oh my gosh. Not fun at all.
One toe healed and hasn't bothered me since. In fact that toe nail had some type of fungus in it for 25 yrs. That fungus has now disappeared in the last 3 years. It's white and healthy.
The other big toe, everyone makes fun of my toe. After the doc cut out the sides of the nail and it grew right back into the skin. More pain. I went back to foot doc and asked him to cut out the sides again. He laughed at me. Nicely of course.
The only choice was removal and deadening the entire nail growing. My big toe might be funny looking, but it doesn't cause me pain any more.
I'm a female and I like to wear sandles, flip flops and sometimes have nice looking toes like other females.
People who didn't know me would look at my feet and want to ask me if I knew my big toe wasn't so pretty. I started using a band-aid on that toe during the summer months, if I went out in public.
Last summer I discovered I can paint all my toe nails. I just put the nail polish on the skin of my big toe and form a fake toenail. Of course, it's a lot more trouble than the other toes. lol
I know you're not worried about your pretty toes. You are worried about pain. Just go to a foot doc and have him do his thing. It is well worth it.
I wear flip flops and sandles or regular shoes and am pain-free in the toes. Well except when I'm herxing and hurting from head to toe, including my all fingernails and all toe nails.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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If I use the small clippers for my toe nails I will get in grown toe nails on my big toes. But if I remember and use the larger ones made for toes then I never have any trouble. Hope this helps.
My son in law recently had the sides removed from his big toe because he would get in grown nails. He seems very happy with the surgery and has had no problems since.
posted
Here's an alternative treatment for you.
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luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
This is what I do and it works for me.
Cut your toe nails in a V shape. That takes the pressure off the sides of the nails.
Good luck.
Luvs
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Wow! Something I do everyday....... . You have been given some great suggestions thus far. First of all, is this a chronic thing, or has it been recent?
You mentioned orthotics of some sort......do you wear them with every pair of shoes that you wear? This CAN cause ingrowns because it raises the toes up and sometimes forward in the shoes, causing unnecessary pressure, which leads to ingrowns.
Per the suggestions you have been given thus far, they all can help. You can soak your foot in water to soften the nail and surrounding tissue; you can also add epsom salt. After the tissue has softened enough, you can place SMALL pieces of cotton under the nail in the affected area to raise it up off the skin (but make sure that there isn't any "toe jam" in there before you do this because then all you will be doing is shoving that further back). For some people, cutting a V in the center of the nail really does help long term. Also, as someone suggested making a compress with epsom salt and putting it on there a few times a day can help with the inflammation.
Is the surrounding skin infected? Is it pussy? (sorry for those of you who are picturing all kinds of grotesque things).
Ultimately, IF there is a portion of nail in there, you are going to have to get it out or it will continue to grow down in and if it isn't infected now, it will get that way in time. You can use a pair of cuticle nippers (this is a tool that we use that is available anywhere; it has an angled head on it with a straight cutting blade that is available in a full, half or quarter jaw. Half is okay, but quarter-jaw nippers are better because the cutting blade is smaller) and cut it out carefully after you have soaked your nail and it is soft.
If it is severe, you will have to have it removed by a doctor; unfortunately infected tissue doesn't deaden well (if at all in some cases), and for no longer than it takes to remove the ingrown nail I wouldn't want it deadened anyway because it can be pretty painful.
For future reference to everyone, they make a toenail clipper that has a straight edge (not angled or U shaped) that works MUCH better and is much safer than using the traditional toenail clipper. They used to be hard to find but not so much anymore.......
-------------------- TL Posts: 365 | From OK | Registered: Jul 2007
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I don't remember who taught this to me, but it has worked every time I or one of my family members began to feel the pain/irritation of an ingrown nail coming on. I've never had one in advanced stages, so I don't know how it'll work on them.
Here it is:
Take a pocket knife and shave the middle of your toe nail from the base to the end a bit ... making the middle of your toe nail just a bit softer than the sides. (You shouldn't do enough to be noticeable ... just slightly.) Usually within a day (or two), the redness/irritation/pain goes away.
Then, just be sure to wear the correct shoes, clip them correctly, etc.
Thanks! Michelle
Posts: 65 | From Burbank, CA (recent) from Midwest | Registered: Apr 2007
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just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Thanks for the great replies.
I always heard you get them from incorrect clipping. I am lucky to get them clipped at all,,,its getting to be a bigger challenge each passing year.
I used to think older people going to the foot doctor to get their nails clipped was silly,,,I will be one of them sooner than later!!
Funny thing is today its all gone,cant feel where it was,,,do these things come and go?? Maybe caused by wearing thicker 'thermal' socks in winter time??wonders--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
this picture was taken at an Ingrown Toenails Anonymous Meeting.
Step One-Admitted we were powerless over toenails and our feet had become unmanageable.
Step Two-Came to believe that a shoe greater than our foot could restore us to sanity.
Step Three- Made a decision to turn our toes and our money over to the care of a podiatrist.
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
The toenail I lost was a injured toenail from dropping a soup can on my toe and the nail died. When it grew back it was a sick nail.
The fungus in my large toenails? I was given the option of taking a rx forever and a day to kill the fungus. I opted out.
Seems like I killed the fungus without even trying after 5 yrs of doing other things to kill unknown toxins in my body. Interesting?
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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. You have been given some great suggestions thus far. First of all, is this a chronic thing, or has it been recent?
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