Ingrown toenail: causes and solutions

An ingrown toenail almost always starts the same way: a small edge pricking into the skin, usually on the big toe. If it stays there, the skin becomes red, swollen and tender, and inflammation can follow. Acting early saves a lot of trouble.

1. How it happens

The most common cause is the way the nail is cut. Cutting away or rounding the corners leaves a spike that dives into the skin as it grows out. Cutting too short does the same.

Tight shoes also play a part, and sometimes the shape of the nail itself: some nails curve strongly by nature, bending the edges inwards.

2. The first signs

A tender nail edge, a red rim of skin, pain when you press sideways on it or pull on a sock. At that stage it can usually be solved in one treatment.

If it continues, the skin swells and sometimes tissue grows over it. From that point recovery takes longer.

• Cut straight, do not round the corners
• Do not cut shorter than the toe tip
• Choose shoes with enough toe room
• With pus or fever: see your GP

3. What the pedicurist does

Patty frees the nail edge and removes what is pressing into the skin. The edge is then finished smoothly, so no spike is left behind to grow in again.

The relief is often immediate. For a nail that keeps returning, a shorter treatment interval can help, so the edge never gets long enough to grow in.

4. Cutting properly yourself

Cut straight across, no shorter than the tip of the toe, and do not round off the corners. File the sharp edges smooth afterwards so nothing can prick the skin.

Cut after showering, when the nail is a little softer. Use nail clippers or nippers with a straight cutting edge, not scissors.

5. When to see your GP

With pus, throbbing pain, persistent redness that spreads or fever, there is inflammation. That belongs with your GP and not with the pedicurist.

Patty will say honestly when that is the case. She does not treat what she should not treat, and that is exactly what you should expect from a good pedicurist.

In practice this subject belongs with callus removal and corn treatment. There you can read how Patty works, or you can request an appointment straight away.

Further reading: medical pedicure in Wognum, standard treatment in Berkhout, medical pedicure in Berkhout.

Frequently asked questions