Ingrown Nail

What is it?

A nail becomes "ingrown" when the edge of a fingernail or toenail grows into the skin next to it. The big toe is the most common place to develop an ingrown nail.

What causes an ingrown nail?

• Tight fitting shoes or socks.

  This includes wearing pointed toe, high-heeled shoes or shoes that crowd or put pressure on the toes. This also includes tight-fitting hose or socks that push the toenails into the toes.

• Trimming your nails wrong.

  You can cause ingrown nails by trimming your nails too short or by rounding the edges.

  Home Care Foot Care Correct and Incorrect Way to Trim Toenails

  Picture of correct and incorrect way to trim toenails

• Injury.

  You may get ingrown toenails from doing a sport or activity that jams the toes into your shoes. You may get them from stubbing your toes or from tearing your nails.

• The way your nails naturally grow.

  People with very curved or thick nails have more problems with ingrown nails. People whose skin on the sides of the nail naturally overgrows get ingrown nails more often.

• Other factors.

  People whose feet sweat a lot, who are overweight, or who have poor hygiene may get ingrown nails. Poor hygiene (HI-jeen) means not keeping your nails clean, dry, and trimmed properly.

What are the signs and symptoms of an ingrown nail?

Skin near the nail may feel tender and look red and swollen as the nail pushes on the skin. Once the nail pokes through the skin, the skin will look redder and more swollen. You may feel a sharp pain that is worse when walking. With time, the skin will grow over the nail. It may also cause yellow drainage come from the nail. This may mean you have an infection (in-FECK-shun).

How is an ingrown nail treated?

• A nail that has not been ingrown for long may be lifted out and away from the skin. The nail should be soaked in warm water first. Then a small piece of cotton or gauze can be wedged under the corner of the nail. If your nail is infected or your ingrown nail keeps coming back, see a caregiver. You may need surgery.

• If you have diabetes (di-uh-BE-tees), do not try to treat an ingrown nail by yourself. Always call your caregiver first. Do not treat an ingrown nail without a caregiver's help if you have certain long-term health problems. This includes people with immune (ih-MEWN) problems (your body cannot fight infections very well). This also includes people whose hands or feet have numbness or poor circulation (low blood flow).

What type of surgery can be done to treat an ingrown nail?

• Many types of surgeries can be done to treat an ingrown nail. Often, a caregiver will cut and remove a small section from the side of your nail. The section of nail is cut from the side of the fingernail or toenail that is ingrown.

• Your caregiver may also do a procedure called a matricectomy (ma-trih-SEK-tuh-me). During this procedure, the caregiver destroys part of the nail matrix. Your nail matrix is the "root" of your nail (area that your nail grows from). You can see the top part of your nail matrix by looking at your fingernail. The matrix is the pale or white color at the base of your nail. Most of the matrix cannot be seen because it lies underneath the skin. A matricectomy causes a small section of the side of your nail to stop growing. You may continue to have problems with a recurring (keeps coming back) ingrown nail or bad infection. If this happens, your caregiver may need to remove your entire nail to stop the ingrown nail problem.