Is your ingrown nail a real nuisance or is it just too painful to handle anymore? Drs. Eric Silvers, Dustin Lloyd and Christopher Witt of Advanced Foot & Ankle Center in McKinney and Prosper, TX, can help you!

Ingrown toenails are when your toenails perforates skin in the corners, or sides of your feet. They may be hard, swollen, and tender in the beginning, eventually causing an infection if not taken care of immediately.

Your toes may also become:

• Sore
• Red
• Infected
• Skin may start growing over the ingrown toenail

There are several things that may lead to ingrown toenails, such as someone not trimming toenails properly, like too short, especially the big toes, wearing shoes that are too tight or short, resulting in crowded toes, repeated trauma or injury to your feet, or fungus infections. Ingrown nails may be simply heredity, or due to poor foot structure.

Treatment:

Treating ingrown toenails can be a simple fix. Try wearing shoes that give your toes more space to move. Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic if there is an infection, but soaking the foot in warm and soapy water several times a day and keeping your feet clean may resolve the issue. If your ingrown toenail is causing an acute infection, the surgical removal of part of the ingrown toenail may be needed. The procedure is known as partial nail plate avulsion. Your doctor will inject your toenail with an anesthetic and cut out the ingrown section.

If you are dealing with an ingrown toenail, make sure to contact one of your foot doctors, Drs. Eric Silvers, Dustin Lloyd and Christopher Witt of Advanced Foot & Ankle Center in McKinney and Prosper, TX for help.