How To Treat Ingrown Toenails At Home

Ingrown toenails cause pain and redness on the side of your toenail, where the nail has started growing into the skin. This can make it uncomfortable or painful to walk, wear shoes, or even feel the pressure of a bed sheet on your toe. While we see many people for their ingrown toenails every week, if your ingrown nail has just started and isn’t too bad yet, or if you can’t get to your podiatrist, being able to try to relieve the pain from your ingrown toenail at home can be extremely helpful. Here’s what you should do.

First: How Do I Know If I Have An Ingrown Toenail?

You have an ingrown toenail when part of your toenail pierces the surrounding skin and grows inwards. It’s much like having a splinter on one side of your toe, except that the ingrown nail edge is usually difficult to see, access and remove. Ingrown nails often carry a few telltale symptoms:

• Some swelling and redness on the affected side of the toe (this is usually very isolated to down the side of the toenail)
• Pain when pressing down onto the side of your toe and nail. Your shoes can create the same effect.
• As a result of the ingrown nail pain, walking and playing sports can become painful, limiting your daily activities and affecting your quality of life
• As an ingrown toenail is an open wound, it may bleed and be vulnerable to infection. Infected ingrown toenails may ooze cloudy yellowish discharge.

Ingrown toenails may occur on one or both sides of the toenail. 97% of ingrown toenails that our podiatrists see are at the big toe, but ingrown nails can affect any of the toes. They also don’t discriminate between adults and kids.

Why Did I Get An Ingrown Nail In The First Place?

The most common causes of ingrown nails that we see include:

• An improper nail cutting technique: toenails should be trimmed in a clean line that matches the natural nail shape, with no fraying, split edges or curving down the sides of the nails. When nails are rounded deep down the sides of the nail, and if frayed edges are left behind, they may pierce the surrounding skin and cause an ingrown nail.
• Pulling or picking the nails: pulling the nail and ripping it off often leaves a sharp nail spicule deep down at the nail edge. In most people, you won’t be able to see it or know it’s happened - until your nail pierces the skin, causing an ingrown toenail.
• Tight footwear: wearing shoes that are tight, narrow or pointed can create pressure on the sides of the toes that can push the nail into the surrounding skin. 
• Kicking sports, like soccer, repeatedly expose the side of the toe to impact and encourage the nail to press against the skin.

The shape of the toenail can also play a role, especially where the nail is particularly involuted or curved. This is often linked to uncontrollable genetic factors that dictate the features and shape of the nail.

Home Remedies For Ingrown Toenails

Many people try treating their ingrown toenails at home by:

• Soaking their feet in warm salty water or Epsom baths. Soaking your foot and affected nails can help reduce your swelling and tenderness, so it’s not a bad idea. If you’re going to do it, dilute one litre of water with one tablespoon of salt, and soak the affected foot for 10-15 minutes.
• Switching to open-toed shoes and avoiding footwear that will squeeze in or rub against the sore toe
• Using non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like Neurofen, if it’s suitable for you. This will mask your symptoms for a few hours to help you get some relief.

The thing about the above treatments is that they can work well to give you temporary relief from your symptoms, but they don’t fix the underlying problem. And that’s the sharp nail spicule that has pierced your skin down the side of your nail.

How To Fix An Ingrown Toenail At Home

If your ingrown toenail is mild or you can see exactly where the nail has pierced the skin, managing your toenails at home starts with the right tools. This is what you need:

1. Gehwol Nail Softener
   Nail softener helps make your toenail softer and more pliable, reducing the pressure on your nail bed and making it easier to gently lift the nail corner away from the skin to access the ingrown nail edge. Apply a small amount directly to the affected area and allow it to absorb. 
2. Toenail Clippers
   These should be sharp, medical-grade nail clippers that you’ll then use to trim the nail and help clear the ingrown toenail. Remember to avoid cutting down into areas you can’t see.
3. Crystaderm Antiseptic Cream
   Crystaderm is an antiseptic that helps prevent infection, especially if you’ve just removed an ingrown nail edge and have an ‘opening’ in the skin that has yet to heal. It protects the affected area and promotes healing by creating a protective barrier against bacteria. Apply a small amount to the ingrown area before covering it with a dressing.
4. Mepore Island Dressing
   After the antiseptic, apply your dressing to protect the area. We love the Mepore dressings as they provide a sterile barrier while allowing airflow, which helps the wound heal without becoming too moist or irritated. Place the dressing over the affected area after cleansing and securing it with gentle pressure. The adhesive design ensures it stays in place, minimising friction and protecting the area as it heals. 
5. Mefix Self Adhesive Tape
   Self-adhesive tape will secure your dressing so your toe stays protected all day. This particular tape is hypoallergenic, so it won’t irritate your skin. Wrap the tape around your toe, keeping the dressing fixed in place without making it too tight. It’ll also help stop the dressing from slipping or bunching up so your toe continues to heal well.

To make it easy, we’ve bundled all of these products into an ingrown nail treatment pack.

What If My Ingrown Nail Is Deep, Severe, Infected Or Too Painful?

Then it’s time to see your podiatrist. We successfully treat ingrown toenails in two key ways: conservatively or surgically.

One-off ingrown nail care (non-surgical)

Our conservative nail care appointments are non-surgical in nature and are a good option for those who are experiencing an ingrown toenail for the first time, or where the cause is a one-off and is unlikely to recur in the future. During this appointment, we remove the offending nail spicule. We dress the toe and give you advice on footwear, particularly where your shoes are likely to have contributed to the development of your ingrown nail. We’ll also discuss the best-practice principles of nail cutting to help the problem from happening again.

Minor nail surgery

For those who have had an ingrown toenail before and where the ingrown nail is likely to continue to recur, a minor ingrown nail surgery is usually the preferred option because it’s a permanent fix for ingrown nails. The procedure is called a partial nail avulsion (PNA), and we complete it using local anaesthetic, making it painless. 

Have questions about treating ingrown toenails? Get in touch with our team, or if you need help with your ingrown nail, book your appointment online.