The problem of ingrown nails is faced by many people, especially this situation is familiar to women. As you know, beauty requires sacrifice. This statement fits very well with the topic of our material. Wearing synthetic woven clothing and narrow, uncomfortable shoes often lead to an ailment. Most often, an ingrown nail on the thumb is observed. If you do not take care of the treatment in time, in addition to the aesthetic flaw, the patient will suffer severe pain. Therefore, it is very important to conduct quality therapy. We will talk about how to treat ingrown toenails at home in this article.
The concept
First of all, you need to understand the meaning of the term. Onychocryptosis (this is what this problem is called in medicine) is a disease characterized by the ingrowth of the nail plate into the side of the roller. Simply put, the edge of the nail grows into the skin, while soft tissue inflammation, pain, swelling, redness and discomfort are detected. As already noted, the thumb is most often affected. Significantly less often the disease occurs on other fingers. Usually one side of the leg suffers, sometimes both are damaged at once.
Contrary to the current opinion, the problem of ingrown toenails is very serious, so you can not treat it negligently. First of all, you need to contact a specialist in a timely manner. Otherwise, additional unpleasant symptoms appear. For example, the skin around the nail swells, pus appears at the site of ingrowth, blood flows from the tumor. Agree, this prospect is not happy. The finger significantly increases in size, changes color to bright red, festers and is very sore. When walking, discomfort and inconvenience are felt. The question arises: what to do if the nail has grown into a finger? You need to make an appointment with a doctor in a timely manner. Ignoring the symptoms will lead to complications and negative consequences.
Causes of pathology
There are quite a few reasons for this situation. In the framework of this material, we consider only the main ones:
- Incorrect pedicure. When cutting nails at home, you need to follow a number of rules. For example, you can’t cut off the edges too much, because the likelihood of a disease increases. It is recommended to cut nails after bathing procedures using rounded scissors, and then file them with a nail file.
- Heredity. Oddly enough, the problem of ingrown nails is often transmitted from the older generation to the younger. If the disease is present in the immediate family, do not be surprised to find a disease in yourself. The patient can only carefully monitor their health, not forgetting the preventive measures.
- Fungal infection. An ingrown toenail may be a consequence of this virus. Usually in this situation, the nail plate is overgrown with several layers and becomes yellow. The best cure for infection is compliance with hygiene rules.
- Tight shoes. If you feel uncomfortable and the shoes are squeezing your foot in the area of ​​your fingertips, a disease may occur. Choose comfortable shoes to avoid unpleasant consequences.
The problem is that the nail has grown in the toe, is easily solved. But there is one condition: it is necessary to prevent the development of the disease in a timely manner. To do this, you should know the symptoms, which we will discuss below.
Signs
Even in the absence of pain, the patient can determine this disease in himself. To do this is quite simple, you only need to know the symptoms:
- Thickening of the nail roller. The inner side most often suffers, with a certain pressure on it, the nail bites into the skin, that is, it grows. The body gives a protective reaction, which consists in enhanced granulation of tissues, "wild meat" is formed.
- Deformation of the nail plates, their thickening. It is expressed in the appearance of a ribbed surface, point depressions, etc.
- The color of the ingrown toenail changes. Due to the fact that the plate thickens and the density of the nail is deformed, it acquires a yellowish tint. In rare cases, a white color appears, but at the same time transparency remains.
- Painful redness appears at the site of ingrowth.
- If the situation is running, suppuration may be detected with the formation of a yellowish liquid.
- Pain syndrome. It is observed in almost all cases, it is especially pronounced when wearing uncomfortable shoes.
The above signs directly indicate the disease in question. As already noted, ignoring the symptoms is not recommended in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.
The toenail grows: what to do?
In any case, do not self-medicate. Here you need the hand of a professional. The best solution would be to see a doctor. After a visual examination, he will prescribe treatment for the ingrown nail. Make an appointment as early as possible, because this increases the chance of recovery in a short time. If this is not done in a timely manner, serious complications are possible.
Running cases require surgical intervention. Its essence is to remove the incised part of the nail. There are methods for treating ingrown toenail at home. If you want to use them, anyway, contact a specialist for advice. If an infectious disease is suspected, the doctor will advise on how to solve the problem. It is necessary to start treatment immediately, since at the initial stage it is easy to choose therapy and cope with the disease.
General treatment
The first symptoms of the problem are throbbing pain, redness and swelling at the site of the connection of the skin with the nail plate. Many mistakenly believe that cutting off part of the nail will automatically fix the problem. In most cases, with regrowth, a similar situation occurs. An ingrown toenail can be cured only after a correct diagnosis. Then, in each case, the doctor prescribes therapy.
There are several ways to treat an ingrown nail: traditional medicine, surgical intervention and drug therapy. The choice of method remains with the attending physician. Often there are situations when the patient tried to independently cope with the problem for a long time, after which he nevertheless turned to a specialist. Usually this ends poorly: an open wound forms at the sites of ingrowth, and an inflammatory process develops. Fighting an illness of this degree is very difficult. Therefore, it is better not to delay visiting a doctor, because it is about your health.
Home Therapy
It is worth noting that such treatment of an ingrown toenail is relevant exclusively in the initial stages. If complications appeared and a wound opened, you should immediately consult a doctor. We will talk about how to deal with the problem at home.
The aim of therapy is, first of all, the release of the nail plate from under the roller. To achieve the result, you first need to soak the nail in the bath. An excellent option would be to use an antiseptic bath with the addition of chamomile and calendula infusion, the water should be warm. In no case do not put your foot in boiling water, as irritation of the inflamed skin will occur. In addition, suppuration and open small wounds may appear. It is difficult to notice them initially, but when hot water gets in, pus grows and, accordingly, the infection spreads. As for cold baths, they are not recommended due to insufficient softening of the plate. The best temperature is thirty-three degrees.
An interesting fact: if suppuration is detected, it is better to use a hot salt bath. Under this influence, the tissues will contract, thereby exerting natural pressure on the pus, and salt will draw out fluid. After the procedure, the wound must be disinfected. If treatment of an ingrown nail at home has not led to the elimination of suppuration, you should seek the help of a doctor.
Take a bath twice a day for twenty minutes. After that, you need to carefully remove the nail from under the plate, as far as possible. It is possible to start the action only after significant softening of the nail. How to extract it? It is necessary to put a small bundle of cotton wool under the plate, previously moistened with a disinfectant. Hydrogen peroxide and furatsilina solution are perfect. The flagellum should be driven to the maximum, as far as the overgrown part allows. In this case, the patient will feel discomfort and pain, but these feelings should be endured.
On top of the ingrown nail, put the medicine. Take a cotton pad or cheesecloth, soak in a special cream (Vishnevsky’s ointment, Nogtinorm, Levomekol, etc.) and apply. It is recommended to put a fingertip on top of such an application. All these designs need to be changed twice a day after taking baths.
During treatment, you should leave your feet barefoot. If this is not possible, choose the most comfortable shoes. At the same time, one should not strain the foot once more, the legs should be at rest.
The procedure is performed daily until complete recovery. To speed up the process, you can use the file sawing method. This is done as follows: a thin strip is cut out on the thumbnail, to the middle of the plate, you can make one deep cut in the center or a few shallow ones in different places. It is very important not to damage the nail bed. You need to file about one third of the thickness of the plate. As a result of the natural pressure of the nail roller, the plate will compress in the area of ​​the saw, and the nail will come out from under the skin on its own.
Folk remedies
Typically, traditional medicine methods are not able to completely cure the disease, they only drown out the symptoms a little. But if we are talking about ingrown toenails, there is a different situation. Folk recipes help not only get rid of the disease, but also prevent a possible relapse. Consider some of the most effective tools.
First, remember the butter. It is necessary to soften, steam and disinfect the nail, and then apply a small amount of this product. From above, they fix with a gauze bandage and wrap with polyethylene. It is recommended to do this procedure at night. By morning, the skin around the nail will soften significantly, which will easily drive a cotton swab. Butter is a great way to eliminate problems from the start. It has the necessary softening properties, which eliminates the risk of ingrowth.
Another good remedy is aloe pulp. It is necessary to acquire the leaves of the plant and make gruel from them, which is applied to the area of ​​inflammation. To enhance the effect, you can wrap your finger on the inside of the aloe leaf. It is recommended to put a fingertip on top of the entire application. Of course, the procedure is performed on previously steamed and disinfected nails. It is also recommended to use the product at night or in the evening. The goal of treating an ingrown toenail is to soften it. Then the nail can be easily removed from the roller, aloe juice also has a wound healing effect.
Plantain leaf has excellent healing properties. The procedure is the same as with other means. First you need to disinfect and steam the nails, crush the plantain and attach. Top recommends wrapping another sheet of plants, and then gauze. To enhance the effect, put on a fingertip. The procedure is best done at night. In the morning, carefully remove the nail and drive the gauze flagellum.
A few more effective methods of alternative medicine
There are situations when immediate surgical intervention is required, we will talk about them later. But in most cases, the right treatment is needed. There are several effective folk recipes that have proven themselves from the best side:
- A decoction of chamomile or St. John's wort is an excellent solution in the initial stage of the disease. You will need six tablespoons of any of these plants. Pour them with two liters of boiling water and let it brew for an hour. Then you need to strain the broth and heat again. This fluid significantly softens the nail plate. Under its influence, you can easily remove the nail and put a bandage. The treatment is stopped after the plate regains its normal shape.
- Baths with the addition of salt, soda and furatsilina perfectly relieve inflammation and contribute to the release of pus. They must be taken with the expectation of one tablet of the drug per liter of water.
- A good option is to use an ointment from boiled ingredients. To do this, you will need onions, aloe, garlic gruel, butter. We take these products one tablespoon each and add a teaspoon with honey. The mixture needs to be cooked for several minutes, and it is ready for use.
- Pharmaceutical herbs, especially calendula. When preparing a decoction, be guided by the proportions indicated in the first paragraph (chamomile or St. John's wort). We need a concentrated solution for the best effect.
Surgical intervention
You have discovered an ingrown nail. What to do? First of all, consult a specialist for advice. If you ignore this, it may come to surgical treatment. In the case of a small ingrowth, the surgeon removes only part of the nail roller. This operation prevents the manifestation of irritation and inflammation. A few months after the intervention, the nail plate becomes normal.
If during the diagnosis, pus or severe deformation of the plate is observed, the ingrown nail is completely removed. The wound must be cleaned of pus and anesthetizing agent is applied. The doctor every day should change the bandages for a month, until the nail regrowth completely. An operation of this kind is accompanied by a risk of injury to the growth zone of the nail. Then the already grown nail will still have an irregular shape.
Laser therapy
One of the methods of intervention is a laser. The method is quite effective, while at the same time almost painless. The essence of the method is to remove the ingrown part of the plate and the edge of the growth zone of the nail. Intervention involves the neutralization of foci of inflammation, which significantly reduces the risk of relapse. The laser technique is based on removing the edge of the nail located inside the plate, and in the future it no longer grows.
An ingrown nail developing against a background of a fungal infection is also subject to laser treatment. The spores of the fungi of the entire nail plate are sterilized. To strengthen the result, the doctor prescribes medications aimed at combating fungal infections. In addition to the obvious advantages, the technique also has disadvantages. Among them, a burn of tissues around the focus, a slow recovery process and a painful period of wound healing stand out.
Radio wave treatment
This method is one of the types of surgical intervention. Radio wave therapy is carried out only under local anesthesia, often use "Lidocaine". First, with the help of a scalpel, the nail is partially cut from the sides, after which the sprout zone of the nail is treated with certain nozzles of the Surgitron device. In six seconds, tissue coagulation is performed. If the patient exhibits "wild meat" (fleshy tumor-like processes), it is processed by radio waves.
All this is then lubricated with an antiseptic solution, after which a bandage is applied that cannot be removed for four days. The wound during this time is usually healed, the possibility of relapse is minimal. Only in one of the eleven to twelve cases was repeated ingrowth observed. The radio wave technique is good in that it does not limit the patient's life. There is practically no pain, the patient can go to work the next day, but only in comfortable and wide shoes.
Nail correction
Above, we described the treatment of ingrown toenails at home with a sterile fleece. In a medical institution, special brackets are used for these purposes. They are installed over the entire width of the plate. The goal is to adjust the growth of the nail. In modern medicine, there are many types of staples: " Milling cutter", "Goldstat", "Combiped", etc.
They are made of various metals, up to medical gold. Correction of an ingrown nail is an excellent method. Firstly, after installing the brackets, it is not visible at all. Secondly, they give the necessary effect immediately. The nail plate is leveled, the load on the bed is reduced, the nail grows correctly. If the patient has a chronic type of problem, the best solution would be correction with braces.
Prevention
The appearance of the disease can be avoided by using simple recommendations:
- when you visit public places, such as baths and pools, wear appropriate shoes, never use other people's slippers;
- carefully choose shoes, it should be spacious, comfortable and breathable;
- Be sure to follow the rules of personal hygiene;
- the pedicure needs to be done correctly, do not cut off the edges strongly, in extreme cases entrust it to a professional.
When cutting nails, you need to use scissors with sharp edges. To avoid the appearance of an ingrown nail, use the correct technique: cut in a straight line no deeper than at the top of the finger. If it turns out too short, use a file to remove sharp edges.
An ingrown nail is a serious problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. If alternative methods did not work, and the pain intensifies, be sure to consult a specialist.