Treatment of Ingrown toenail

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You should wash and soak your foot in warm water water several times a day. Your GP or podiatrist may also use a cotton bud to push the skin fold over the ingrown nail down and away from the nail. Also to cut away any nail that is digging in to the tender area. This should be protected with a clean dressing.

As the toenail grows, your podiatrist may push a little piece of cotton wool under your nail to stop it growing into your skin. This cotton wool should be changed daily.

If the nail is infected your GP may prescribe a course of antibiotics. You may take painkillers such as paracetamol to relieve the pain.

If your toenail does not improve, your GP or podiatrist will be able to partially remove your toenail to allow the nail to grow back and heal. This will be done under local anaesthetic.

It will then be protected with clean dressings until it heals. Occasionally the complete nail needs to be removed. It will then take a few months for the nail to re-grow.

Ingrown toenails often recur (come back). If this happens your GP may recommend another surgical procedure in which the toenail is permanently removed. This may be done either by burning the nail bed out with phenol (a chemical) or by cutting it out surgically, under local anaesthetic. Sometimes the nail is made permanently slightly narrower. The edges of the nail and the root are removed and phenol is used to destroy the corners preventing the edge from growing back.

In both cases the nail is then dressed. Once the anaesthetic wears off the toe may be very tender so you may need to take a painkiller such paracetamol and wear soft or open- toed sandals for a week or so.