Most people will suffer an ingrown toenail at least once in their life. Especially runners. They suck. This article will talk about how you get ingrown toenails and what you can do to fix them so you can keep on running.
How do you get ingrown toenails
An ingrown toenail is when the nail grows downward so that the corners stick into the skin. This causes swelling, pain and sometimes infection.
It is usually caused by poor genetics (like me), badly fitting running shoes or toenails that are not cut properly.
How do you fix ingrown toenails?
Throughout my childhood my brother and I were always trying new things to fix our ingrown nails. Our father had both big toenails removed when he was younger as they would not grow in any other way - they were always ingrown.
The main things that you need to do if you feel an ingrown toenail coming on are:
1. Soak it
Soak the whole foot in a bucket of warm salty water. We would sit and watch television and soak it for 20 minutes on and then 20 minutes off.
2. Disinfect it
The next thing we would do is put some betadine on a cotton wool bud and stick it to the toe with a bandaid. Let it soak like this overnight and then wash it in the morning.
3. Cut your nails properly
If you want to avoid these pesky ingrowns you need to cut your toenail in a nice straight line. Do not be tempted to trim out the corners; you will probably make it worse. Make the top of your nail a straight line.
4. Get properly fitting shoes
If your toenails rub in your shoes you are more likely to get an ingrown. Make sure your shoes are not too tight, especially if you play fast paced sport in them.
5. See a doctor
My brother now has one toenail removed because he let it get so badly infected they had to remove it to clean it all out. Make sure you see a doctor if you feel like it is becoming a problem. If you get more than one or two ingrown toenails per year you should probably get a podiatrist to check them out.
Conclusion on ingrown toenails
These things are pretty annoying. Remember that nothing I say here is “medical advice”. If you have a problem you should see your doctor and get a proper opinion.
Does anyone out there get ingrown toenails often?
March 4th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Hey buddy, great article here. I can say from experience this is all true. I got a bad ingrown toenail in a period of life where I had to walk alot every day. I had a friend show me how to fix it. Just disinfect, wash every day, put on some anti-biotic ointment on a band-aid each day, and it went way. Trim the nails right for maintenance. It’s all about what you said here. Great job.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Jason -
Yeah they are so annoying. IT really is about good maintenance. However, sometimes, like with my brother, the nail just has to go. It caused too many problems.
Thanks for stopping by.
RT
May 10th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
great write up RT
when i had my ingrown toenail which happened to be on my right foot, i went to the doctors & few months later ended up in hospital getting it removed…while i was in there they cut out something else (not sure what) but it stops it from growing out sideways, so it only grows in length now. its good in one respect that i dnt have to worry about an ingrown toenail on that foot anymore.
but one bad thing come out of it, as my toenail on my left foot has not been ingrown the toenail on my left foot looks totally different to the one on my right foot :S so its sort of one of those decisions i wish i could take back because its looks stupid haha (im talking about both my big toes btw)
cheers
Andrew