Ingrown and Painful Nail Treatments
Permanent nail removal
Permanent nail removal is often necessary to relieve the pain caused by badly incurved nails that press into the flesh or tend to cut into the skin as they grow. Permanent nail removal is also necessary in chronic ingrown nails that have developed hypergranulation tissue or swelling.
Some nails are so badly incurved that they're difficult to trim properly without leaving a spike or cutting the skin around the nail.
Permanent nail removal is performed under local anesthetic. Your toe will be frozen before the nail is removed.
Usually the border of the nail will be removed but sometimes the whole nail must be removed.
Recovery is usually low pain or even painless if you wear roomy shoes and reduce your activity level.
Onyfix Nail Correction
Some nails are more curved at the end than they are near the root. In these cases we can use Onyfix resin to improve the shape of the nail. This reduces pain and tendency to ingrow. Usually more than one band will be required.
Onyfix can also help improve the structure of a thickened nail. The resin is applied to the base of the nail and stays in place as the nail grows.
This resin can also be used to lift a nail corner to allow skin to heal or to relieve pressure on the skin.
Conservative Care
Ingrown nails can be caused by poor trimming. If caught early we can trim out the spike. The skin laceration must be treated to prevent infection. Bandaging and antibiotic creams should be used until the skin heals.
Ingrown nails can also be caused by tight footwear. If the shoes are not replaced ingrowns will reoccur.
Some ingrowns are caused by injury. Stubbing, dropping objects on toes are frequent culprits. Injuries can also occur if a child or pet steps on your toe.
Some people are not able to have permanent nail removal due to poor blood supply or problems with healing. Nail care will be recommended. Many people do well with careful shaping of corners and clearing of dead skin. This must be performed at regular intervals to prevent ingrown nails.