How do I get rid of my ingrown toenail at home? I have it on both big toes and on both edges. Help me!
Maxine from Sydney
Make a paste out of alum and pack it around the nail. It will make the skin around the nail shrink and release the nail. (11/05/2008)
By joan pecsek
I have this same problem. I always have ingrowns no matter what shoes I wear or how I trim my nails - I just have a problem with my nails. The first thing: Do not cut it out. For months I let them cut the ingrown nail out at the nail salon and they were only getting worse. My toes were swollen and pussy.
When I went to the doctor because it was so bad he explained that when you cut it out you are still leaving it there whether you realize it or not and it is not healing on its own. He told me to let it grow out. It takes about 2 or 3 months. I was supposed to soak every day in Epsom salts for at least 10 minutes. Then put on Neosporin. I also was supposed to be careful about trimming my nails.
He said not to cut them so often and not to bother with cutting the corners on angle, that does not help. He also said not to stick anything under the nails because it will just be more painful. The Vicks does not work. I think you are just wasting your time with most of the above. This is a serious issue - you walk on your feet every day. Give them the care they deserve! Since I have been doing this the amount of ingrowns I have has gone majorly down.
In the last year I have had only 2. Last year when I went to the doctor - in one visit I had over 3. Major change. If you really want to file your nails down nicely there is a Ingrown nail file by Sally Hansen. I have tried it and it does work. You just have to be careful and not push it. Good luck. (11/06/2008)
By Sarah
I used to have ingrown toenails all the time when I was a child, as did my sister. We soaked our toes every night and stuffed cotton under the nail. They were always very sore.
The last time I had an ingrown toenail, I had that part of the toenail removed by a doctor and it has not grown back. One of the things I now do is to make sure that I cut my toenails straight across. Absolutely, under no circumstance do you angle the nail into the skin.
Be sure to wear shoes that are wide enough at the toes so that they are not cramped into each other.
Sometimes an ingrown toenail is caused actually from the nail having a sort of "hook" into the skin at the sides of the nail (further back on the toe) rather than getting caught in the skin at the end of the toe. Hence the reason to make sure your toes have enough room in your shoes. (11/07/2008)
By Noella
Look for a product called OUTGROW. It works to take the pain away and then let them grow to where you can trim the the right way. (11/09/2008)
By Betty
I have literally found the cure for ingrown toenails. Place sterile cotton (soaked in peroxide) under your toenail. It does not hurt at all. Change daily and it will be fine on the 3-4 day. Worked wonderfully for mine which was oozing (gross!) and swollen and a purplish-red color.
Some people say roll it up into a thread but it didn't work for me because it was too late, but this did! Also putting lemon juice works well. (11/22/2008)
By Mandy
An ingrown nail is just an infection of the skin at the nail (look up Paronychia). It may be caused by the nail damaging the skin, but it's just a bacterial infection. Keep the toe cleaned 2-4 times a day with anti-bacterial soap and water, removing any puss or scabs that have formed, clean or scrape under the nail, too. Coat the infected area with triple antibiotic ointment - including under the nail. Pack the toenail up with piece of cotton or a small piece of rolled up white tissue - coat nail and packing with ointment again.
Take three to four L-Lysine tablets every 8 hours until the swelling/infection is gone. L-Lysine can be found "over the counter" where the vitamins are kept, it helps promote healing.
I suffered with ingrown nails for years until I started this routine. The skin healed and the problem never re-occurred. Stay away from semi-sweet chocolate chips, my infections always seemed to linked to them. No matter what the Dr. above says, trimming a "V" in the toenail does help prevent an ingrown nail infection. It keeps pressure off the center of the nail from shoes etc, and keeps the corners of the nail from digging in and damaging the skin.
Allow the toe nail to grow out over the skin in the corners. Don't trim back the corners. Re-start treatment at any sign of swelling/soreness. (11/25/2008)
By RGM
Tea Tree Oil, melaleuca, is great for keeping an infection down. Also, soaking your toes in epsom and betadine is helpful. Sometimes the ingrown nail is just the edge of the nail cutting into the skin and sometimes its a jagged point broken and poking at the skin. Sometimes you can dig the point out and sometimes it will heal and sometimes it perpetuates the problem.
By Steve
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