Ingrown Toenails – Page 3 – Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic

Why Do Toenails Thicken?

A number of our patients with ingrown toenails find that their toenails have been thickening with age. For some, this thickness means that the nail is pressing against the top of their shoe, which is pushing the nail into the skin. For others, it’s very uncomfortable and they find their nails difficult to trim – and therefore difficult to prevent from ingrowing. Some are just unhappy with the way their nails look now. Today we’re sharing why this happens – and what you can do to reduce the thickness of your nails.

What causes nails to thicken?

Most often, this is a byproduct of our natural ageing process. As we grow older, the rate at which our toenails grow slows, and the nail cells start to build up – so our nails thicken. Other factors that can cause our nails to thicken include:

Fungal nail infections – these may also create a yellow/white discolouration in the nails, there may be some brittleness or flaking, the nail may lift upwards, and there may be an unpleasant smell
Reduced blood flow to the feet – can also promote nail thickening, whether it happens naturally due to ageing or from medical conditions like peripheral vascular disease
Trauma – this means the pressure from tight footwear on the nails, objects falling onto the feet, stubbing the toes, pressure on the toes in sports, and more. If the nail growing cells become damaged, the nails may grow thick and disfigured
Psoriasis – psoriasis is often mistaken for a fungal nail infection with thickened, discoloured, brittle or flaky nails

How can you help prevent nails from thickening?

While we can’t stop the ageing process, we can be prompt in treating any fungal infections when we first notice the changes and take care to wear good shoes with plenty of space in the toe box. If our workplace means we’re at higher risk of falling objects on the feet, we can protect them by wearing steel-capped boots.Getting regular exercise to help promote our circulation may also reduce nail thickening. If you’re unsure if you have a fungal nail infection but have noticed your nails thickening, we perform a simple in-clinic test that will confirm the presence of a fungal nail infection in 5-minutes.

My nails are already thick. What can I do?

Come in to see our podiatry team. Being experts in ingrown toenail treatment means that we effectively help to prevent ingrown toenails too, which means managing thickened nails. We’ll start by using heavy-duty nail clippers to reduce the length of the toenails, and then use a specialised burr to significantly reduce their thickness – and give them a clean, smooth finish! This is something our patients love, often feeling much happier and more confident about the appearance of their toenails afterwards. Most people book appointments for this care every 6-12 weeks, depending on how quickly their nails grow. By regularly taking care of their toenails (and any corns and calluses on their feet), we are able to help prevent ingrown toenails too, for those vulnerable to thickened nails growing into the skin. Book your appointment online here or call us on (09) 523 2333

Do Ingrown Toenails Cause Foot Pain?

So you currently have – or have recently had – an ingrown toenail. And now you’ve developed some foot or leg pain. What’s going on and could they be linked?

How Ingrown Toenails Affect Your Feet

First thing’s first: ingrown toenails typically do not cause foot pain. Their pain is usually limited to the toe (often the big toe) that is affected, with the occasional throb radiating out from the toe – but not too far. With that said, ingrown toenails can lead to foot pain by:

Changing the way you walk

When you have an ingrown toenail, you may be changing the way you walk to minimise your pain from your ingrown toenail without even knowing it. This is known as guarding and is the same as walking on the outside of your foot when something is sore on the inside of your foot. As you change the way you walk to avoid or reduce the pain felt from the ingrown toenail, your gait changes, and so does the way your muscles are used with every step. Some muscles will have to work harder, and may become overused. Some areas of your foot may now also be taking on more pressure, and may get sore too. Before you know it, you’ve got foot pain – and depending on how severe it is, you may need to treat this cause of foot pain too, alongside your ingrown toenail. This is why we always recommend getting your ingrown toenail treated ASAP – and why procedures like a partial nail avulsion that keeps ingrown toenails gone for good are often performed.

Be mindful of infections

If your ingrown toenail has become infected, and the infection is severe enough, it may also be a cause of pain in the foot. In these cases, you’ll likely notice the redness around your toe creeping up the foot. This can get serious quickly – so make sure you see your GP or podiatrist ASAP, there’s a good chance you will need antibiotics to help with the infection and then will need the nail treated quickly.

Could your footwear be the culprit?

We often see tight, narrow-fitting footwear as a culprit of ingrown toenails. This happens as the forefoot is squashed inside the shoe, and the result is that the nail is pushed into the surrounding skin. If this is the case, then it could also be possible that your tight footwear is also responsible for the foot pain you’re experiencing. If you’re lucky, the problem will be minor and will quickly settle when you stop wearing the shoes. For some, their shoe wear is long enough to do damage to the feet as well as the nails, and they need care to rehabilitate their feet, too. Don’t worry about figuring this out – your podiatrist will help explain this to you and determine what factors caused it.

Our Podiatrists Can Help With Both Ingrown Nails & Foot Pain

The beauty of our clinic here at the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic is that we’re part of Perform Podiatry – Auckland’s leading podiatry clinic. This means that we can not only treat your ingrown toenail – but assess, diagnose and care for your foot pain too. If you’ve got foot pain after, or at the same time as an ingrown toenail, we can help. Book your appointment online with us here or call us on 09 523 2333.

Is My Ingrown Toenail Causing My Toe To Feel Numb?

While the most common descriptors of ingrown toenails from our patients include painful, frustrating, uncomfortable, annoying, excruciating, can’t-wear-shoes-anymore and can’t-sleep-at-night, we recently had a patient call in to book an appointment because he’d had an ingrown toenail for a couple of weeks now, and alongside some pain and discomfort, it was feeling quite numb. Meeting him at the clinic, we discussed that he’d tried looking up online whether numbness, particularly around one side of his big toe, was normal or if it could be a sign of something more sinister – with no luck at all from Dr. Google. So today, our podiatrists at the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic thought we’d answer this question for anyone else stuck in the same boat: Is numbness normal in ingrown toenails?

No, we don’t usually expect your toe to feel numb

First thing’s first: in our experience, numbness is not on the ‘typical’ or ‘expected’ list for common symptoms associated with ingrown toenails. We expect feelings of pain, swelling, redness, bleeding, and even clear/yellow discharge if an infection is present, because given that a piece of nail is currently piercing into your skin, these are all fairly normal responses from your body. Your body wants to stimulate quick healing and direct your immune cells to the site to fight off infection or prevent it – and hence your toe swells and becomes red with the increased blood flow. The action of the nail piercing the skin is painful, and any additional pressure to the area from shoes or bed sheets will exacerbate the pain. This is all expected. Numbness, on the other hand, is a ‘neural symptom’, meaning that it starts from a problem or interruption in one of the nerves in your foot, leg or back that then, instead of delivering clear messages of sensation or pain to your brain, provides a numb feeling. Is the cause of the nerve interruption having your nail pierce the skin? It’s unlikely – especially given that the problem is at the tip of the toe, and if your whole toe is numb, we’d expect the nerve interruption/damage to occur further up the toe or foot.

But, it’s definitely possible

With that said, it could be that your toe is so intensely swollen – and you’ll know if this is happening to you – that all the extra fluid and pressure in your toe is pressing on a nerve and creating those neural symptoms, which can include numbness, pins and needles, burning, tingling and more. So we’re not ruling it out completely or saying that it doesn’t happen, it’s just not the ‘norm’. If this is the case, the numbness would be very localised to the tip of that toe – and wouldn’t extend far down the toe, the foot, or to the other toes. That’s just due to the way our nerves work and give sensation to different areas of the feet.

It could be the symptoms of two problems, simultaneously

It may well be that the numbness you’re feeling is a symptom of another problem, that just so happens to be affecting your problematic ingrown toe, as well as potentially other parts of your feet or legs. There are a number of causes of numbness in the toes and feet, including:

Diabetes – this is the most common cause, and arises because, over time, diabetes causes damage to our nerves, which leads to a problem called peripheral neuropathy – which causes numbness and other neural symptoms in our feet. It can also ultimately lead to the complete absence of sensation, so you’ve got to be very careful
Arthritis – whether it’s rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis or gout, if you’ve got arthritis in the joints of your feet, particularly at your big toe, and particularly if you’ve got some notable swelling happening, then this may be compressing the nerves in your feet and resulting in numbness in the big toe
A new injury – following similar principles to arthritis, if you’ve recently injured your foot, whether it’s a muscle, tissue or bone, and you’ve still got some new or lingering swelling, it may be compressing a nerve and causing your numbness. Or the injury itself may have damaged a nerve, resulting in the same symptoms
It’s winter, and the blood vessels in your feet have constricted – a less common but possible cause is vasoconstriction, meaning the narrowing of the blood vessels, in your feet. Cold is a big cause of this, as our body wants to minimise heat loss and so our blood vessels constrict. The result is decreased blood flow, especially at the tips of the toes, which leads to problems like Raynaud’s, frostbite and more. If this is the case, you’ll also likely notice your feet feel quite cold, and may be white and patchy
Circulation problems – following on from the above, you may just have circulation problems, and the same process is happening, except that the weather isn’t the cause, but it’s the changes or damage to the blood vessels creating the problem
It’s your bunion (if you have one) – finally, it could be related to the joint changes you’re experiencing in the big toe joint at the ball of the foot directly related to your bunion

It’s a clear indicator that you need to treat your ingrown toenail – as your risks increase

Whatever the reason, one thing that’s definitely for sure is that you need to have your ingrown toenail treated ASAP. We rely on our body’s ability to feel to inform us of so much – including when things are going wrong, which we feel as pain. If the numbness is taking over to the point where instead of pain, we feel numb, then our body isn’t alerted to the problems we may be experiencing – including ingrown toenails. This puts you at risk of your nail significantly worsening, developing an infection, or even a secondary infection (which is when it gets pretty bad!), and you being unable to detect it due to the numbness. When you don’t detect it, you don’t know that you need to treat it – and so the problem worsens. It’s a vicious and dangerous cycle, and the long story short is that if you have an ingrown toenail and you’re getting any numbness, reduce your risks and have your ingrown toenail treated ASAP. Most ingrown toenails do not get better on their own, so for most people, they are just delaying the inevitable.

Uncertain as to what’s happening with your toe?

We’re here to help. We’re Auckland’s leading ingrown toenail experts, and offer a number of solutions for painful, frustrating and numb ingrown toenails, including options to fix the problem permanently using a minor surgical procedure. For any questions, or to book an appointment with our team, give us a call on 09 523 2333 or book online. We’re located within the One Health Clinic in Remuera, inside Perform Podiatry.

Does Soaking Your Ingrown Toenail In Epsom Salts Fix The Problem?

A few times every year, we see patients who were under the impression that they could fix their ingrown toenail by doing regular Epsom salt baths. They will have usually tried 3-4 baths over a couple of weeks before they book in to see us because their ingrown toenail hasn’t gone away. This comes as no surprise to us – while Epsom salts may have many benefits, a cure for ingrown toenails is not one of them. Here’s why.

Epsom Salts: What Are They & Do They Do?

Epsom salts are nothing like your regular salt. It is a natural mineral salt containing sulfate and magnesium. While many people talk about the benefits of Epsom salts, they are really talking about the benefits of magnesium, which is thought to help reduce inflammation, help sports performance and recovery, assist in pain relief and reducing muscle soreness, relieve stress, and other similar benefits. Interestingly, these are the benefits found in some smaller and larger studies looking at magnesium, often ingested, not soaking in it via salt baths., As Epsom salts contain magnesium, it is thought that they may have some of these beneficial effects too – though this is not proven.

Ingrown Toenails: A Quick Overview

An ingrown toenail is one where part of the toenail itself (often a sharp nail spicule) pierces the skin surrounding the toe and grows into it as the nail naturally grows. They are often extremely painful, making wearing shoes that press against the toe very uncomfortable. They can have a range of causes, from poor nail cutting habits to tight footwear to injury to the nail and more. For more information about ingrown toenails, click here.

Epsom Salts For Ingrown Toenails

To treat an ingrown toenail successfully, and importantly alleviate the pain, the cause of the problem must be fixed. With the cause being that part of the nail has pierced the skin and is growing into it, it is only by removing this piece of nail that the cut in the skin can heal and close. Unfortunately, an Epsom salt bath does not remove the nail from within the skin. What it may do is help relieve some pain, but this is only a temporary measure. It won’t be long before walking with a nail still piercing into the toe starts giving you discomfort and pain again. This is why Epsom salts are not a cure for ingrown toenails. What is a cure for ingrown toenails is a partial nail avulsion.

Permanently Correcting Ingrown Toenails

A partial nail avulsion removes the sharp nail spicule that is embedded in the skin, allowing the skin to heal and your pain to go. It is a professional, safe and effective solution and one of the most common procedures carried out in our clinic. It is a permanent treatment because as well as removing the small piece of nail, we also destroy the nail-growing cells at the base of the nail, meaning your ingrown toenail on that side will not recur. The Benefits Of A PNA Include:

The procedure is done simply in-clinic
The total appointment time typically doesn’t exceed 60 minutes (with the procedure time typically around 20 minutes)
The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic so is pain-free
You do not need to take any additional time off work/school following the procedure and can go home immediately
You do not need any special boots or braces while the toe heals
The procedure causes very little post-procedure discomfort, however, painkillers can be taken should discomfort arise
We dress your toe, provide you with a take-home dressing pack and re-dressing instructions
We monitor your progress to ensure it is healing well

Recovery time is anywhere from two weeks to two months barring any complications such as infection. We provide you with all the dressings, topical antibacterial solutions and ointments, the post-op shoe and aftercare instructions, all tailored individually to your needs.

Ready To Say Goodbye To Your Ingrown Toenail For Good?

Book your appointment with our experienced podiatrists by calling 09 523 2333 or book online here.

How Does Your Nail Look After Ingrown Toenail Surgery?

Partial nail avulsions are our most popular and effective solution to ingrown toenails – permanently. If you’re thinking about having this procedure and have heard that it involves removing a small part of the problematic edge of your toenail, you may wonder what your nail may end up looking like after it has healed. The simple answer is that, in our clinic at least, your nail won’t look very different from its pre-surgery state. Our experienced podiatrists are careful to only remove the smallest area of nail we need to, to get the ingrown portion of the nail out confidently, while allowing us to get down to the nail-growing cells at the base of your toenail to prevent them regrowing in the future – so the problem nail edge no longer continues to give you trouble. The result is a very straight nail edge that doesn’t curve downwards into the toe. Our patients often describe this as being unnoticeable until they point it out to someone, with which the response is “oh yeah I see what you mean”. With this said, overall the results do vary from person to person, as everyone has natural differences in the shape of their toenail, the size and features of their toes, differences in the amount of skin surrounding their toenails, and more. More than this, some people only have minor ingrown toenails when they have the procedure, while others have severely swollen ingrown toenails, on both sides of the toenail, that have been bleeding for weeks and they’ve had to take antibiotics for the infection. All these features, particularly where there has been new excess tissue growth, can also affect the outcome and appearance of the toe once it has healed. This is something that we’re always happy to discuss with you at your first appointment when we can have a look at your toe, and help you answer any more questions you may have. To help you get a better idea of what you can expect, here are some examples of nails after their procedure, both from our clinic and from others. Before & three months after images of one side of the toenail being treated

Two sides of the toenail having the procedure:

Before, two weeks after, and six months after the procedure

Before, two weeks after, and six months after the procedure

One side of the toenail, after surgery

Surgery on the left side of the toenail only

Want to know more about ingrown toenails or the nail correction procedure?

You’ve come to the right place! We’ve shared all about ingrown toenails and why they develop here. To learn more about our three treatment options for ingrown toenails, clinic on the links below:

For our commonly asked questions around ingrown toenails, please visit our FAQ page or our blog.

Ready to finally get rid of your ingrown toenail with Auckland’s experts?

Ingrown toenails are our speciality, and we’re the only clinic in Auckland to have a section of our practice completely dedicated to permanently resolving ingrown toenails. Book your appointment online here or call us on 09 523 2333

Is My Ingrown Toenail Infected?

An ingrown toenail develops when a small piece of the nail, or nail spicule, pierces the surrounding skin and begins to grow into the skin, instead of growing out independently alongside the skin. It doesn’t take a big piece of nail to cause you tremendous pain and irritation – think of it like a sharp splinter that gets deeper and gets irritated when you walk or wear closed-in shoes. The key here is that an ingrown toenail has pierced and entered the skin, as opposed to just rubbing against the skin and causing painful friction. This means that it has created an open wound – even if it’s all the way down the side of the nail. Wherever there is a wound or an opening of the skin, the risk of infection is also always close by – and it may be even closer in this case given the proximity of our feet to the ground and the dirt it carries. If you’re wondering if the severe pain you’re experiencing from your ingrown toenail is because it’s infected – or if it’s just a deep nail spicule – today we’ve shared some simple signs that may indicate that you have an infection and need more help.

What does an infected ingrown toenail look like?

If your ingrown toenail is infected, you may notice:

Clear or yellow discharge coming from the side of the nail
Bleeding from the side of the nail
Swollen, overgrown or inflamed tissue around the edge of the toenail
If an abscess develops, you’ll notice a yellow/white fluid-filled pocket
Redness around the side of the nail

What does an infected ingrown toenail feel like?

Pain and tenderness around the toenail, especially with the application of any pressure
Throbbing at the toenail
Heat or warmth around the nail
It may feel as if there’s pressure building up beneath the nail

What does an infected ingrown toenail smell like?

Infected ingrown toenails do tend to have a foul or unpleasant smell – which isn’t something that you’d expect from a regular ingrown toenail.

Why infected ingrown toenails are dangerous

Infected ingrown toenails can pose a risk to your health because if your body does not fight off and clear the infection, it can spread or harbour a secondary infection. This may result in the infection spreading to the bone, which is a serious complication and requirements immediate treatment – it may even require surgery.

If you’re unsure – always seek help

It can be difficult to tell an infected ingrown toenail from a non-infected toenail because even without infection, ingrown toenails can swell, and become red and painful. It’s always best to stay safe and put your health first, seeking help at any time that you suspect you may have an infection.

How should you treat an infected ingrown toenail?

Simply put – by seeing your podiatrist! Once an ingrown toenail becomes infected, it requires prompt and effective treatment to both manage the infection and the problem – so that the wound can heal and another infection doesn’t develop. Here at Perform Podiatry, we treat ingrown toenails in one of three ways:

Conservative nail care – for first time ingrown toenails, we remove the offending nail spicule if it doesn’t look like the nail will re-grow back and keep causing you pain
Partial nail avulsion – for recurring ingrown toenails, we remove the nail spicule permanently, using a chemical to prevent the problematic edge of the nail from growing back in the future
Total nail avulsion – for recurring ingrown toenails that have a secondary problem, like a thickened, damaged or distorted nail – or one with a fungal infection too – we can perform a total nail avulsion. This involves removing the entire nail and allowing it to grow back naturally hopefully without the previous issues.

Worried your ingrown toenail may be infected?

If you need help with a problematic ingrown toenail, our team can help. We’re proud to be one of Auckland’s leading podiatry teams, located within the One Health Building on Remuera Road. Ingrown toenails are one of our specialities. Book your appointment by calling 09 523 2333 or book online.

Think Your Ingrown Toenails Are Worse In Winter? You’re Probably Right. Here’s Why

The beauty of summer is that it allows us to get some relief from our ingrown toenails by wearing open-toed sandals and walk around with bare feet, which can also delay the onset of painful symptoms in the first place. In winter and the chilly NZ spring-time? Not so much. Our ingrown toenails can become worse much faster – and for a number of reasons. Today, our podiatry team have shared why your ingrown toenails tend to feel worse faster in the cooler months, what you can be doing to take care of your feet, and our #1 solution for taking care of ingrown toenails for good.

Why the cooler months aggravate our ingrown toenails

Unfortunately, it’s our own actions that tend to leave our nails feeling worse in these months. During winter, many people opt for thicker and warmer, or even dual-layered, socks which can greatly reduce the amount of room we have at the front of our shoes. This cramps our toes, pushing our skin and nails into one another, and makes it easier for the nail to pierce the skin.

Much like the above, repeatedly wearing enclosed shoes, particularly when they’re tight or narrow, can also produce the same result. As tight, snug-fitting shoes are a common trait of many of our favourite winter sports like skiing, snowboarding and soccer, this leaves us vulnerable to getting that pain, redness, swelling – and sometimes – infection. Activities that have you repeatedly kicking the ball like soccer, or quickly stopping and starting as you push up off the ground can also push into the ingrown nail and aggravate it, causing your symptoms to spring up and worsen.

Tips for taking care of your ingrown nails and feet

To help care for your ingrown nails over the cooler months, especially when trying to prevent them from recurring, we recommend:

Remembering that shoes have width sizing, not just length sizing. Opt for shoes with a wider toe box that will accommodate thicker socks and won’t push your toenail and surrounding skin into one another
Keeping your nails trimmed, and trimming them straight across using proper nail tools. The shorter the nail, the more space there is in the shoe, and the lesser the chance of irritating the toenails. Using proper nail-cutting tools will help reduce the likelihood of leaving little nail spicules behind that can turn into ingrown toenails
Keeping your feet clean and clearing any build-up from down the sides of your toenails. You already know that dirty feet can encourage the build-up of bacteria and other germs that can irritate the nails – and lead to an infection if an ingrown toenail develops. Regularly clearing any build-ups of dead skin or dirt down the sides of (and beneath) the nails will also help reduce some of pressure which may contribute to ingrown toenails, while helping keep your feet clean
Airing your toes. When you get home, give your toes some air and some space. This will help relieve some pressure, while encouraging your feet to dry and discouraging any odour or harmful skin breakdown which may cause damage make you vulnerable to infection
Getting your ingrown toenail treated early, and doing it right. There’s a certain way to take your ingrown toenail from 0 to 100 in quick speed – and that’s digging down the side of the nail yourself to try to remove your ingrown toenail. Often, the offending and penetrating nail spicule is small, deep and very difficult to see and feel (without the right equipment!). Digging at it often just makes it worse, and quickly amps up your painful symptoms. Getting it treated by a skilled podiatrist while it’s still a mild ache and not a sharp, shooting pain, will help you have the least pain and the best results

Permanent relief from ingrown toenails

Unfortunately, ingrown toenails can and do tend to come back – depending on what’s causing them. You can read up on all the causes and symptoms of ingrown toenails here. Here at the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic, as part of Perform Podiatry, we offer a permanent solution to ingrown toenails that not only relieves your current symptoms, but also prevents it from coming back – or we’ll redo the procedure free of charge. The procedure is called a partial nail avulsion, and it provides a professional, safe and effective solution to frustrating and painful ingrown toenails. It is one of the most common procedures carried out in our clinic, and works to remove the small part of the toenail edge that is piercing the skin and causing your painful symptoms. We see fantastic results from this procedure and have great satisfaction with it, especially as many patients struggle with recurring ingrown toenails for years first. We love that:

The procedure is done simply in-clinic
The total appointment time typically doesn’t exceed 60 minutes (with the procedure time typically around 20 minutes)
The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic so is pain-free
You do not need to take any additional time off work/school following the procedure and can go home immediately
You do not need any special boots or braces while the toe heals
The procedure causes very little post-procedure discomfort, however, painkillers can be taken should discomfort arise

At the end of the procedure, we dress your toe, provide you with a take-home dressing pack and re-dressing instructions, and continue to monitor your progress to ensure the toe is healing well. You can read more about this procedure and if it’s right for you here

Time to say goodbye to recurring ingrown toenails once and for all?

Trust your foot and nail care to Auckland’s leading podiatry team, situated at the One Health Building on Remuera Road. Book your appointment by calling 09 523 2333 or book online.

Have Diabetes? Your Ingrown Toenails May Be Putting You At Risk. Here’s Why

When you have diabetes, your risk of foot problems increases significantly. This is because the effects of diabetes on your nerves and blood vessels damages two critical processes when it comes to the feet and legs:

Your sensation – the ability to feel what’s happening to and around your feet
Your circulation – the blood flow to and around your feet

When you have an ingrown toenail, this opens you up to a number of vulnerabilities. If you don’t know much about ingrown toenails, what exactly they are or how they’re caused – read this first.

You may not be able to detect the severity of your ingrown toenail – or an infection

As unpleasant as painful sensations are, our pain response is a very important way for our bodies to gauge what’s going on, when something is wrong, how bad it is, and alert us to take action. When we lightly strain a muscle, we get a mild pain sensation that lets us know to take it easy next time. When we break a bone, we get immense pain that lets us know to avoid putting pressure on the broken bone at all costs, so it doesn’t worsen, and can start to repair. When our sensation is diminished, we can’t rely on our bodies to get this message to us accurately or efficiently. This leaves us vulnerable to feeling like we may have a mild achy toe, or a very minor ingrown nail that doesn’t require urgent care – whereas in reality it’s already been infected for days and needs to be treated ASAP, before the infection has a chance to reach the bone or we pick up a secondary infection.

If you try treating the ingrown nail yourself, it may be difficult to tell if you’ve got it out

One thing we’d expect when the nail spicule is removed from the skin it has grown into is a big feeling of relief, followed by minimal pain when pushing around the side of the nail (compared to what it used to be – you may still have some tenderness from the wound and the swelling). If your sensation is diminished, it may be hard to tell if you’ve removed all of the nail – or only part of it and it’s just going to keep giving you ongoing problems. The beauty of having your nail spicule treated in our clinic by our podiatrists is that this is something we do every day, so can not only confidently tell when we have removed the entire nail spicule, but are also able to see it much more clearly. We also have the right tools and equipment to do a great job. It’s worthwhile noting that we always always always recommend that those with diabetes have their ingrown toenails treated by a podiatrist only for your own safety and well-being, however, we know that this isn’t always what happens, hence it’s important to know these risks.

You may worsen the damage

Using home tools to dig around your toenail in an attempt to remove the penetrating nail spicule is a sure way to worsen the damage and make the wound bigger – leaving your body with a much bigger job when it comes to repairing the damage and closing the wound, not to mention increasing your risk of picking up an infection from the size of the wound. This is particularly important when you consider that…

You may have problems with healing the ingrown nail

Good, healthy blood flow is essential in any healing and repair process in the body. As this is impaired in diabetes sufferers, you don’t get the same volume of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the damaged site, which means closing the wound and repairing the damage can be a longer and more laborious process. It’s much the same as diabetic foot ulcers – which many people struggle and often have to have additional treatments and therapies to allow them to heal.

Your body may not be able to fight an ingrown toenail infection effectively

What else does a healthy blood supply carry with it? All the cells that fight infection and help keep us safe. When your body can’t do this effectively, the infection can worsen, spread, you can pick up a secondary infection, and generally, your health can suffer. All this without mentioning the pain and discomfort it can cause!

The best advice: Get your ingrown toenail taken care of by a podiatrist

Taking all the points above into consideration, this is why it’s incredibly important to have your ingrown toenail taken care of by a podiatrist when you have diabetes – and also when you don’t have diabetes. Don’t take our word for it – this is the official recommendation from Diabetes New Zealand, as well as Diabetes Australia and every diabetes resource we’ve ever seen worldwide. Don’t put your feet at risk – book your appointment online here or call us on (09) 523 2333.

Which Ingrown Toenail Treatment Is Best For You?

So you – or your family member – has an ingrown toenail. And you’ve read conflicting information online that’s left you wondering whether you should be soaking your foot in salty water or having the whole nail removed completed. We get it – it can be confusing. So today, we thought we’d give you the information you need to know where to start and what all the options really mean.

First thing’s first: Can I treat my ingrown toenail at home or should I see someone?

If you have an ingrown toenail, it means that a piece of your toenail has actually pierced the skin that surrounds it and has started to grow into it. The point at which the nail pierces varies from person to person – it could be towards the tip of the toe and it may be very obvious by the red, swollen bulge. Unfortunately, for the majority of the people we treat, this nail spicule is deep down the side of the nail and close to where the nail originates, making it incredibly hard to get to, especially if the nail starts to soften from being embedded in the skin for so long. With the above in mind, let’s examine a few of the common online home remedies and their real effect on the ingrown nail: 1. Soak the toe in warm salty water Soaking the toe in warm salty water can definitely help to keep the area clean and help prevent, or reduce the symptoms of, an infection. What it doesn’t do is treat the ingrown nail and remove it from the skin. To clarify: your pain will continue for as long as the nail is embedded in the skin. While soaking the toe isn’t a bad idea in helping with swelling and preventing infection, it doesn’t treat the problem. 2. Cut a V in the nail This is a goodie. As the old tale goes, if you cut a V in the nail then the edges of the toenail at the ends will start growing inwards to remove the edges of the nail from the skin. Unfortunately, the nail doesn’t grow from the tip of the nail – it grows from the base of the nail at the nail matrix that contains the nail-growing cells. This means that cutting any pattern at the end of the nail won’t affect the growth at the base of the nail. 3. Trim the nail down the side Ah, the home bathroom job. We estimate that 50% of our patients that come see us for their ingrown toenail have tried some form of home treatment first. Unfortunately, without the right tools or being able to see down the side of the nail (not to mention the sometimes excruciating pain levels), this isn’t effective – and if you start cutting down the side and then stop part way because you can’t go any further or the pain gets too much – can actually leave you in a worse place than when you started. 4. Apply antiseptic to the toe Much like soaking in warm water, antiseptic is great for helping treat and prevent infection, but it doesn’t remove the nail spicule from your toe. 5. Wait for it to grow out If you had your nail removed entirely, it may take you 8-12 months for the entire nail to grow back. So we guess the question you have to ask yourself is if you’re happy waiting up to a year for the problem to hopefully resolve itself, assuming that the new nail doesn’t follow suit and just keep growing into the skin. Much more than this, the longer the nail stays in the skin, the longer you’re vulnerable to infection and ongoing pain, swelling and discomfort. You’ll definitely need it treated if an infection develops – so it never gets so bad that it gets to the bone and causes very serious problems. 6. Take anti-inflammatories Sure – anti-inflammatories, when your toe is red and swollen, can help reduce the swelling and hence reduce your pain. But, again. The nail stays in the skin. And when the meds wear off, the problem returns.

So what treatments do work for ingrown toenails?

Effective treatments for ingrown toenails must remove the nail spicule completely from the skin. Even if a small piece is left, as the nail continues to grow, your pain and symptoms will return. We offer three solutions to ingrown toenails that are safe, proven and effective: 1. Manually removing the nail spicule We refer to this as conservative nail care as it doesn’t involve any ‘surgical’ aspects. We use simple and sterile podiatric tools to trim back and remove the small piece of the nail that has penetrated the skin. 2. Permanently removing the nail spicule Otherwise known as a partial nail avulsion, we class this as a minor surgical procedure as it involves numbing the toe with anaesthetic and then removing a small portion of the nail. What makes it permanent is that after the nail spicule is removed, we apply a chemical that destroys the nail growing cells in the one small section of nail, meaning that the nail edge won’t grow back. 3. Removing the whole nail Known as a total nail avulsion, this procedure involves the safe removal of the entire toenail. While this isn’t our go-to procedure for ingrown toenails, there are some circumstances that make it the best option for our patients, such as where both sides recurrently ingrow and there is a large curvature at the sides of the nail, or when the nail is also thickened or disfigured.

So where should you start?

The short answer is that if this is your first ingrown toenail, manually removing the nail spicule may be sufficient. If your ingrown toenail has recurred multiple times on the same nail, permanently removing the nail spicule is likely right for you. If both sides of the nail have ingrown repeatedly, and there are other problems with the nail like it’s thick, then removing the entire nail may be the way to go. The longer answer is that there are a number of considerations and implications of each treatment option – and factors like your medical conditions, any healing impairments, your work, footwear, daily activity levels, if an infection is present, and much more can greatly influence which option is best for you. This is where we come in – you don’t need to make a choice before you see us for treatment – just book an appointment and we’ll take all of these requirements into consideration and discuss all of your options – and which may be best for you. We’ll go through all the pros and cons, and what you can expect. Book your appointment online or call us on 09 523 2333.

Patient Experience: What’s It Like To Have Ingrown Toenail Surgery?

Ever wish you knew someone that has gone through the same procedure as you so you knew what to expect? We absolutely get it – and while ingrown toenail surgeries are common enough these days that you’ll likely know someone that has had it done – it’s also not the type of thing that many go bragging to their friends about. So, we’ve shared the experience for you! Here’s the low-down on what having an ingrown toenail surgery with the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic is really like, as told retrospectively by one of our patients. Choosing the Auckland Ingrown Toenail Clinic I found the ingrown toenail clinic, and hence Perform Podiatry, on Google. They weren’t too far away, they had good reviews, and I liked that the podiatrist I’d be seeing would be very experienced in ingrown toenails. The website also mentioned an all-inclusive price – I know multiple appointments with health professionals can add up quickly, so knowing the full cost was great. The First Appointment I decided to see someone about my ingrown toenail because this was my third ingrown in the last 4 or so years. I was over the pain and wanted it fixed by a professional. I called in the afternoon and got an appointment for the next day. The first part of the appointment was easy. The podiatrist checked my nail and asked a bunch of questions. She told me that I had multiple options, and what each involved. One option was to remove the piece of nail that was causing me pain right there and then. I was told that was good for those who have never had an ingrown nail before, as it may not come back. I knew I needed something permanent so I wouldn’t have to deal with this nail in the future. One of the other options was a procedure called a partial nail avulsion. It’d be done in under an hour, it was permanent (or they’d re-do it), I’d need minimal time off work, and I met their criteria for the procedure. This was what I’d wanted. The Procedure I booked in to have the procedure the next day as it’d be a Friday and I’d have the weekend to take it easy. When I arrived, the room was already “set up” – very clean and with the equipment ready. The same podiatrist that I saw the day before cleaned my toe with iodine and the worst part of the procedure was done – the anaesthetic. It worked, my toe was numb, and the only thing I felt for the rest of the time was pressure. They showed me the piece of nail they removed – it was bigger than I thought. It looked like I had cut the nail but missed the part right at the end and just pulled the nail off, leaving a big piece in. They put a bunch of bandages on my toe to protect it. The whole process was done in about 45-50 minutes. I was given instructions to come back on Monday, NOT get the toe wet in any way, not wear tight shoes, rest the foot and put it on a pillow on the couch, and that if it becomes painful to take some specific painkillers. I did take some Friday night as my toe throbbed after the anaesthetic wore off but didn’t take any more after that. I didn’t do too much on the weekend, and avoided putting on closed shoes as that’d hurt the toe. The Check At Monday’s appointment, I got a bag filled with the same dressings they used. They removed my dressings to check how the toe was going (which seemed fine) and taught me how to dress it again. I was told to re-dress it anytime it got wet and every few days for the next week. I was to come back in another week to check that it was healing nicely. I went back to work that week and wore shoes that didn’t press on my toe. I redressed as instructed. A week later I came back and was told that as everything had closed over nicely, I could change the dressings as the infection risk was minimised. The toe was still a bit pink and I could see the dried blood etc, but it wasn’t painful as long as I didn’t hit it/push against it and I was told it was healing nicely, and to let the podiatrist know if anything changed. The Result About 7 or so weeks later the toe was pretty much back to normal. The nail was a little smaller, but not by much and you can’t really tell unless I point it out. The nail edge is just very smooth and straight and doesn’t curl down into the side so much. Am now looking forward to not having any problems with my toenail!