Ingrown Toenail – Overview

Transcript

Ingrown toenails are a common problem seen, primarily affecting the great toe, and ingrown toenail can occur both due to overgrown toe skin or when a border of the nail plate pierces the adjacent soft tissue of the nail fold and continues to grow. This penetration of the nail plate into the adjacent skin and underlying soft tissue causes irritation and subsequent pain, redness, swelling, and warmth, in the toe. Occasionally tissue called the granuloma may develop between the ingrown nail and the surrounding skin. This granuloma may bleed easily when touched lightly, the presence of pus or a foul odor can indicate that an infection is present. There are several potential causes of ingrown toenails, and these include heredity trauma to the toe, such as stubbing or kicking the area, improperly fitting shoes, cutting the nails too short, or at too aggressive of an angle, a fungal infection of the nail plate or in conjunction with other medical conditions such as kidney failure or heart failure that caused soft tissue swelling to the tissue surrounding the nail, resulting in increased pressure between the skin and the nail plate. When shoes are worn, symptoms of an ingrown toenail are pain along the margins of the nail pain when wearing shoes or socks, sensitivity to pressure sharp pain when the area is bumped or stubbed. And if infection is present, there may be redness, drainage, swelling, and odor the testing and diagnosis of ingrown toenails is often largely clinical. Occasionally we may need to use an x-ray or blood work. If infection is suspected.