Diagnosis & Symptoms
This painful problem is diagnosed through careful professional examination in our clinic.
With a true ingrowing toenail, the nail pierces the flesh and becomes embedded in it. These same symptoms can be experienced if your nail is involuted (excessively curved). An involuted nail can progress to become an ingrowing nail as it gets longer.
Pain not associated to injury is the earliest symptom of an ingrowing toenail. You will eventually be restricted to your roomiest or opened toed shoes due to the pain, as it can be very intense. Sufferers also typically report that they cannot even bear the weight of their duvet in bed on the toe affected.
If the nail pierces the flesh near the tip of your toe a pus filled blister may develop. This can be visible as a greenish yellow area immediately adjacent to the nail. The toe may also bocome red, hot and swollen.
Sometimes hypergranulation tissue forms down the side of the nail. This is where the nail has pierced the skin and your body tries to heal the pierced area, producing extra tissue which is usually reddish and wet. It can weep and sometimes bleeds if disturbed.
Typical Causes
Ingrowing toenails are often due to poor nail cutting.
They may also develop due to trauma at the site – either a single incident or due to repeated trauma such as playing football or repeated pressure from a tight shoe.
They can often appear to develop spontaneously, which may happen if the nail is very wide or involuted.
Picking at nails or pulling skin down the side of the nail can also lead to an ingrowing toenail.
Types of Ingrowing Toenail Treatment
If caught very early, a simple clinic appointment can solve this problem.
If not caught early enough, nail surgery using local anaesthetic is the only answer to this painful problem.
