The toenail becomes ‘ingrowing’ when the side of the nail cuts and embeds into the skin next to the nail. This can become extremely painful. The medical term for this is Onychocryptosis.
There are basically two types of ingrowing toenail:
ACUTE – where a piece of nail actually pierces the skin often resulting in infection and overgrowth of reactive tissue. We often see this in younger patients, particularly teenagers, but it can be the result of trauma or poor nail cutting techniques.
CHRONIC – where the nail shape gradually changes over the years, often associated with thickening. The nail edges tend to press into the soft tissues causing pain even with the lightest of pressures. This tends to be seen more from the age of 40 or so and need not be associated with trauma.
Treatments may be as simple as advice and help on toenail care or may require more complex intervention such as a partial nail ablation or surgical nail edge excision. The podiatrists at Flawless Feet are experts in dealing with this condition in a sympathetic and pain free manner.
Flawless Feet is pleased to offer a permanent solution to ingrown toenail problems. Nail surgery is a minor surgical procedure to remove all or part of your toenail. It is usually required when an in-growing toenail is frequently recurring. Minor surgery is a relatively simple procedure and is carried out painlessly under local anesthetic and takes 6-8 weeks to fully heal.
A Partial Nail Ablation (PNA) with matrix phenolisation has a success rate of about 95%. Regrowth of nail will occur in 5% of cases. This will, in all likelihood, require a further procedure to deal with the problem.
A regrowing nail will become obvious within a few months of the original surgery, but this early nail will be of immature quality. It is wise to allow this nail to become more normal before it is re-operated on as this will improve the chances of success.
If you are a SELF FUNDING patient you will be covered by the Flawless Feet Nail Surgery Guarantee, which means that we will undertake a second procedure, at no cost to you, assuming that you have not developed a clinical contra-indication to the procedure.
INSURED patients will still be covered by their medical insurance in this unlikely event.
The toenail becomes ‘ingrowing’ when the side of the nail cuts into the skin next to the nail. This can become very painful.An ingrowing toenail is a medical condition where the outside edge(s) of the toenail becomes embedded into the soft tissue of the toe, causing irritation, pain, Inflammation, hypergranulation of the tissue or infection. If this happens, we at Flawless Feet Podiatry & Laser clinic can conservatively treat the ingrowing nail as painlessly as possible and give you complete relief from the excruciating pain.
In some cases ingrown toenails are caused by tight fitting shoes, it is however more common in people who cut their toenails very short and ’round’. The correct way of cutting nails is ‘straight across’. This helps the nail to grow normally and may prevent ingrowing toenails from developing.
If the ingrown toenail persists or becomes an ongoing problem, all or part of the toe nail can be removed surgically under local anesthetic. This procedure is very effective and more importantly permanent with a very high success rate.
Ingrown toenails are relatively common, and can affect people of any age, however they tend to have a higher incidence in active teenagers, and also the elderly.
There are several well known causes for ingrown toenails, and sufferers may have one or more reasons why they have developed problems. The most common causes are:
Structural issue with the shape and growth of the nail
This is often present from birth (congenital) and means that one or more nails have become involutedor convoluted. The nail then tends to wrap into the edges of the toe and cause chronic problems.
Any injury to the toe that damages the nail and the growth area of the nail (the matrix), can cause the nail to begin to grow in an unusual manner that can lead to the nail to be deformed, thickened or grow in an irregular direction. Once the nail has been damaged in this manner, it is unlikely to ever go back to its normal appearance.
When the nail is cut too aggressively into the corners or down the side, it is possible to either leave an irregular edge to the toenail, or even have a small piece of nail come away and become stuck into the side of the toe causing a foreign body reaction (or granuloma). Leaving the nail slightly longer, cutting along the natural curve of the nail, and not cutting down the side of the toenail can prevent this occurring.
The culmination of years of wearing enclosed footwear, and repeated small knocks and bumps to toes and toenails can cause the toenail to gradually become deformed and have irregular growth.
If you suffer from hammertoes, bunions, very high arched feet and many other conditions, the position of the toe (and toenail) can be altered from its most ideal alignment. This may cause the toenail to be frequently in direct contact with the ground, or in an unusual position which puts pressure of the soft tissues and the nail bed. Over time this can also cause the nail to become deformed or altered.
.webp){kind=logo}
