Ingrown toenails are incredibly painful and just downright annoying. Plus, if you leave them untreated, they become infected and ooze, which only an antibiotic will clear up. To keep it from getting to this point, follow these steps to fix your ingrown toenail. If the problem continues, see your podiatrist to fix it.
How to Fix an Ingrown Toenail
- Soak your feet in a footbath with warm water and Epsom salt. This will soften the toes and nails and clean out any dirt underneath the toenail. Epsom salt will relieve pain and help prevent infection. Do this for 15-20 minutes or until the skin on your toes and feet begin to prune. This will make it easier to remove the ingrown nail.
- Clip your nails straight across with heavy duty toenail clippers. Don’t clip the sides of the toenail, though – it can lead to future ingrown toenails. Clip a small angled piece into the side of the ingrown nail. Then, pull that nail out to expose a small area of skin on the toe. You should be able to see where the toenail has grown into the skin so you can easily remove it.
- Dig the ingrown toenail out with a heavy duty nail file. Warning: this will probably hurt, but do your best. Once you can see an end to it, clip it with the nail clippers.
- Cut a ‘V’ into the side of the toenail that is opposite from where the ingrown toenail was. For instance, if the ingrown nail was on the right side of your toe, cut the ‘V’ into the left side of the toenail. Be sure to leave a small amount of room between the very end of the toenail and the ‘V’. Doing this will make the ingrown toenail grow out away from the skin.
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