I have had an ingrown toenail. Most ingrown toenails are, as you may have suspected, caused by large amounts of movement, generally in badly fitted footwear. An ingrown toenail, instead of growing straight forward, will instead curve its growth down or sometimes to the side. This causes a lot of pain, obviously. You'll want to head to a podiatrist, (foot doctor, not child doctor) who will most likely first rule out an infection by either looking at it, or prescribing an antibiotic. If it is ingrown, they will opt to remove it, most likely. The standard procedure to remove one is: your podiatrist will first apply some alcohol to the toe, then give you a type of sedative for your toe. This will cause swelling as well, making it easier for them to work with. Then, your podiatrist will sever the extra portion of your toenail, then remove it. It is generally a painless process, and your toe will (hopefully) be numb for the procedure. Be aware that the sedative will not always cover your whole toe, and since this operation effectively pulls the extra part of the nail out from the root, you may feel some pain near where your toe meets your foot. After the doctor finishes, you may want to have a friend or family member drive you home, as your toe will be numb.
That's all I know about it, from one such removal of my own. Hope this helps you, and please don't pull it yourself. My doctor missed a bit on the sedative part, and I can tell you, toenail roots go way down. It will hurt a lot to try this yourself. See a doctor. The procedure may cost up to $80 on the very high end, more likely it will be close to $50. And generally, this is a one-time thing. Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment