Three
Methods:Cotton BallUnverified Home Remedies General Tips for Preventing Ingrown
Toenails Community Q&A
An ingrown
toenail can be painful and unpleasant. Here is a method that will allow your
toenail to stop growing into your skin, along with some general pointers. It
may even prevent you from having to get surgery to remove the ingrown toenail!
Method 1
Cotton Ball
Soak your
foot in a mixture of hot (or as hot as you can stand it) water and Epsom salt.
Do this for 15-30 minutes at least twice daily. The goal here is twofold: to
soften the toenail and prevent the ingrown nail from becoming infected.
Gather your
tools and get ready. Get a cotton round or a cotton ball ready, a pair of
tweezers along with something pointy (like a tool that helps you remove cuticles,
for example).
Trim your
toenail, taking extra care around the ingrown section. Make sure your toenail
is cut perfectly straight without any pointed parts near the edges. Toenails
that are rounded off have an increased likelihood of growing into the skin,
causing ingrown nails.
Keep your
toenail slightly raised. Putting a small piece of cotton between your toenail
and the skin should keep the ingrown toenail from coming back.[1]
From either
the cotton round or the cotton ball, remove a small piece of cotton with the
tweezers.
Hold the bit
of cotton in the tweezers by the corner of the toenail that is ingrown.
Use
something pointy to push the cotton under your toenail into the corner. Don't
push too hard or you will hurt yourself! The piece of cotton should form a
little ball under your toenail in the corner. It doesn't have to be so big that
it sticks out from the top of your toenail, but make sure it is not too small
either. If you firmly but gently pack as much cotton as is comfortable, you
will have the right amount of cotton to do the job..
Remove
cotton daily to cleanse area and replace with new cotton to reduce risk of
infection.
Stop
infection. Apply infection-preventing ointment to the site and keep it
bandaged. Neosporin works fine for these purposes.
Give your
toe some air! Don't wear socks or shoes when you're at home.
Image titled
Get Rid of Ingrown Toenails Step 77
Check back.
If you keep the cotton in place and treat your feet well, your ingrown toenail
should grow back out within a few weeks.
Replace the
cotton every day to keep the toe from becoming infected. If the toenail is
painful, replace the cotton every other day, checking daily for infection.
Method
Unverified
Home Remedies
Soak your
foot in a warm water that's been treated with a povidone-iodine solution. Put
one or two cap fuls of povidone-iodine into warm soaking water instead of Epsom
salts. Povidone-iodine is an antimicrobial that fights infection and fungus,
forming a layer of protection until the solution is washed away.
Wrap the toe
with a slice of lemon and bandage the toe overnight. Tie a thin slice of lemon
on the toe with gauze and leave overnight. The acidity of the lemon helps fight
infection overnight.
Use oils to
soften the skin around the toenail. Oils applied to the toenails can help
moisturize and soften the skin, reducing the pressure put on the toenail when
you have to wear shoes. Try the following oils for fast relief: Tea tree
oil: this essential oil is both an antibacterial and an anti-fungal agent that
smells great.
Baby oil:
another great-smelling mineral oil, this doesn't have the antimicrobial
properties of tea tree oil, but works great for softening the skin.
Try a soak
of potassium permanganate. Potassium permanganate soaks are common home
treatments for athlete's foot. For 2 to 3 weeks, place 0.04% potassium
permanganate in water and let your feet soak for 15 to 20 minutes, once a day.
Your feet will turn slightly brown, but the permanganate is a natural
disinfectant and will help keep your toes and nails exceptionally clean.
Decrease
pressure and increase drainage with a band-aid. Secure a band-aid to the bottom
of your toe and pull the skin away from the location where the nail is cutting
into the nailbed. The trick is to move the skin away from the offending nail
with the help of a band-aid. This can decrease pressure in the area, and if
done properly, promote drainage and drying.
Method
General Tips
for Preventing Ingrown Toenails
Keep
toenails at a moderate length and trim them straight across. Nails that are
rounded have a higher chance of growing into the skin around the toes, creating
problems.
Use toenail
clippers or nail scissors to trim toes. Ordinary nail clippers are small enough
that they tend to leave sharp edges near the corner of the toenail.
Optimally,
try to cut your toenails once every 2-3 weeks. Unless your toenails grow
extremely fast, cutting your toenails often won't give them a good chance to
become ingrown.
Avoid
getting pedicures while your ingrown toenail is still bothering you. Pedicures
can aggravate the skin underneath the nail; pedicure instruments can be less
than sanitary, worsening or causing an infection.
Make sure
your shoes are the right size. Shoes that are too small and press on your
toenails can easily cause them to become ingrown. Opt for roomier, bigger shoes
instead of smaller, cozier ones.
Try to wear
open-toed shoes to prevent pressure on your toe. Since your toe should also be
covered, use bandages or wear socks with sandals. Although this is
unfashionable, it is better than having to get surgery.
Be on the
lookout if you regularly get ingrown toenails. If you get an ingrown toenail
once, you are likely to get it again, so take steps to prevent that from
happening.
Apply
antibiotic cream to your feet twice a day. After you get out of the shower in
the morning, and once before going to bed, apply antibiotic cream to your
entire foot, not just your toe. Antibiotic cream will help reduce the risk of
infection, which can lead to complications and increased pain.
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