Ingrown Toenails

Ingrown Toenail Solutions and Prevention vs. Ingrown Toenail Surgery

The most popular videos on my YouTube channel are ingrown toenail cleaning videos. Not only are they fun to watch, but so many people around the world are looking for a way to heal their ingrown toenail pain without having to seek medical intervention. Is that possible, you ask? Absolutely! And I am going to share the before and after photos of someone who followed my advice and completely recovered from ingrown toenail issues without having the nail removed. I am also going to give you information on what to look for and when you may need to seek medical attention.

I made a video called, Pedicure Tutorial Ingrown Toenail Treatment At Home How to Recut Nail Groove to Eliminate Pain, and over 6 million people have watched it. In this video, I explain why it is essential not to cut the corners of the toenail entirely off because the skin can plump up and make your nail grooves disappear. If you lose your nail grooves, the nail continually runs into the skin blocking where the nail grooves should be and can cause even more pain. Some people don’t want to deal with this issue long term and see a Podiatrist or other foot care specialist, to have the nail resected. Many people don’t know the difference between ingrown toenail surgery, ingrown toenail removal, or ingrown toenail cleaning but fear not, I am going to make that crystal clear for you. But first, let’s give Christie Salas a big round of applause for completely reversing her boyfriend’s ingrown toenail. She followed my advice from the video using cotton and cuticle oil to cushion and keep the area moisturized so the nail could re-cut the nail groove. Look at these results! The result is impressive, a complete recovery from such a severe case. He kept cutting the nail back further and further to prevent the pain, and it seemed as if the only option left was to have the nail removed. But not everyone wants to deal with a healing wound or not having a toenail. It took Christie 1 year to get his toenail looking perfect again. She used cuticle oil every day on his toe and changed the cotton once a week.

According to medicine.net and mayoclinic.com, medical intervention is not always required, and most ingrown toenails can be resolved at home. However, if you have redness, swelling, pain, or localized infection present, you should see a doctor to find out if you need antibiotics to avoid further complications. People with diabetes or compromised immune systems should seek medical intervention right away.

What kind of doctors treat ingrown toenails?

Family physicians, pediatricians, urgent-care walk-in physicians, and dermatologists, can treat ingrown toenails, podiatrists (foot and ankle specialty doctors) are uniquely qualified among the medical professionals to treat this condition. A podiatrist’s office is also equipped with the necessary instruments required to perform ingrown toenail procedures.

What is the difference between ingrown toenail surgery and ingrown toenail cleaning?

Part of self-care for ingrown toenail problems can include pedicures. But a nail technician cannot work on toenails that have an active infection. Nail technicians can work on an ingrown toenail that has mild redness and even swelling, but the goal is only to trim, file, and clean around the nail area to remove excess skin causing discomfort to provide relief. Cutting, filing, or cleaning around a nail that is not performing surgery. Ingrown toenail surgery requires the use of a blade to resection and remove the nail border or corner of the nail or nail border, or permanent elimination of the nail or nail border by destroying the matrix area where the nail is produced. Nail technicians shorten the nail horizontally by trimming across the top of the nail; doctors remove sections of the nail vertically by cutting sections of the nail away from the nail groove. Doctors use scalpels and pliers; nail technicians use nail clippers and nail nippers. Doctors draw blood; nail technicians should not be drawing blood. Doctors use an anesthetic to numb the toe before resecting the nail; nail technicians do not.

According to medicinenet.com, this is the following list of Ingrown Toenail don’ts:

1. Don’t cut down the corners of the toenails.
2. Don’t trim toenails too short.
3. Don’t wear improperly fitting shoes.
4. Don’t avoid treatment by a professional if symptoms persist.
5. Don’t do surgery on the toenail yourself.