An ingrown toenail occurs when part of the nail penetrates the skin, which can often result in an infection. The ingrown nail can also apply pressure in the nail fold area without penetrating the skin - this is not technically an ingrown toe nail, but can also be painful.

 

Pain is the main symptom of an ingrown toe nail. Causes:

• Poor cutting

• Previous trauma

• Foot mechanics

• Footwear

Treatment

Patients should try not to 'dig' out the nail by themselves, they can cause the ingrown to get worse or possibly let it get infected. The main aim of treatment is to be as non-invasive as possible. First line of treatment is to take a small section of the affected nail, clear the side and bandage it with regular packing and dressing. If this small procedure doesn't work, the patient will need to undertake nail surgery known as a Partial Nail Avulsion (PNA). This is where the affected section of nail is removed from the matrixes and cauterised to stop regrowth of that nails side section. Procedure is done under local anaesthetic with antibiotics before and after procedure.