Are you know about what is an Ingrown Toenail?

What Is An Ingrown Toenail?

An ingrown toenail is a common condition that almost all of us are familiar with this pesky problem occurs when “the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh. The result is pain, redness, swelling and, sometimes, an infection.”

Ingrown toenails usually happen to your big toe because that nail tends to be the thickest and strongest, and is likely to be the main victim of overcrowding in shoes.

Other possible symptoms include:

• pain if pressure is placed on the toe

• inflammation of the skin at the end of the toe

• a build-up of fluid in the area surrounding the toe

• an overgrowth of skin around the affected toe

• bleeding

• white or yellow pus coming from the affected area

Home Remedy #1: Epsom Salt Soak

Giving your feet a good soak is something you might want to do even if you don’t have an ingrown toenail.

With that said, it’s one of the first steps you should take for treating your painful condition.

The Epsom Salt Council cites the multipurpose powder as being useful for soothing muscle pain, reducing swelling, and softening skin.

A warm Epsom salt soak will help reduce the pain and swelling of your ingrown toenail.

This method can work on its own for a mildly ingrown toenail, or help soften the skin as a means of preparation for some further treatments.  

Home Remedy #2: Cotton Ball Method

Since ingrown toenails are caused by the nail growing too closely to the skin, it makes sense to want to separate the two.

The Mayo Clinic explains that doctors often opt to gently lift the toenail and then place a small piece of cotton ball underneath the nail to promote growth away from the skin.

If you choose to do this at home, make sure to soak the cotton in an antiseptic treatment and to replace the dressing on a daily basis.

Soaking your toe in Epsom salt between cotton changes will also help to relieve pain and soften hard, unruly skin.

Alternatively another great method to relive the pain is using something like  Dr. Scholl's Ingrown Toenail Pain Reliever gel which help to relive pain so you can treat the nail..  This particular product comes with Foam ring and bandage cushion to help protect the affected area.

Home Remedy # 3: Dental Floss Method

The dental floss method is similar to the above cotton ball treatment.

Slipping dental floss under the nail can help to carefully separate the nail from the skin to redirect the growth. Click here for more information.