More often than not, the culprits of ingrown toenails are shoes that hug and squeeze too tightly. Tightly fitted shoes can force the edges of your nails to push into the surrounding skin, causing inflammation and irritation. Additionally, the wear over time can cause the nail to grow inwardly into the skin where nerves become activated. The bottom line is, ingrown toenails are painful. The best way to prevent ingrown toenails is to check how well your shoes fit on a regular basis. However, you may be asking, what do you do about ingrown nails that have already grown? Become infected? Starting to cause pain? At this point, you should make an appointment with a podiatrist.
Our team of podiatrists and ingrown toenail doctors have dealt with a variety of cases. After a careful and gentle examination of your foot, we’ll create a treatment plan that quickly addresses your pain, alleviating the ingrown toenail and removing any infection. Schedule your appointment at our Scottsdale ingrown toenail center today. Our general treatment method:
- Proper trimming of the toenail
- Laser therapy and antibiotic treatments to remove the infection
- Pain relief measures to alleviate inflammation around the nailbed
- Evaluation of your footwear and, when necessary, a prescription for custom foot orthotics
- Prevention plan
- For severe cases, a short procedure to remove the affected nail