Ingrown toenails are never a good sight for anyone—not to mention it is never a good experience. If you were a woman, you’d love nothing more than to show off your lovely feet or feel the springtime by wearing comfortable shoes, comfy slipons, or cute sandals. However, there are certain conditions, which prevent us from feeling comfortable in our own, well, feet. Sometimes, we have to deal with feet deformities like bunions or something just as worse—ingrown toenails. But what exactly are ingrown toenails?
Ingrown toenails, or medically termed as onychrocryptosis, is the condition in which the nails (usually of the big toe) dig and grow deep into the edges of the nail instead of growing outside, as it normally should. This is a very painful condition which involves redness, swelling, inflammation, and sometimes infection. It causes great discomfort and can be very debilitating for someone because the severity directly affects your ability to properly move with your feet.
Ingrown toenails are something to be careful about. It can depend on the severity on how your treatment to proceed. You may just have to take the nail out if it’s simple, but if it’s severe with an infection, then you might have to go through ingrown toenail surgery—and no one wants that. Having ingrowns are already a pain, what more going through ingrown toenail surgery? Good news is, you don’t have to fret. Ingrown toenails are totally preventable and something that can be avoided. Want to know more? Check out below some tips on how to prevent these pesky ingrown toenails.
- Be careful while trimming your toenails
Be careful while trimming your own nails; however, be extra careful when you’re having them trimmed at the salon. Remember not to trim your nails so close to the nail bed because this might result in a wound that can cause infection. Also, don’t trim your nails to a curve to match the shape of your toe and remember to trim it straight across. Don’t cut too low and never ever tear your own toenails.
- Keep toenails at good length
Keeping your toenails at a reasonable length not only screams volumes of your hygiene but also lessens the pressure of your shoes to your toe, which if trimmed otherwise, the nail get grow and dig inside the nail instead of growing outwards. Trim them at a good length so they’re just even with the tips of the rest of your toes.
- Wear comfortable shoes
Make sure to wear shoes that fit properly, are comfortable, and have enough space for you toes to breathe. Shoes that puts too much pressure on your feet and nails may cause it to pinch together and grown into the tissue instead of outwards. This choice could make all the difference, especially if you have any foot problems to begin with.
- Wear shoes that protect your feet
If your line of work demands too much from your feet and you know they’re constantly at risk for damage, then wear shoes that would protect them such as shoes that are steel-toed.
- Always check your feet
Checking your feet is critical especially if you have any other disease like diabetes that could hinder you from healing properly from wounds, even small ones. Check daily for signs of ingrown toenail problems and other foot problems.
These tips are important for the prevention of ingrown toenails and to prevent you from having an infection. The worse that could happen is having ingrown toenail surgery so before that’s even possible, don’t forget to also take care of the feet that take care of you.
