Ingrown Toenails
You probably don’t think much about your toenails. So you might be surprised at how much pain they can cause if they become ingrown!
Ingrown toenails are an extremely common condition that occurs when the part of the nail along the corner or edge digs into the adjacent skin, rather than grow out like normal. The vast majority of ingrown toenails affect the biggest toes on each foot.
A severe ingrown toenail can cause significant pain—and the longer it goes untreated, the greater your chance of developing a dangerous bone infection.
Fortunately, there’s good news here. Ingrown toenails are one of the simplest conditions to treat for a podiatrist. If you’re hurting, just give us a call—we’ll have you feeling better almost immediately.
What Are the Common Symptoms of an Ingrown Toenail?
Ingrown toenails are fairly easy to spot. In addition to pain along the nail border, you’ll probably notice tenderness, redness, and swelling. It may become painfully difficult just to put on your shoes.
Ingrown toenails that become infected may become warm or even develop pus. This is a dangerous situation that requires immediate treatment, especially if you have diabetes or compromised circulation.
What Causes Ingrown Toenails?
There are several possible causes of this condition. Some of the most common we see include:
- Poor shoes. In particular, shoes that are too small and too tight in the toe box area can put pressure on the nails. This pushes them downward or sideways, causing them to snag on skin.
- Poor nail trimming. Clipping your nails too short can increase the risk that they will become ingrown as they grow out. Leaving them too long can also be a problem, too. Keep your nails neatly and comfortably trimmed, mostly straight across—do not “round” off the corners.
- Pedicure mishaps. Unfortunately, we see a lot of patients come in with an ingrown toenail right after a pedicure. This could be because the nails were trimmed too short, or because of how they were shaped during the pedicure.
- Other injuries. Direct blows to the toenail—for example, dropping an object on them or stubbing your toe against furniture—can alter the shape of the nail and cause it to become ingrown.
- Genetic factors. It may simply be that your toenails are naturally shaped in a way that increases your risk for ingrown toenails. In some cases we’ve even seen babies with ingrown toenails, before they even begin to walk or wear shoes regularly!
How We Fix Ingrown Toenails
Please don’t wait for the pain to severely impact your quality of life, or for the toe to get infected. We can fix your ingrown toenail and provide instant relief, all in the span of a brief office visit.
Although very mild ingrown toenails might go away on their own, and home treatments can be effective in some cases, we find that these are usually not worth the potentially long period of discomfort—and the risk that they will get worse.
At your appointment, we’ll apply a local anesthetic and gently trim out and remove the ingrown portion of the nail, then clean up the surrounding tissue. If desired, we can also remove a portion of the nail matrix so that the problematic portion of the nail border will not grow back. This is an especially beneficial procedure for those who have repeatedly struggled with ingrown toenails since the recurrence rate afterward is nearly zero.
If there is an ongoing infection or the potential for one, we will also prescribe antibiotics.
The pain relief is immediate and significant. Already by the time the anesthetic wears off, you should feel a lot better.
Full healing can take several days to a couple of weeks, but most people are able to return to everyday activities (work, school, etc.) right away, and more serious athletic training not long after.
Onyfix Ingrown Toenail Treatment
Onyfix is a technology for treating ingrown toenails that reshapes and ensures the nail grows in a usual way. We have experienced podiatrists who will handle your case using an individualized system to treat your ingrown nail. Typically, ingrown nails are painful, cause discomfort, and cause severe complications in extreme cases. Onyfix offers an alternative approach to clients not suited for toenail surgery or people with needle phobia. The procedure is also ideal for diabetic, pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, the elderly, or those with vascular conditions.
The procedure is non-invasive and painless that uses a composite material that serves as a brace on the toenail plate. LED light is used to cure and harden the composite material. As a result, the nail is kept in the correct shape from the base, reshaping the growing nail’s pathway.
The onyfix is cured to your toenail and remains there for two or three months. Therefore, as the nail grows, it grows with Onyfix helping it grow in the correct position. Additional bands could be required over the two or three-month period to obtain optimum results.
The Treatment Procedure
Before applying Onyfix, we use a file to smoothen your toenail. Any nail folds and nail debris are cleared to clean the nail plate. A cotton swab is used to do the final cleaning.
- Once your toenail is clean, we apply Onyfix primer across it, ensuring it’s evenly covered. As a result, this will help the composite material adhere to the nail plate.
- The primer is cured using LED light. It will take about 10 seconds to cure and dry the primer.
- Onyfix material is applied to the base of your toenail. An additional band may be applied on the top of the nail while lifting the nail using a probe.
- The bands are cured for about 30 seconds using an LED light.
You only require one treatment, and the whole process takes between 10 and 20 minutes. Onyfix is a 100 percent safe, effective, non-invasive, painless procedure and is easy to apply.
After the treatment, you can resume your daily work routine and even wear enclosed shoes. However, we recommend you avoid swimming in the first 24hours and tightly fitting shoes. Additionally, you can use nail polish, but we recommend you avoid using acrylic toenails or shellac.
Contact us today to schedule your Onyfix treatment immediately.
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ENID
524 North Van Buren Street
Enid, OK 73703
Phone: 580-237-3338
Fax: 580-237-3399