How to understand that the nail has grown into the finger. Special shape of the nail. How to treat an ingrown toenail with baking soda

An ingrown toenail not only looks unaesthetic, it also brings pain and discomfort to a person.

In medicine, this disease is called onychocryptosis.

It is not worth delaying with its treatment, since a focus of purulent inflammation may form on the finger.

Today we will figure out what to do if the nail has grown.

What to do if the nail has grown: causes of the disease

An ingrown nail can occur on any finger or toe, but it is most common in the big toes. Before you get acquainted with the methods of treatment of onychocryptosis, you should analyze the causes that cause the disease.

1. Poor quality pedicure. Some people, when trimming their toenails, cut the sides of the toenails heavily and round them carefully. Despite the beauty of such a pedicure, you can’t do this. To prevent the nail from growing into the skin, it should be given square shape. The edges of the nail plate must be carefully filed with a nail file.

2. uncomfortable shoes. This is especially true for the fair sex. Wearing tight shoes that squeeze the toes hard leads to the fact that the nail digs into the skin and a wound forms. How longer woman wears such shoes, the deeper the wound on the finger becomes. Good shoes should always fit the foot, be comfortable and made of quality materials. Before purchasing shoes, you need to carefully die out and be sure to try to walk around the room.

3. unusual shape nail plate. Persistent ingrown toenails can be caused by a problematic form that is either inherited or caused by flat feet. Helps avoid ingrown proper pedicure.

4. Sudden weight gain. Rapid weight gain can occur during pregnancy or due to illness and lead to an ingrown toenail.

5. Injuries can also cause foot deformity and changes in the shape of the nail.

6. Toenails often grow incorrectly. due to fungal diseases of the feet. They thicken significantly, twist and grow into the skin.

What to do if the nail has grown: effective medical methods

It is imperative to treat an ingrown nail, since the pathology is likely to develop further, accompanied by acute pain. Over time, the inflammatory process can develop into a chronic one. The wound under the nail will begin to bleed, which can cause an infection. Therefore, it is advisable to start treatment immediately.

Medical treatments for ingrown toenails

Modern clinics offer the following methods of treatment of onychocryptosis:

Surgery;

radio wave new method;

Laser correction of the nail plate;

Orthonyxia - correction of nail growth with the help of special plates and staples.

Surgical treatment is prescribed in difficult cases, when the disease is in an advanced form and it can no longer be cured. conservative methods. Partial or complete removal of the nail plate is carried out with a scalpel. This method allows you to get rid of the pathology and prevent suppuration of bone tissue. Meanwhile, healing takes a long time: until it grows back new nail. Treatment of an ingrown nail with an operating method does not guarantee that the disease will not recur.

The radio wave method involves the removal of an ingrown nail as a result of exposure to high-frequency radio waves. This method is painless, fast healing and low trauma.

Often, when asked what to do if a nail has grown in, doctors recommend laser correction. The method allows you to get rid of the problem without completely removing the entire plate and without damaging the growth zone. Part is removed with a laser nail bed, affected by granulations, and directly the ingrown nail itself. The disadvantage of this method of treatment is the duration of healing.

A new method of defect correction, orthonyxia, deserves special attention. A special plate is attached to the nail with a special glue. It is made from medical grade steel. The duration of treatment depends on specific case and can last from several weeks to 6 months. The corrective method is the most painless. However, it cannot be used in advanced cases.

What to do if the nail has grown: folk remedies and medications

Folk remedies can be used only for mild symptoms. These are cases where there is no acute pain And inflammatory processes. Treatment of an ingrown toenail consists of two stages:

1. Release of the corner of the nail ingrown into the finger. To achieve results, you need to daily procedures course up to three weeks. During this time, the corner of the nail will grow to a safe length.

At this stage of treatment, the following recipes will help you.

Bath of soda solution. For 3 liters of warm water, take 1 tablespoon of soda. Soak the ingrown nail in the solution for 20 minutes. Then, with a gentle movement, try to bring the edge of the nail out. Perhaps it will turn out after the second or third procedure. Next, you need to take a piece of thick paper or plastic and slowly bring it under the edge of the released nail. In this position, it is necessary to fix the nail overnight with a plaster or gauze.

Bath with sea salt. You can use such a bath only in cases where there is no open wound or inflammation on the finger affected by the ingrown nail. For one liter of warm water, take 5 tablespoons of salt. The bath has an excellent antiseptic effect.

Butter. After a soda bath, apply a piece of oil to the nail. Then cover with a napkin and a film. We bandage the problem finger. After a day, remove the bandage and again steam the nail in a bath of soda. Carefully lift the edge of the corner of the nail and fit a small piece under it cotton pad, impregnated butter. On top of the nail, again put a small piece of oil and bandage it.

Aloe Vera. We clean the leaf of the medicinal plant from thorns and skin. The crushed mass is diluted with a small amount of boiled water. We spread the mass on a piece of cloth and cover the ingrown nail with it. From above we close the finger with a film and bandage it. Leave the bandage overnight. Sutra try to bring the edge of the nail plate out.

Fir oil. The tool perfectly softens the nail and rough skin on the affected finger. Compresses should be done at night for a week.

Honey-onion compress. Take a medium onion, peel and chop in a blender. Mix the mass with 1 tablespoon of honey. After the soda bath, we adjust the compress on problem nail, wrap it with a film on top and bandage it overnight. In the morning, try to bring the edge of the nail out.

2. Giving the nail plate a safe length and correct form. After you managed to free part of the nail, you do not need to cut it off. The procedure for soaking an ingrown nail in soda solution should be repeated without stopping for two weeks. During this time, the nail will have time to grow properly, while its corners are aligned. Every day after the bath with a nail file along the top layer in the center of the plate, cut a small groove (up to 3 mm wide). It is not necessary to cut the nail completely. After a while, the groove will grow.

Medications for the treatment of ingrown nails

To stop the inflammatory process on the finger, you can use antiseptic ointments. Topical antibiotics are especially helpful:

Levomekol;

Vishnevsky ointment;

Ichthyol ointment.

These medical preparations have a healing effect, help remove bacteria and prevent infection and suppuration of the wound.

Apply the selected product on a bandage and apply to the affected area on the finger. Then cover with a gauze bandage.

What to do if the nail has grown: prevention

Choose comfortable and loose shoes;

Always observe personal hygiene;

Get your pedicure right

Treat orthopedic, fungal and infectious diseases stop;

Protect your feet from bruising and treat any injuries promptly.

Your shoes should be spacious, their heels should not exceed 4 cm. Careful attitude to the feet provides permanent care: moisturizing treatment cosmetics and oils, infection prevention, timely treatment cracks and calluses.

Trim your nails in a straight line with straight nail clippers. The length of the nail should not be less than the level of the top of the finger. If you accidentally cut off the corner of the plate, then file its sharp edge with a special nail file.

To prevent inflammatory processes, you need to periodically do foot baths. For this procedure, infusions of succession, St. John's wort, sage, calendula and chamomile are ideal. For 2 liters of boiling water, you need to take 6 tablespoons of herbs. Insist under a closed lid for an hour.

Now you know what to do if the nail has grown. Effective Methods treatments can help get rid of unpleasant disease, and expert advice to prevent pathology.

Ingrown nails not only very unattractive, they are also not hygienic, causing significant discomfort and often severe pain.

An ingrown toenail in medicine is called onychocryptosis.

Nails often grow into thumbs feet, although this trouble can happen with any other finger, both on the legs and on the hands.

Why does the nail ingrown?

Wrong pedicure

This can be facilitated by an incorrectly performed pedicure. When trimming nails, it is impossible to cut their sides deeply and it is not recommended to even round them strongly. No matter how attractive such a pedicure looks, it often ends with a nail growing into the skin. Try to keep your toenails square or rectangular shape. It is preferable not to trim the edges of the nails, but to carefully file them with a nail file.

uncomfortable shoes

Uncomfortable shoes can also have a harmful effect on nails, and more often, for the sake of fashion, women use such shoes. For example, shoes with narrow toes lead to significant squeezing of the fingers, and the nail, due to constant lateral pressure, digs into the skin and injures it. By continuing to wear such shoes, you can significantly aggravate the situation, increase the wound, which after such exposure will be very difficult to cure. This will not happen if you wear high-quality comfortable shoes its size. When purchasing shoes, carefully measure them, and be sure to walk around the store.

Special nail shape

A special form of the nail, which, by the way, can be hereditary, as well as flat feet, can lead to such unpleasant events. Here you should pay attention to the correct pedicure and a number of folk remedies.

A sharp increase in body weight

A sharp increase in body weight, which manifests itself, for example, during pregnancy, contributes to the manifestations of ingrown nails in the finger, but this problem disappears after the normalization of weight.

leg injury

The shape of the nail, as well as the ingrowth of the nail into the finger, can also be caused by leg injuries.

fungal diseases

Nails often start to grow in the wrong way due to fungal diseases of the nails and feet. Nails in this case often thicken and/or twist, which leads to ingrowth of the nail plate into the skin.

sweaty feet

With heavily sweating feet, which can also provoke various problems, including with nails, try using special antiperspirants.

How to identify an ingrown toenail?

To determine the cause and further get rid of it pathological condition carefully examine the area of \u200b\u200bthe "ingrown nail", try to assess the nature and degree of inflammation.

What to do with an ingrown toenail?

Warm baths. They must be done daily. Furacilin solution should be added to the water. Can also be used for baths baking soda or a weak solution of potassium permanganate. For best effect such procedures must be done twice a day. After the bath, the skin is well steamed, the nail can be easily trimmed. A solution of soda or furacilin will relieve inflammation. Swelling and pain are gone. After that, you can correct the shape of the ingrown nail with a nail file or nippers.

Special ointments. If the nail has grown, and severe inflammation has formed, then pus will accumulate in the wound. If such a pathology is detected, it is necessary to take emergency measures at home, and then consult a doctor. Such ointments will help relieve inflammation: Vishnevsky, Ichthyol, Levomekol. They are very good and quickly remove pus from the wound. It is necessary to do the procedure until the disappearance of the inflammatory process.

To exclude the possibility of serious consequences, it is better not to self-medicate, but to turn to a specialist in a timely manner, who will tell you how to cure an ingrown toenail. Early diagnosis can help avoid severe complications and surgical intervention.

Treatment of an ingrown nail with folk methods

Many people are interested in the question of how to get rid of an ingrown nail at home using folk methods. IN traditional medicine exists a large number of different recipes to help solve this problem:

After the nail has been steamed warm water, a piece of butter is applied to it. A compress is made: first cover the nail with a napkin, and then with plastic wrap, bandage and leave overnight. In the morning, try trimming the ingrown toenail.
A method of treating an ingrown nail with honey and onions has long been known. For this purpose, the average onion is cleaned, then it is crushed and a table is added. a spoonful of honey The nail is steamed in a soda solution, after which the resulting mixture is applied. Then apply a compress and bandage. Leave overnight. Then carefully cut off the nail, which has grown.
When treating an ingrown toenail, one miraculous remedy is often used. medicinal plant, which grows in almost every home. IN this case we are talking about aloe. Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to clean the aloe leaf from the top film, and then put it on the affected area. To fix the plants, a gauze napkin is applied, bandaged and left overnight. Aloe leaf perfectly relieves and cleanses the wound of pus. In the morning, the pain should subside a little. The bandage will need to be removed and try to carefully trim the affected area of the nail. You can also make a slurry out of aloe and wrap it in gauze. Apply a compress to the wound and put on warm sock. Walk for at least four hours.
Folk healers recommend using tea mushroom. It should be infused to the state of acetic acid. Then put a piece of mushroom pulp on the affected area. From above it should be covered with plastic wrap, bandaged with a bandage and left overnight. In the morning, it is necessary to make a dressing: the gauze or bandage is removed, and the ingrown nail is carefully trimmed.
Make baths with infusions of herbs. You can use chamomile herb, it is a natural antiseptic that will disinfect the wound. St. John's wort and sage are also suitable for these purposes. It is necessary to take six tablespoons of grass, pour them with two liters of boiling water. The infusion should stand for an hour. After that, it is poured into a basin and the legs soar until the water cools completely. Do this procedure daily.
Put a fingertip on a sore finger, which is filled with butter. This must be done for several days. The skin will become elastic, and then gently place the flagellum from the bandage under the ingrown nail. Try to cut it off. It is necessary to put a tourniquet before correcting the growth of the nail.
Take one yolk, mix with fat and a spoonful of vinegar. Spread this ointment on your finger and put on warm socks. This method will steam the skin and make it elastic. It will be easier to process the nail.
Apply Streptocide or hydrogen census to inflammation. Wash off after an hour. This promotes disinfection. It will also dry out the wound.
Make a mixture of one tablespoon of honey and onion. Mix and apply on inflammation. Make a bandage and leave it overnight.
Mix lemon zest and laundry soap, put on a steamed leg. Put on a sock at night.

An ingrown toenail is hard to miss. Pain, redness, fluid blisters, and the shape of the nail itself signal a problem.

The big toe is most commonly affected by ingrown toenails. But in general, you may not be lucky with any finger.

Why do nails grow

Biomechanics of the foot. More often than not, the wrong way we walk is also to blame.
Uncomfortable shoes. If something is tight, if something is preventing the nails from growing properly, they will start looking for workarounds.
Constantly sweaty feet. As a rule, the matter is in poor-quality materials from which shoes, socks or tights are made.
Injury. Sometimes, if you trip hard or drop something on your nail, you can disrupt the natural direction of growth.
Improper nail care. If you cut your nails too much and often, forget about the nail file and generally score on elementary manicure and pedicure, then the risk of getting an ingrown nail increases.
. With fungal diseases, the nails are generally deformed, so they can grow in.
. Diabetic foot is a special term, because due to blood sugar problems, oddly enough, the legs suffer.

How dangerous is an ingrown toenail?

It hurts to walk with him, it is difficult to pick up shoes with him, even. However, an ingrown toenail hurts even if you don't wear shoes at all.

But that's not the worst Understanding Ingrown Nails—the Basics. Since the nail constantly presses on the skin, a wound is formed into which any microbe can enter. If this happens, inflammation or suppuration will begin. Antibiotics will have to be used to clear the infection. In particularly difficult cases, an ordinary ingrown nail can lead to amputation.

How to treat an ingrown toenail

Be patient and wait for everything to pass, it will not work. If the nail began to grow, it must be treated.

A good place to start is to visit:

Orthopedist. He will tell you if you have flat feet or other conditions and will treat them.
Podiatrist - a specialist in diseases of the foot, who will deal directly with the ingrown toenail.

The fact is that the ingrown nail captures the surrounding tissue. And they need to be separated from this nail. Surgeons remove nails, but do not work with the tissues and biomechanics of the foot.

Olga Aleinikova, podologist, manicure and pedicure master

According to Olga Aleinikova, there are ways that help to do without surgery. This is tamponing (a special material that is placed between the nail and the tissue), properly selected orthopedic shoes or at least insoles, braces and titanium plates.

These plates and staples are somewhat reminiscent of braces for teeth. The glands are glued to the top of the nail so that as they grow, they raise its sides and prevent them from growing in. Ingrown Toenail: Remedies, When to See Your Doctor, and More. How long you have to wear such plates is an individual question and depends on many factors.

If the inflammation has already begun and you need to get to a specialist, put a cotton swab between the nail and the skin ingrown toenail with antibiotic ointment to eradicate the inflammation. You can wash the places of suppuration with hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine.

Do I need to cut the nail from the surgeon

When all else fails, there is only one way - surgery. That is, the nail is cut to the place where it already lies straight. It can be very painful, after the operation you will have to wait a long time for the new nail to grow as it should, and no one can guarantee that the ingrown nail will not repeat itself. In very advanced cases, the nail is removed completely.

Therefore, it is better not to bring to a state where it is necessary to destroy half of the nail plate, and at the first changes, go to an orthopedist or podologist. At least visit nice salon pedicure, where the podiatrist takes.

What to do so that the nail does not grow

In most cases it is enough:

Follow the shape of the foot and correct flat feet with shoes.
Keep your nails clean.
Trim them promptly.
Leave 1-2 mm of regrown nail when cutting.
Do not trim the corners of your thumb nails.
Trim nails to match their natural shape (legs usually need to be cut straight, but there are exceptions).
Treat fungal diseases.
Wear only .
With signs of ingrowth, contact an orthopedist or podologist, and not try to solve everything on your own.

Ingrown toenail - pretty common problem many people. This is a disease in which the nail of the hand or foot grows into the skin of the finger. In medicine, this disease is called "onychocryptosis".

This is a very unpleasant phenomenon, firstly, because of severe pain, and secondly, because of a completely unaesthetic appearance. Ingrown toenails are more common on thumb legs, although there are cases with the rest of the nails, but extremely rarely. An ingrown toenail is even rarer.

happens such a nuisance most often with young people of the most active age - from 18 to 32 years, slightly less often in adolescents and the elderly, and very rarely in children and infants. It is worth noting one very interesting fact- women are much less susceptible to this disease than the representatives of the stronger sex.

In this article, we will look at how to treat an ingrown toenail on the big toe at home so that the treatment is successful and without relapse.

Causes of an ingrown toenail

Experts believe that the cause of an ingrown toenail on the big toe is only its improper trimming. This may be the main cause of ingrown toenails, but there may actually be more.

These include reasons such as:

Wearing shoes that are too tight and uncomfortable. As a result of squeezing the toes, the nail plate is pressed into the nail fold, which causes permanent skin injury. An ulcer appears on the skin, and then granulation tissues grow (colloquially, “wild meat”).
hereditary onychocryptosis. The irregular shape of the nail, which is inherited, can also be one of the reasons why toenails grow in. This also includes flat feet as a hereditary factor that provokes ingrown nails.
Fungal nail infections, causing thickening of the nail and deformation, contributing to the ingrowth of the nail into the finger.
Trauma. An ingrown toenail can be caused by trauma to the thumb, such as a direct blow, a heavy object being dropped, or walking on the tip of one's toes.
Another factor in the development of this disease may be individual characteristics buildings: More rounded nails, overly curved underlying bone, or increased dermal exfoliation.

On initial stage An ingrown toenail can be treated at home. This is possible if the nail is not dug too deep inside, there are no clear signs pus, and the pain appears only when you touch the problem area or when wearing shoes that squeeze your feet.

Symptoms

human fingertips have hypersensitivity, since there are many nerve endings in the tissues. Therefore, an ingrown nail will make itself felt with a sharp pain, which will intensify when walking in tight shoes.

The main symptoms of an ingrown toenail are:

pain at the edges of the nail bed;
the occurrence of swelling of the finger;
redness of the affected area;
thickening of the nail plate;
discoloration of the nail, the appearance of spots and stripes;
pain when pressing on the finger;
the occurrence of suppuration, which can develop into a chronic form.

As a result of a progressive inflammatory process, the nail loses its natural shine, begins to flake off and becomes thicker at the edge.

stages

Doctors distinguish three stages of onychocryptosis on the toes according to severity:

It is characterized by hyperemia and throbbing pain in the finger precisely in the area where the process itself occurs.
The disease is getting worse. The second stage is manifested when the acute-angled edge of the plate grows into soft tissues roller. The finger swells, a purulent-inflammatory process begins.
After drainage, the wound begins to become covered with granulation tissue. Inflammation begins to subside and recovery begins. If ingrowth occurs further, then the disease becomes chronic. In this case, there is no question of any complete recovery, because the relapse occurs very quickly.

Onychocryptosis is a chronic and relapsing disease that tends to grow steadily. Among other purulent-inflammatory diseases, the problem of the ingrowing nail plate on the toe ranks second after traumatic diseases that have a complication in the form of an infection.

What does an ingrown nail look like: photo

See what an ingrown toenail looks like, we offer it for viewing detailed photos ailment.

Diagnostics

To exclude the development of complications and quickly cure an ingrown nail, you should contact a surgeon or a podiatrist (foot disease). It will direct you to:

- to assess the severity of inflammation;
a blood glucose test to rule out diabetes.

If you suspect toenail fungus, you should consult a dermatologist for complex treatment, since in this case the ingrown nail is only a consequence fungal infection, and to treat the consequences, and not the disease itself, is futile.

What will happen if not treated?

If left untreated, an ingrown toenail can progress and cause serious complications. Prolonged inflammation in the nail phalanx can cause the attachment of other, more severe infections.

The risk of inflammation of the bone of the phalanx of the finger or even gangrene increases. Ultimately, if left untreated, the ingrown toenail may require amputation of the nail phalanx.

How is an ingrown toenail removed?

If the process has gone too far, then you have to resort to surgical methods removal of an ingrown nail. Operations are performed under local anesthesia. There are several methods of operations:

Removal of the nail plate in whole or in part. At the same time, the overgrown granulations are removed and the plastic surgery of the periungual roller is performed.
radio wave method d. Effective method removal of the affected area of any size. Radioknife combines several factors. The technique is painless and less traumatic. The treated area heals in a few days;
Ingrown toenail laser treatment – latest technique which helps solve the problem permanently. The fact is that the laser can simultaneously remove injured soft tissues, the ingrown section of the nail plate and, most importantly, part of the growth zone of the nail! In other words, the nail that subsequently grows will be a little narrower and will stop growing. The operation itself takes less than an hour and healing is much faster than traditional surgical instruments.

Any method of surgical treatment requires the professionalism of the doctor and careful wound care. Postoperative care is to change dressings and prevent infection. Even after laser treatment An ingrown nail may experience pain in the area of the wound, but they are relieved with conventional painkillers.

Ingrown toenail, what to do?

alternative surgical intervention is the use of special corrective devices that are installed on nail plate and gradually level its deformed part. Metal or plastic plates, springs, staples are attached to the nail.

They are small in size and do not interfere with a normal lifestyle, including wearing regular shoes and play sports. They can be painted over with varnish along with the nail. With the help of such devices for the treatment of an ingrown nail, the nail plate is completely straightened, and inflammation and pain disappear. For similar procedures for the treatment of an ingrown nail, you can also contact a pedicure master.

However, application conservative treatment are usually ineffective. After it, frequent relapses occur again. Therefore, it is only justified early stages disease, as well as in cases of refusal of the patient from more radical methods or impossibility for any reason to use them.

How to treat an ingrown toenail at home

There are also folk methods for treating an ingrown toenail on the big toe, they can give pretty good results, especially in the initial stages of the disease.

When the first signs of an ingrown nail appear, when the signs of inflammation are not yet great, and the pain does not pronounced character, you need to immediately give up narrow shoes in favor of a looser with a wide front, this will take the pressure off your finger. At every opportunity, it is advisable to walk barefoot, or use open-toed shoes.
If the patient himself or his closest relatives have elementary medical skills, you can try lift a fragment of a nail that has cut into the skin. Before that, you need to twist gauze or a small piece of cotton between your fingers and make a homemade tampon. Place it in the resulting gap and after each warm bath try to push the tampon further and further. The pad should be changed every day. The whole process of home treatment similar method sometimes takes 7 to 15 days.
Salt treatments. Everyone is well aware that excellent remedy against inflammatory processes, ordinary rock salt is considered. Hot salt baths have a softening effect on the skin, and immediately remove unpleasant pain. For advanced cases of ingrown nails, salt baths are also suitable - they will help open pustules.
Baths with medicinal herbs . Prepare an infusion of chamomile, St. John's wort, calendula or succession. Proportions - 1 liter of water - 2 tbsp. l. raw materials. Steam the herbs, let it brew for 30-40 minutes, strain. In a warm infusion, keep your feet for 30 minutes, gradually topping up hot water. Raise the steamed skin, put a piece of gauze between the nail and the swollen tissue to reduce pain.
Butter . Steam your fingers in a soda solution, then generously smear the diseased areas with ordinary butter, cover with a napkin and polyethylene on top, and then bandage your fingers. The next morning, remove the bandage, steam the nails again in saline solution, remove ingrown nails and put cotton or bandage under them. This procedure must be done daily for two weeks until the ingrown nails grow back.
Aloe. healing power fleshy leaves has long been known. This remedy will also help in the treatment of tissue inflammation on the finger. Cut a fresh leaf, apply to a sore spot, bandage, but do not squeeze your finger. Do the procedure in the evening, in the morning cut off a sharp piece of the stratum corneum, apply a new bandage.
Honey and onion compress perfectly softens the nail plate. To prepare it, mix chopped onion with a tablespoon of honey. After the soda bath, apply the prepared mixture to the problem area of the leg, wrap it in a film and bandage it. It is better to make such a compress at night, and in the morning try to bring out the ingrown edge of the nail.
Night compress made with Vishnevsky's ointment will also help soften the plate. Then you can easily remove the ingrown part of the nail.

Remember that you can cure an ingrown toenail at home, but only if the problem has not gone too far, that is, slight pain and swelling have appeared. In case of severe inflammation and suppuration, you should not bother with the question of how to treat the nome nail, but immediately seek help from a specialist.

Prevention

Basically, prevention is correct selection shoes and nail care. Shoes should not restrict the movement of the fingers. It is necessary to cut the nails not too short and without cutting off the corners, so that their edge forms a straight line and slightly protrudes above the soft tissues.

These simple rules are very important to observe not only during the treatment of inflammation, but also during the remission of the disease. This will help prevent it from reoccurring. However, sometimes even such measures are ineffective. This may be due to the structural features of the nail or its high growth rate.

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An interesting fact is that nails do not grow on the hands. But an ingrown toenail on the big toe makes up almost 100% of the total number of cases. Why does the nail plate grow into the nail fold, from its lateral edge? Why doesn't the nail grow forward like it always has?

This disease (and this is the disease) is called onychocryptosis, which means “growth of a hidden nail”. This means that under the overhanging lateral ridges, the nail plate continues to grow from the sides, and it “cuts” the surfaces of the overhanging ridges. They become intensely red, sore and swollen. Arises strong pain and often walking becomes impossible.

It also happens that a person long years lived normally. Then he developed an ingrown nail, and since then his life has changed: he often limps, and the inflammation of the rollers becomes chronic, with alternating periods of exacerbations and remissions. What causes the disease? And if a nail has grown on the toe, then what to do?

Why does an ingrown toe nail?

Possible different variants ingrown nails, photo

The nail rarely begins to grow by itself, for no reason. Most often, the trigger is the wrong pedicure, in which the nail is cut off “from the heart”, almost to the point of blood, and especially with the capture of the corners. After a person stands up and begins to lean on the thumbs, the plane of the nail sinks deep under the weight of the body, and the rollers, under the influence of the support reaction, tend to rise. That is why an ingrown toenail in a child is less common than in adults.

In addition, there are several other, no less significant reasons for an ingrown nail:

hereditary condition. This is the thickness and elasticity of the plate, its shape, direction of growth and other indicators. Here, not sporadic, but familial cases of the disease are possible. This reason includes the presence of particularly soft and convex nail ridges, or the possession of very wide fingers and convex nail plates;
Flat feet, both transverse and longitudinal, in which a reversal of the big toe may occur;
"Harmful" shoes. Particularly disturbing are “pointed” shoes that compress the foot in the transverse direction, or simply “small” shoes;
Work that involves prolonged standing;
Onychomycosis. Nail fungus contributes to the violation of the elasticity of the nail plate. It becomes crumbly, cloudy and hard, and the roller begins to injure much more;
Various finger injuries;
Availability hallux valgus stop (with a load on the thumbs);
With excessive length of the first finger, relative to the rest;
In the presence of a pronounced excess body weight, or obesity;
In case of onychodystrophy, psoriasis (with damage to the nail plates);
With thickening of the nail plates (especially in the presence of a longitudinal, comb-like thickening of the nails);
With various acquired deformations of the nail plates. This can happen, for example, in chronic pulmonary insufficiency (this phenomenon is known as "watch glasses" and "drumsticks").

As you can see, there are quite a few reasons, and yet one of the most important - improper care and cutting nails. How does an ingrown toenail show up?

The more neglected the case, the more difficult the treatment!

One of the very first and constant signs of nail plate ingrowth under the roller is severe pain. It may not be as significant if you walk barefoot, but when using tight shoes, the pain is simply unbearable. It is characteristic to step on the heel in order to save the toe, and as a result, the gait is obtained with waving of the arms, especially on the affected side.

As for local signs, they are of two types: a change in the nail plate and a change in the zone of the nail folds.

The nail plate of a healthy finger is “breathable”, elastic, flexible, shiny, of a characteristic pink color, and does not differ in shade from surrounding skin. And constant chronic inflammation during ingrowth of the plate causes dystrophic changes in the nail - it becomes (at the edges) fragile, cloudy and thickened. Sometimes it splits. In the event that the patient initially had a process that led to onychodystrophy, for example, psoriasis of the nails, then this process is greatly enhanced.

The area of the nail fold, which healthy person does not attract attention in any way, becomes nothing but “meat” throughout the entire nail. This is a granulation tissue that constantly grows, trying to heal the wound, and constantly it is destroyed and injured by the edge of the nail. That is why the pain syndrome is so pronounced - after all sharp nail cuts on "live meat". Not only the fingernail, but the slightest touch, such as a sock or a jet of water, causes severe pain.

The result of this process is frequent suppuration, the appearance of general weakness, and with the addition of secondary flora, the appearance of high temperature.

Doctors distinguish several stages of ingrown nails:

At the first stage, walking is possible, soreness is only slightly disturbing, and at the height of inflammation there is only swelling and redness of the nail fold. The integrity of the tissues is not broken, and after some time at rest, the edema and hyperemia decrease;
The second stage is marked by the continuation of the ingrowth of the plate into the nail fold. Symptoms progress, edema and hyperemia increase. It differs from the first stage by the presence of severe inflammation, lameness, and the appearance of ichor and fluid from under the nail fold. The liquid contains a large amount of protein, so the wet spot that occurs on the sock, if not washed, turns into a crust in the morning. This is an inflammatory exudate that can be infected with microbes and have bad smell, as well as hemorrhagic (bloody) shade;
The third stage is the constant growth of granulomas, which are “live meat”. They constantly bleed, and the wound does not heal, because it continues to be constantly injured. At this stage, the nail is already dull, curved, and does not look like a healthy nail plate at all.

Of course, a patient with an ingrown toenail should not endure and wait until he has the third stage of the disease. It is necessary to start treatment immediately if there are symptoms of the first stage. It is then that there is a chance to do without surgery.

What to do with an ingrown toenail?

If the symptoms have just begun to bother you, and there is still no discharge, then you should start treating the ingrown nail at home. How to cope with the disease "with your own hands"?

First of all, you need to start preventive treatment. To do this, you need to switch to loose shoes, wear flip-flops or slippers at home, wear open changeable shoes at work, and to move along the street, you should sacrifice beauty and style and move into old and worn-out sneakers for a while.

For the purpose of disinfection, nightly foot baths should be carried out, which use a light pink solution of potassium permanganate, a three percent solution of hydrogen peroxide, chlorhexidine or a yellow solution of furacillin.

In the event that there is swelling of the nail fold and liquid begins to ooze from under the nail, then a sterile dressing with a hypertonic saline solution (for example, 10%) is indicated for the night. It "pulls out" edema, excess tissue fluid, and prevents the spread of infection.

You can also use herbal baths, as well as use aromatic oils, such as mint, juniper or eucalyptus, use herbal infusions (calendula, chamomile or celandine).

After softening and disinfection, you can do a pedicure, but cut the nail only horizontally. In some cases, this will change the shape of the plate, and it will “bent out”, loosening the pressure on the area under the nail fold.

Additionally, ointments are used that have an antibacterial and wound-healing effect. The first group includes "Levomekol", synthomycin emulsion, and the second - "Solcoseryl", "Bepanten - cream", methyluracil ointment.

It is important to understand that if the nail grows into the toe, then home treatment is not limited to the prevention of microbial infection and the removal of edema. After all, the nail continues to put pressure on the roller, and if this is not prevented, then all treatment will be useless. Therefore, it is necessary to release the edges of the rollers, “clamped” by the nail, and make sure that they are not higher, but lower than the nail plate.

This is a painstaking and very painful task. To reduce pain, you need to use a local anesthetic solution - lidocaine, or its spray. After the wound loses sensitivity, a clean stick is brought under the nail edge, the nail is lifted, and a special gauze flagellum soaked in antibacterial ointment is inserted under its angle. In this position, the finger remains all night. This procedure helps to give the roller a normal position, reduce pain and swelling. This should be done every evening until the position of the edge of the nail plate changes and signs of inflammation disappear.

But, unfortunately, it is not always possible to cope on your own, and then you have to seek help from a surgeon.

Surgical treatment

There are currently the most various techniques ingrown nail correction. All methods are minor or "outpatient" surgery. The most traumatic is the usual dissection of the nail plate with a scalpel, and the least traumatic and organ-saving is the removal of an ingrown nail with a laser. In fact, of course, it is not the nail that is removed, but the lateral growth zones are simply cauterized. After that, the nail grows only in the central part, and its lateral growth stops. Methods such as radiofrequency removal, or electrical coagulation are also used. Sometimes you can find ways to remove the nail plate using chemical substances, for example, potassium iodide or phenol.

But the complete removal of the nail is never immediately performed, of course, if there are no pronounced microbial complications. First, the edges of the nail plate are excised, the granulation tissue of the lateral ridges, and part of the nail root are removed. Complete removal of the nail is carried out when a relapse of this disease occurs.

As a rule, after the operation with a preventive purpose, a course is prescribed antibacterial drugs, both locally and internally, and limit the load on the foot until the wound heals.

In addition to surgical methods, there are also methods of orthonyxia - or orthodontics for nail plates. Special clips, "braces" and other designs are used, the purpose of which is to raise the middle of the nail plate. This leads to an increase in curvature, and the pressure on the nail folds weakens.

It can be considered a long-term treatment. Of course, wearing staples is inferior to surgery in terms of speed of recovery and efficiency, at least if we take short time intervals. But, in any case, there are people who are contraindicated surgical treatment even if it is minimally invasive. These categories of patients include:

pregnant women;
little children
patients allergic to local anesthetics (novocaine, lidocaine).

In addition, you need to turn Special attention on patients with diabetes who have diabetic polyneuropathy, with a high risk of developing diabetic foot and the occurrence of trophic ulcers. Since all kinds of wounds heal very poorly in them, it is contraindicated for them to operate on their feet and hands.

Complications of an ingrown toenail

Complications of an ingrown nail, of course, include the addition of a secondary infection and the spread of suppuration. If the ingrown nail fester, then you must definitely visit a surgeon, and in no case self-medicate. The periungual tissues may become inflamed and paronychia, phlegmon and felon may develop. Through the lymphatic vessels, inflammation can spread beyond the finger.

Against the background of reduced immunity, osteomyelitis, or inflammation of the bone marrow, can also occur. An ingrown infected toenail can be a source of sepsis, and in the presence of diabetes can lead to gangrene, in which you can lose your entire foot.

A long course of onychocryptosis can even lead to malignant degeneration of the affected cells, and the appearance of a cancerous tumor due to chronic trauma.