Ingrown Toenail with Pus
An Ingrown Toenail with Pus is an extremely dangerous situation if not handled correctly. If you are experiencing any nausea, fever, chills and you probably need to see a podiatrist immediately (especially if you are a diabetic or have poor blood flow). If the ingrown nail isn’t that bad and you feel fine- there are really effective ways to decrease the curvature and the pain pretty quickly at home. These focus on decreasing the pain, softening the nail and the skin, separating the ingrowth from the skin and then doing something about it. The following is the complete guide on how to handle your ingrown toenail pain.
Signs & Symptoms
- Pain in the front corners of the nail while pushing down on the front of the nail. – Block this with a cotton ball or a bandaid as seen below : WATCH VIDEO
- Toe swelling especially at the nail edges. This may need anti-inflammation control.
- Ingrown nail pus: this usually means that there is an infection.
Causes:
- Nail Fungus – The fungus needs to be removed or it will keep reoccuring.
- Pressure induced nail thickness – See Onychogryphosis treatment guide.
- Heels or tight shoes. See guide on how to measure this properly
- Genetics & Weight.
Treatment for big toe pain around the nail
If you have an ingrown toenail with pus, it is essential that you go see a podiatrist immediately. Especially if you are experiencing any nausea, fever, chills, if you are a diabetic or have poor blood flow. If this does not apply to you then the following remedies may be valuable to you.
Home Remedies
- Treat both Nail Fungus or Non-Fungal Nail Thickness – Click on each to get a essential video guide on how to do just that.
- Soak the foot in warm water 3-4x per day for 15-30mins, this will make the nail and the skin softer allowing better evaluation or cutting of the corner. Once there is less pain you can move onto the next step. WATCH VIDEO.
- MOST IMPORTANT part of home treatment: After it is soaked try to lift the nail and put some gauze or a bandaid underneath the sharp and painful corner. WATCH VIDEO.
- Avoid heels or tight shoes until the condition gets better, try to wear a loose shoe like a running shoe or sandals.
- When trimming your nails, cut straight across. Do not round the corners. WATCH VIDEO.
- Keep the nail thin and make sure the nail curvature remains decreased. WATCH VIDEO.
- Be careful attempting to cut out the ingrowth yourself, if you cut yourself at all go see a podiatrist immediatly, especially if you have diabetes, you have unusually bad foot circulation or any other systemic medical condition.
When to go see a podiatrist
- Essential to go see the podiatrist if this ever comes back or if the nail ever penetrates your skin after trying to take care of it at home
- Early treatment can be splints, cotton wicks, plastic strips, plastic tubes down the side of the nail, plastic type glue under the corner is possible.
- The 1st step is to resect the nail after some numbing medication is used, then correct the underlying problem, whether it be nail dystrophy or nail fungus.
- The 2nd step is to see if it comes back in 1-2 months. An X-ray should be taken to rule out a bone spur under the nail. A nail avulsion may be attempted- this is a permanent resection of that border of the nail ensuring it will never grow back.
- Tetanus prophylaxis may be needed. 1st the podiatrist will numb around the base of the toe, then cut back on the nail and use sodium hydroxide or phenol in the nail bed to keep the nail from growing back If an infection is present- Antibiotics will be necessary, then the toe is covered by ointment and gauze- you will be back on your feet in no time!
- Watch this Nail Avulsion Video
- More extensive surgery can be used in very severe cases to remove the entire nail. The nail matrix is then treated with Phenol to prevent re-growth.
Other Related Nail Problems:
See if any of these other problems apply to your situation!