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Here’s all you need to know about ingrown toenail removal at home with DIY procedure. Aftercare tips and cost of permanent laser ingrown toe nail removal procedure are also included. See below all this info.
An ingrown toenail is not only painful but can also get disgusting especially if it gets a bacterial infection. On the positive side however, most cases respond well to a simple treatment procedure that we will describe in this article. Others may require additional medical treatment interventions which are as well covered herein.
Ingrown Toenail Removal at Home
The pain and discomfort that typically characterize an ingrown toenail – more so if it is infected – would make even the strongest of men want to listen to an “ingrown toenail removal at home” guide if only for just a brief moment of relief.
And that is where we come in with this simple, yet very effective ingrown toenail removal plan that you can implement easily at home:
- Dip your ailing foot into a basin with warm, soapy water and leave it submersed for 10-20 minutes
- Press the fold of skin surrounding the toenail away from the toenail gently using a cotton bud. Start at the base, working all the way up to the tip of the toenail
- Wedge a small piece of cotton wool beneath the nail as to keep it elevated from the underlying skin
- Repeat this 2 to 3 times daily until the ingrown toenail gets healed
- You can also use painkillers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen to relieve the pain
NB: Use aspirin only for people aged above 16 as it has been shown to be a potential trigger for the fatal Reye’s syndrome in children. Also, avoid self-treatment if you are diabetic or suffer from any circulatory or nervous system problem and if any symptoms of ingrown toenail infection are present.
DIY How to Remove an Ingrown Toenail
If you will agree with me, the simple treatment described in the previous section qualifies to be labeled as a “DIY how to remove an ingrown toenail” guide as one of our readers requested in an email. In my opinion most- if not all- people will be able to follow the above listed steps without any difficult.
Ingrown Toenail Removal Procedure
To get yourself psychologically prepared in as far as your expectations are concerned, you may want to known the ingrown toenail removal procedure usually used. Without going into the medical jargon, there are two broad types of procedures, namely partial nail avulsion and full nail avulsion.
As you might have guessed, partial nail avulsion involves the removal of just a part of the troublesome toenail and with a success rate of around 98 percent it is the most commonly used option. Partial nail avulsion procedure is performed under local anesthesia which is shot at the base of the toe.
During the procedure, the edges of the toenail are removed to make your toenail narrower and straighter-edged. As a result, the toe becomes less likely to dig and grow into the surrounding flesh.
This is followed by application of a chemical known as phenol into the affected area to prevent the regrowth of the toenail. This ensures that the problem doesn’t develop again in the future.
Total nail avulsion on the other hand involves the removal of the toenail in its entirety and is often used for treatment of toenails that are thickening and increasingly pressing into the skin surrounding your toe.
A concave indentation is left in the place previously occupied by your toenail. Even without the toenail, your toe will function just normally.
Ingrown Toenail Removal Aftercare
Once you have had the problematic toenail removed or fixed, it is important to take appropriate measures to not only ensure quick healing but also keep the healing wound free of bacterial infections.
Below is a list of ingrown toenail removal aftercare tips that you may want to consider in addition to the ones advised by your podiatrist:
- Unless otherwise advised, don’t remove your bandage before 2 days after the procedure.
- Thereafter, keep the wound dry and properly dressed.
- Minimize movements and keep your foot elevated for 1-2 days after the procedure
- Follow your podiatrist’s advise with regard to when it is safe to shower
- Avoid touching the wound with dirty hands
- Refrain from strenuous sporting activities until the toenail has had enough time to heal, usually 2 weeks or more
Laser Ingrown Toenail Removal
Laser is one of the most innovative innovations that man has ever seen with its use transcending many disciplines to include guiding of missiles, education, and skin tightening, not to forget treatment of ingrown toenail.
Laser ingrown toenail removal involves the ablation of the nail matrix and is often a very effective treatment.
This procedure often involves the removal of the ingrown portion of the toenail before using laser light to sterilize the nail root. This normally takes 15-20 minutes.
Advantages of laser treatment include relatively low postoperative pain, immediate sterilization of tissue, and less bleeding. The carbon dioxide laser that is typically used also involves “…limited thermal damage to adjacent tissues” as The American Academy of Family Physicians points out.
On the downside however, the option is relatively expensive and there is always the risk for the ingrown toenail to grow back in strange directions leading to intense pain.
Cost of Ingrown Toenail Removal
If you don’t have a health insurance cover, you will definitely want to know the typical cost of ingrown toenail removal (or any other treatment for that matter.
We spend some time trying to arrive at an average figure for the price charged for ingrown toenail but because of the diversity of factors that influence medical costing (such as the kind of treatment required, location and experience of the doctor etc.), our research was inconclusive. For ingrown toenail surgery however, you can expect to pay between $200 and $500 in the United States.
Permanent Ingrown Toenail Removal
There is often a hereditary aspect to ingrown toenails whereby some people are born with naturally curved or fan-shaped toenails which increases their likelihood of developing ingrown toenails tenfold so to speak. Some people also tend to sweat a lot which often makes the fold of skin surrounding their toenail to become so soft as to allow the toenail to pierce and grow into it.
The toenails of such people often grow right into the surrounding skin fold on one or both sides of the nail bed. Surgery is more often than not your best bet for permanent ingrown toenail removal.
