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What do I do for an ingrown toe nail?

Amber - posted on 02/17/2010 ( 6 moms have responded )

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My daughter came to me tonight right before bed and said her toe hurt and when I looked at it, it was really inflammed! I made her soak her feet for a few minutes in warm water and then tried to look at it. It is extremely painful for her so I patched her up the best I could and sent her to bed. I know it's this bad because she's been wearing 4-5 pairs of socks because her snow boots are a little too big. Is there anyone who could give me some tips on what to do? Should I just take her to the doctor since it's so inflammed? I'm afraid of making it worse for her.

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6 Comments

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Danielle - posted on 02/20/2010

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Honestly, ingrown toenails are very painful so I would suggest taking her to the podiatrist. They usually don't remove the whole nail, just a small sliver of it and it grows back. Both pods that I saw strongly advised not to try to care for it myself- idk if it was because my caring for it on my own was truly dangerous or if it was because they wanted my patronage though lol. As I said though, it's very painful and the doctor cutting away the nail relieves the pain almost instantly!

Kelly - posted on 02/20/2010

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My daughter has fought ingrown toenails for years. We recently went to a podiatrist and he removed a sliver of the edge of both her big toes and swelling was gone within a day, the infection cleared and she was back on her feet the next day. She is 13 and HATES needles, pain and anything with blood and she requested to have the second toe down within weeks after having the first one fixed. We consulted with a couple of Dr.s and found one that we were comfortable with.

Abbie - posted on 02/19/2010

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I had that problem when I was like 8. My mom took me in, the doc numbed it up, and cut a sliver of nail out, it was actually very simple. Then we were told to make sure my shoes were wide enough for my feet, and to always cut the toenail straight not with rounded corners.



You can try soaking it, and try putting a bit of tissue under it, but honestly the fastest least painful way to get rid of it is the doctor. And ingrown nails are VERY painful!!!

Erica - posted on 02/19/2010

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My daughter had that happen to her. The Dr had us soak her foot everynight and then push the skin away with a qtip. It worked took a week or two but the other option was to have them remove the toe nail and I am not sure she would have handled that well and neither would have I.

Melinda - posted on 02/17/2010

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to help stop the toe nail from growing into the skin, cut a triangular notch in the middle of the toe nail. apparently this gets the sides to grow away from the skin. i was afflicted with very bad ingrown toenails in childhood and had to have them removed after much pain and infection. i keep a good eye on my 15 month old son as he seems to have inherited my bad toenails! hope it all goes well, probably a good idea to see a doctor or even a podiatrist before they get too bad as they can probably give you some more hints.

Iridescent - posted on 02/17/2010

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You probably should take her to the doctor. By the time they're swollen, there's a chance there is an infection within it (especially toes!). They can clip it or remove the nail, and put antibiotic ointment on it. Not much but so important.

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