Ingrown toenail is a term that describes a nail on your toe that grows abnormally into your surrounding skin. Depending on the degree of disruption caused by this condition, you can experience effects ranging from localized skin irritation to skin rupture and infection. Your body reacts to an ingrown toenail with immune responses designed to limit the effects of irritation and infection.
Immune Response Basics
The term immune response describes the ways in which your body identifies and combats the presence of potentially dangerous viruses, fungi and bacteria, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus. Your body uses the same process to identify and react to other potentially harmful foreign bodies or substances, including splinters, drugs and chemical toxins. Your skin acts as a first line of defense in your immune response; along with your cough reflex, stomach acids, mucus and certain enzymes, it blocks invaders and helps keep the interior of your body safe.
Inflammation
The invasion of a toenail into your skin can trigger significant swelling, warmth and redness in your affected toe, according to American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons' Foot Health Facts. These are signs of a characteristic immune response called inflammation. Inflammation occurs when injured cells in your tissues release several chemicals, including prostaglandins, histamine and bradykinin, Medline Plus reports. Together, these chemicals trigger fluid leakage from your blood vessels to your surrounding flesh; in turn, this leakage produces localized swelling. The net result of this process is an isolation of your intruding toenail from the deeper tissues in your toe.
Infection
If an ingrown toenail actually breaks the surface of your skin, it can allow bacteria on your toe to enter your tissues and trigger an infection, Foot Health Facts reports. When an infection occurs, elements in your immune system called B cells respond by chemically tagging the invading organisms with substances called antibodies. Other elements of your immune system, called T cells, then attack the tagged organisms. Your T cells also release substances called cytokines, which help control the overall nature of your immune response, Medline Plus says.
Treatment
If you don't have an infection or disorder such as poor circulation, diabetes or nerve damage, you may be able to treat an ingrown toenail at home, Foot Health Facts notes. Potential home treatments include soaking your foot in room temperature water and massaging your affected toe to lower any inflammation. If you develop an infected ingrown toenail, you will need to see your doctor for treatment. In some cases, your doctor will give you oral antibiotics to fight off your infection. In other cases, he may perform a minor surgical procedure that involves partial removal of your affected nail or nail root.
Considerations
You can help prevent ingrown toenails from forming in the first place by properly trimming your toenails and wearing shoes and socks that fit your feet, Foot Health Facts explains. If you develop an ingrown nail, avoid repeatedly trimming the border of your nail, putting cotton under your nail or cutting a notch in your nail; these supposed ingrown nail remedies will not improve your condition.
Member Comments