Ingrown Toenail Health Video

Video Transcript

JONATHON UY, M.D.: Hello, my name is Dr. Jonathon Uy and I'm going to talk about ingrown toenails. Ingrown toenails or onychocryptosis is the incurvation of the nail which eventually penetrates the skin of your toe. The symptoms are pain, swelling, and sometimes there maybe some fluid or drainage that may come out from the nail border due to the penetration of the nail. The treatment for ingrown toenails is removing the entire nail or a portion of the nail. That would require seeking professional help from a podiatrist. Removal of the nail is basically a minor procedure which requires local anesthesia. Once the nail or part nail has been removed, the usual treatment is basically antibiotic ointment and Band-Aid. The prevention of ingrown toenails is basically trimming your nails properly. Do not try to dig in to your nail corners and basically it's best to trim your nails in a straight or basically flesh around or tip of the toe. In addition, you can prevent ingrown toenails by wearing proper shoe gear, making sure that you do not wear shoes that are too small or too tight which may press up against the nail and cause an ingrown toenail.