Why do the sides of my toenails hurt?
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Why do the sides of my toenails hurt?
Ingrown toenails are a common condition in which the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh. The result is pain, inflamed skin, swelling and, sometimes, an infection. Ingrown toenails usually affect the big toe. Often you can take care of ingrown toenails on your own.
Should you cut the sides of your toenails?
It’s important to make sure that you cut your toenails straight across, leaving them long enough so that the corners lie loosely against the skin at the sides. In other words, don’t trim your toenails too short, don’t round the edges, and also don’t try to cut the toenails into a pointy V-shape.
Why do toenails hurt when cut?
However, once the skin becomes inflamed and swollen due to infection of bacteria trapped between the skin and nail, or due to the inflammation caused by the minor injury of nicking the skin when the nail is cut, pain will develop.
How do I fix the pain in the side of my toenail?
Lifestyle and home remedies
- Soak your feet in warm, soapy water. Do this for 10 to 20 minutes 3 to 4 times a day until the toe improves.
- Place cotton or dental floss under your toenail.
- Apply petroleum jelly.
- Choose sensible footwear.
- Take pain relievers.
Do ingrown toenails go away?
An ingrown toenail occurs when the toenail grows into the skin next to the nail. It most commonly affects the big toe. Although an ingrown toenail will not go away without treatment, people can usually treat it at home.
Does cutting an ingrown toenail make it worse?
Sometimes, an ingrown nail can break the skin. This makes it easier for bacteria and other microbes to enter the skin, potentially causing a painful infection. Attempting to cut an ingrown nail can further increase this risk, as it can damage the skin further — especially if the toenail is very embedded in the skin.
How do you stop a nail from hurting when you cut it too short?
“A natural cuticle oil, such as jojoba oil, is very moisturizing and a mild solution to help relieve pain without irritation,” Lin says. “You can apply it numerous times a day.”
Do ingrown toenails go away on their own?
They will not go away without intervention, but people can usually treat them at home over a few days. A person should speak to a doctor if: the ingrown toenail does not improve with home care. they have an underlying health condition that affects the feet, such as diabetes.
How do I stop my ingrown toenail from throbbing?
You can do several things at home to treat an ingrown or infected toenail to help relieve pain and pressure: Soak your toe in a warm foot bath with unscented Epsom salt. Mix 1-2 tablespoons of unscented Epsom salts into one quart of warm water and soak your foot for 15 minutes at a time.
Will a pedicure fix an ingrown toenail?
Can pedicures get rid of ingrown toenails? Many may believe that visiting a nail technician for a pedicure can rid or prevent ingrown toenails. However, this isn’t the case. Pedicures aren’t recommended by podiatrists and are actually believed to make the condition worse.
Can you dig out an ingrown toenail?
The American Academy of Dermatology also recommend that people avoid digging out or clipping an already ingrown nail. Sometimes, an ingrown nail can break the skin. This makes it easier for bacteria and other microbes to enter the skin, potentially causing a painful infection.
What does pincer nail look like?
If you notice that your toenails have a curled appearance or that the lateral edges seem to slope inward toward one another as the free edge grows, you may have what’s known as a pincer nail.
Is there a cure for pincer nails?
There is no standard treatment for pincer nail. Several treatment methods, including conservative approaches and surgical methods, are used. Surgical therapy can produce a satisfactory result in cases with severe deformity; however, that invasive approach may cause severe discomfort.
What happens if you cut toenails too short?
When people cut their nails too short, the skin on the sides can cover the corners of the nail. This causes the nail to grow back into the skin. Nails that are ripped instead of cut or cut in a rounded shape also tend to become ingrown because they don’t have clear corners.
Why do nails hurt when cut too short?
When you cut your nails so short it becomes painful to touch things with your fingers, you’ve accidentally uncovered the skin underneath your fingernail, a.k.a. the hyponychium.
