Ingrown Toenails

Ingrown toenails can be quite painful, but some people don’t seek the help they need because they fear losing their whole nail. At Advanced Foot & Ankle in Denton, Texas, compassionate podiatrist Dr. Jaret Walker, DPM, puts those fears to rest. Dr. Jaret Walker provides immediate ingrown toenail treatment in the office to relieve your pain without permanent nail loss. Call the office or request an appointment online today.  

What are ingrown toenails?

Typical normal nails grow straight out.  Ingrown toenails curve at the edges, burrowing into the skin on one or both sides. The big toe is the most common digit for an ingrown toenail. However, in some cases other toenails may become ingrown.

What are the symptoms of ingrown toenails?

Ingrown toenails are usually red, swollen, draining, and painful. If you don’t treat ingrown toenails, the symptoms can intensify. You might develop an infection which requires oral antibiotics prior to a procedure.

What causes ingrown toenails?

Ingrown toenails usually happen for one of the following reasons:

• Trimming nails too short
• Cutting nails in an arc shape (with the corners angling down, not out)
• Wearing tight shoes that crowd your toes
• Toe trauma:  kicking a ball, dancing, crushing the toenail with an object, or an animal/person stepping on the nail
• Hereditary

How are ingrown toenails treated?

At Advanced Foot & Ankle, Dr. Jaret Walker strongly emphasizes a conservative approach to ingrown toenails. He offers treatments in the office, with the specific approach varying with the severity of the ingrown toenail. 

Dr. Jaret Walker can remove a small section of toenail on whichever side is painful, leaving the majority of your toenail intact and undisturbed. He uses local numbing medicine, so you won’t experience any pain while he removes the painful ingrown toenail section.  After removing the small section of the toenail, medicine is applied to the root of that part of the nail, so it will never grow back and cause another ingrown.  This procedure has a 95% success rate.

If you have an infected ingrown toenail, Dr. Jaret Walker prescribes oral (pills or tablets) antibiotics to fight off the infection prior to performing the ingrown toenail procedure.  

Ingrown toenails are a solvable problem, so there’s no reason to suffer or put your foot at risk of an infection. Many people choose to have a pedicure and get the painful ingrown toenail “cut out”.  While this does work it’s very temporary and usually the pain returns in a few weeks.  Also using this technique can cause infections.  Dr. Jaret Walker recommends stop paying for frequent pedicures and have the ingrown treated correctly by a professional, allowing you to feel confident in your care. 

Call Advanced Foot & Ankle in Denton, Texas or request an appointment online today for help with your ingrown toenail.