When toenails grow into fingers, life becomes unbearable. When walking, a sharp pain pierces the foot, you have to carefully calculate each step. In this case, it becomes so difficult to maintain hygiene that an infection almost always joins, due to which an abscess forms on the nail roller. In the future, the night's sleep disappears due to unbearable pain. If you miss the moment of going to the doctor, a complication appears in the form of panaritium. And it is so dangerous that you can lose your finger.
The problem starts small. A normal, he althy nail has a natural transverse curve. Suddenly, it begins to bend too much on one side and grows deep into the side roller. If no action is taken, the direction of growth of the nail plate changes and the situation worsens. Why is this happening?
Ingrown toenail symptoms
It is possible to independently determine whether a large nail grows in or not only when the process has gone far. The pain does not appearstraightaway. First, there is a feeling of fullness in the side bolster, then when putting on shoes, it may seem that it has become tight. Later, when walking, there is a sensation of a foreign body under the nail. This means that the nail on the big toe has begun to grow in.
When growing in, there is always swelling of the lateral ridge, it is hyperemic, painful. Pain often appears under the he althy edge of the nail from the butt (from the side of the ingrowth). The skin on the roller becomes thinner and shiny. The swelling can be quite large, making it impossible to wear closed shoes.
When ingrown, the nail changes its transverse bend, this is clearly visible from the end. Its edge can be bent under the nail plate, thereby pinching soft tissues. The transverse bend may, on the contrary, decrease and become almost flat in cross section, trapezoidal. It injures the lateral fold, increasing the width of the nail bed.
The disease begins with the formation of an ulcer in this place. It gets wet, the body tries to heal the wound, but excessive growth of soft tissue begins. In the people, this granulation was called "wild meat". The condition becomes chronic.
Diagnosing the problem
Diagnosing onychocryptosis (the so-called ingrown nail) is possible only when viewed from the side of the butt. You can’t do this on your own, but you can visit a pedicure room. The master will determine the cause of discomfort and differentiate the ingrown nail from callus, wart, incorrectly cut free edge or injury. Often in the sinus of the lateral ridge is foundforeign body that irritates delicate skin. It can be a splinter, a hair, a grain of sand, or a part of your own nail that was not removed earlier when cutting the length. Such chips fall first on the roller, and then can be deeply rubbed when wearing tight shoes.
If diagnostics determined that the problem is not in the ingrowth, it will be immediately resolved. It will be more difficult when the plate has already begun to bend, the roller is hyperemic and enlarged due to edema. You can determine if there is inflammation of the tissues by tapping on the nail. In response, the person will indicate the point at which pain is felt.
When an infection has joined and an abscess appears, this means that the tissues have begun to melt. In this case, it is better to consult a podiatrist. If he decides that conservative treatment can be dispensed with, ointments will be prescribed. Otherwise, you will have to fix the nail with a brace. The surgeon usually simply removes part of the nail along with the root. But after such a radical treatment, the width of the nail plate decreases, and the cause of the ingrowth is not always eliminated.
Tests to be done include a blood glucose test to rule out diabetes and a general test to confirm inflammation.
Ingrown toenail situations
There are several conditions in which toenails grow into fingers. These are the following situations:
- Incorrect cutting of nails. It is well known that a straight cut is made on the legs. But it is also important to cut off the overgrown length in time so as not tospoil the natural transverse bending of the nail plate. When this is done rarely, the nails begin to grow trapezoidal. Their corners break off as they grow. Therefore, a person begins to cut them off, forming not a straight, but a semicircular cut. With the next length correction, you can easily injure the delicate skin of the roller with the sharp ends of the scissors. Or, conversely, insufficient penetration of the scissors causes an incision in the nail. It is cut off, but a burr remains. As the length grows, this sharp piece moves forward and grows into the roller. The bending of the side of the plate changes, and the situation is fixed.
- Tight shoes.
- Overweight and, as a result, a large load on the foot.
- Injury.
- Flat feet and valgus.
- Psoriasis.
- Sclerosis of small vessels causes malnutrition of tissues. Metabolic disorders, diabetes, fungal diseases and many other diseases can cause a similar problem.
Sometimes it's hard to determine why an ingrown toenail is growing. There may be several reasons for this.
Complications
Untreated granulation leads to tissue compaction and changes in the structure of the nail plate. Its form is changing. An ingrown nail breaks, the toe swells badly. Chronic inflammation spreads to surrounding tissues, affecting the bone. At a certain point, the nail is rejected, and the process goes to the entire foot. This is fraught with gangrene, especially for diabetics. For these people, even the slightest violation of the skin is very dangerous, especially such a closed process asonychocryptosis. No less serious danger is this condition for patients with atherosclerosis. At the same time, the trophism of the limbs is disturbed, immunity and the regenerative ability of the body fall.
There are several consequences of this situation, when toenails grow into fingers:
- Fungal lesions of the wound surface and their progression.
- Abscess.
- Lymphadenitis - pain and inflammation of blood vessels and lymph nodes.
- Periostitis, otherwise inflammation of the periosteum.
- Osteomyelitis, in which the purulent process spreads to the bone.
- Gangrene.
If the nail is ingrown, the toe is festering and sore, then you should immediately consult a doctor and get tested. You may need to do an x-ray to rule out inflammation of the periosteum. For all its simplicity, onychocryptosis is a very dangerous disease.
Problem Solving
The specialist will decide how to remove the ingrown toenail. It is best to contact a podiatrist who deals with the foot and all its diseases. Specialists in this area have a lot of ways to treat onychocryptosis, and removing the nail is an extreme measure.
It often happens that you just need to make an oblique cut from the side of the ingrown, prescribe bactericidal baths and a healing ointment to heal the wound. A napkin is placed under the cut to prevent further injury to the side roller.
If the doctor finds granulation, you will have to take tests. After receiving the results, it will become clear at what stagedisease is located. Is it possible to get by with a cut of the ingrown part of the nail plate and the appointment of drugs, or will it be necessary to resort to excision of the surrounding tissues. Often, an incision is made through the entire nail plate with cutting out a segment and then combining the two parts of the nail.
When an ingrown toenail hurts, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. After surgery, antihistamines are added.
With timely treatment, the doctor often puts a brace on the incorrectly growing nail, which prevents it from bending, after two months it is simply removed. If necessary, the doctor will prescribe laser treatment.
Prevention of pathology
After treatment, you need to undergo a course of rehabilitation and learn how to prevent problems from happening again. This includes sizing shoes, correcting lateral flat feet with special liners or insoles, avoiding high heels, and weight control. In many ways, non-compliance with these preventive measures is the reason why ingrown toenails. Unfortunately, relapses are very common after the first episode of onychocryptosis.
Another important factor in prevention is proper nail length reduction. It is necessary to perform a straight cut on all fingers, notice and remove overdried areas of hyperkeratosis in time, treat calluses and prevent the appearance of a fungal infection.
With age, there is a whole bunch of disorders in the body. Correction with medicines of the maindiseases will not only improve the quality of life, but also protect against vascular disorders, due to which onychocryptosis may develop.
Valgus is often the cause of an ingrown toenail. This is the so-called bone. The problem is successfully solved by the surgeon, and after a while the patient can even wear dress shoes. Gout is also one of the causes of a change in the position of the big toe. The accumulation of deposits in the joint occurs due to a violation of the general metabolism. Surgery and lifelong dieting will help get rid of the problem.
How a pedicure master can help
When an ingrown toenail hurts, do not try to solve the problem yourself. It is better to consult a podiatrist. If this is difficult, then to the pedicure master. By virtue of their profession, these specialists have rich experience and extensive practice. They can cure simple pathological conditions of the foot both quickly and with the help of therapeutic creams and baths. In the arsenal of the master there are special sterile instruments for removing ingrown nails, sterile napkins for placing under the corrected plate and curettes for installing the correcting bracket.
The modern pedicure master is an educated specialist who combines foot care with nail decoration. The pedicure braces that are applied in the salon come in different colors, reminiscent of gold, copper or chrome rings, creating a beautiful design in themselves. In addition, the master may decide to use modelingmaterials for restoring a part of the nail plate, will mask the nail crack, will advise special creams and ointments for each specific case.
Dangers of DIY Pedicure
Although pedicure tools can be purchased at any professional store, cutting an ingrown toenail yourself is very dangerous. Each master in practice had more than one case of such attempts on the part of his clients, after which the person turns to the nearest pedicure room for help. Indeed, there is a lot of information on the Internet on how to remove an ingrown toenail. But optimists do not take into account the knowledge that a specialist has. A simple change in skin color can tell him a lot. In addition, it is worth noting insufficient lighting during home pedicure, a different angle of view and holding tools.
There are situations where certain techniques are not allowed. This applies primarily to patients with diabetes. Such clients do only unedged pedicure in order to avoid gangrenous complications. It is clear that the master will also remove the ingrown nail using a hardware method. So intervening on your own can be very dangerous.
Another complication when removing an ingrown part of the nail can be the addition of a fungal infection. Therefore, the specialist immediately uses an antifungal agent for prevention purposes. It is dripped onto the roller at the cut site, repeating this operation throughout the entire healing period. If this is not done, then the nail may be corrected, but the sore formed due toinjury to the roller, may be delayed with fungal spores. And then it will begin to grab the bed of the nail, get close to the matrix and spread imperceptibly until the nail suddenly falls off.
Conservative treatment
If you turn to a specialist in time, he may limit himself to prescribing conservative treatment. It includes baths, lotions, ointments and dressings. If the abscess has not formed, disinfecting baths are prescribed three times a day for a quarter of an hour. The ingrown corner is cut off, and the baths continue to be done until completely cured.
In case of development of an abscess, which provoked an ingrown toenail on the big toe, Vishnevsky's ointment will perfectly draw out the pus and healing will go quickly. The infection will not spread. A warm compress is used to apply the product. A layer of ointment is applied to the bandage folded several times and fixed on the finger. From above, the bandage is insulated with plastic wrap.
Folk treatments
Alternative medicine has medicines for all occasions. But they must be used with extreme caution. Usually use chamomile collection, which is brewed for taking baths. It has been used since there was no "wild meat" yet.
Baby recipe:
- Boiling water - 2 liters.
- Chamomile flowers - 6 tbsp.
Prepare an infusion by keeping the grass soaked in water for an hour, filter and heat if necessary. Take half an hour with full immersion of the foot. After cutting off the length of the nail and bandaging the finger.
To draw out pus, use a warming bandage withaloe leaf. A general tonic berry collection that improves immunity works well. Burdock leaf medicated bandages relieve swelling, while a warm alcohol compress relieves inflammation.
Unfortunately, many believe in conspiracies, prayers and other miracles. Being sure that they know how to remove an ingrown toenail, people waste time, and the disease progresses in the meantime. Such folk methods are not suitable.
Toe surgery: ingrown toenail and its correction
When neither conservative methods of treatment nor traditional medicine help, they turn to surgical treatment. But now there are so many methods for correcting onychocryptosis that correcting it surgically has many opponents. Among the arguments put forward is a large blood loss, a long healing period and severe pain in the postoperative period. The entire period of growth of a new nail is at least four months, or even six months, a person cannot wear closed shoes due to discomfort. But most importantly, the removal of the nail does not solve the underlying problem, and correction of the growth of the nail plate is necessary to prevent recurrence.
This is solved by using a carbon dioxide laser. It acts on granulation pointwise, removes pathological tissue under the influence of high temperatures and does not affect he althy tissues at all.
Conclusion
Such a common problem, when toenails grow into fingers, should be de alt with by specialists. Only in this case can we say with certainty that it will be solved as much as possible.quickly and least traumatically.
