There are many factors that can make you prone to ingrown toenails, including:

• Inherited genes that make you prone to having excessively curved nails
• Your standing posture
• How you walk 
• The size or shape of the shoes you wear; tight footwear can cause ingrown toenails when the toe flesh, known as the nail fold, is pushed onto the nail and it pierces the skin
• If you have a bunion or a hammer toe
• Excessive pronation of the feet (when your foot rolls too far inward)
• If your nails have a natural tendency to splay or curl out instead of growing straight
• If you cut your nails too low to relieve the pressure and discomfort of an involuted nail — this habit is very common.
• If you sweat excessively or don’t rotate your footwear, as this makes the skin moist and easier to penetrate
• If your nails are brittle or little bits tend to break off 
• Ingrown toenails are often accompanied by a fungal nail infection, when the nail thickens, becomes excessively curved or becomes brittle and crumbly

• Your toe is very sore. Under pressure you feel sharp pain like a needle and at the same time the toe is swollen and the surrounding area is red. 
• The pain is followed by inflammation and the lesion often bleeds.
• The worst scenario is infection, which causes pus and odour.

However, it’s not always this easy to identify an ingrown toenail. Sometimes the pain can be attributed to the following:

• A curved nail, which has collected dirt or fluff underneath it.  A nail that’s curling (involuted or convoluted) into the flesh, but isn’t actually piercing the skin, is unlikely to be an ingrown toenail. However, it can still feel very painful and can also appear red and inflamed.
• A corn or callus on the side of the nail. If it is a corn or callus, you are likely to experience throbbing pain rather than the sharp pain of an ingrown toenail.

There are different treatment options depending on the factors causing the ingrown toenail and the severity of your symptoms.

1. If the cause of your ingrown toenail is fluff, debris, hard skin or a corn, the foot health professional or podiatrist will remove it and clean the nail groove. The nail may be thinned, if necessary. The offending spike of nail will be removed and the toe will be covered with an antiseptic dressing. 
2. For toes that have bleeding or discharge from an infection around the nail, or even excessive healing flesh (hypergranulation tissue) around the nail, I will refer you to your GP who can prescribe antibiotics to manage the infection. At the same time, I will remove the offending spike of nail and cover the toe with an antiseptic dressing. The lesion will be relieved promptly and you will feel less pain.  
3. Partial or total nail avulsion done by one of the best podiatrists in the area, under local anaesthesia. 

If there is a particular underlying reason for your ingrown toenail, we will identify it and discuss the appropriate action to help prevent it from growing back. We may recommend a partial nail avulsion (PNA) – where just a small piece of nail and its root are removed, or a total nail avulsion (TNA), where the entire nail plate and root are removed. If this is needed, I will refer you to one of the best podiatrists in the area, who can perform these procedures in a clinical environment under local anaesthetic.  

Removing part or all of the nail is done under local anaesthetic. Partial nail avulsion (PNA) is where just a part of the nail is removed (including the root), leaving a permanently narrower nail. Total nail avulsion (TNA) is where the whole nail is removed (including the root). The podiatrist uses a chemical called phenol to cauterise the nail and prevent it from regrowing. It is a fairly common procedure to treat this problem and our podiatrist, who performs this procedure weekly, is one of the best in the area. The success rate is 95%. 

If left untreated, an infection from an ingrown toenail can develop throughout your foot and, in very rare cases, enter the bloodstream. If you are diabetic or you have one or more severe underlying diseases, you are high-risk and you should visit a professional as soon as possible to avoid complications or amputation.   

You should also visit a foot health professional or podiatrist if:

• you experience persistent pain in your toe from the ingrown toenail
• you have a condition that affects the nerves and/or feeling in your foot
• you have any foot care issues that do not resolve themselves naturally or through routine foot care within three weeks

You should see a foot health professional or podiatrist urgently if you:

• have symptoms of infection
• suspect you have an ingrown toenail and have diabetes, poor circulation or a reduced immune system

Constant development in skills, knowledge and state-of-the-art technology means I am able to give you the highest-quality care possible. I am completely committed to providing you with professional service so you will be in good hands from the beginning until the process is finished.