Denton County Living Well Magazine March/April 2016 | Page 21

By Chantell Peterson

I

Ingrown Toenails
Can Be Painful and Unsightly

‘m sure most of you have had a
painful toenail at some point in
your life. The feeling of a sharp,
shooting pain penetrating in the
corner of the toe is what we call an
ingrown toenail. This is when the toenail, primarily occurring on the big or
great toe, grows into the side of the
toe. Not only can this be painful but
very unsightly too.

There are many causes of ingrown toenails. The most common cause is due
to the way the toenails are trimmed.
When the toenail is cut in the corners,
this forces the toenail to grow in that
fashion and into the skin. The proper
method of trimming the toenails is
straight across the nail. This should be
done with a straight toenail trimmer.
Another major cause of ingrown toenails that is seen on a regular basis is
from a traumatized toenail from a nail
salon. Many patients will come into
our office complaining that their toenails have been painful after receiving
their pedicure. This is typically caused
from the pedicurist trimming their toenails in the corner. While this may
give some relief at the time, it is best

to have the ingrown toenail cut out by
the experts who know how to properly
remove them. Pedicures are a nice luxury for both men and women however,
if you get them, ensure they are cutting
your toenails straight across.

Most patients seen in our office have
already attempted to cut out their ingrown toenail. Unfortunately, most of
the time, this cause