subject: Ingrown Toenails: A Painful Problem, A Simple Treatment With Lasting Relief [print this page] According to the American Podiatric Medical Associtation, ingrown nails are the most common nail impairment. An ingrown toenail occurs when the sides of the nail dig painfully into the soft tissue of nail grooves, often leading to irritation, redness, and swelling.
What Causes an Ingrown Toenail? Could it be the tight shoes you wore, as a kid, or that you still wear? It could be a bad pedicure. Or maybe you like to cut the nail corners back rather than straight across. Maybe it is genetic. Whatever the cause of the ingrown toenail, the question is how to treat it and keep it from coming back. While many people are content to live with this problem forever, there is a simple solution. And contrary to popular belief, it is not bathroom surgery with fingernail clippers and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Bathroom surgery is preferred by those afraid of going to the doctor, but it is not recommended for ingrown toenails. It simply leaves blood on the towels and, typically, an even more painful toe. And even if bathroom surgery is "successful", in most cases, the problem returns with a vengeance after a short time. It is not recommended to go to the emergency room or even to your family doctor for treatment of ingrown toenails.
What is the Simple Solution? How does one really conquer painful ingrown toenails? Go to your podiatrist! Podiatrists have successfully treated countless patients with painful ingrown toenails. In our office, we like to call the procedure, "the 98% procedure". The medical name for the procedure is a matrixectomy. We call it the 98% procedure because in our experience over 98% of our patients have had success with our treatment method. Success means the pain is gone and the ingrown part of the toenail does not come back. The object is to remove the nail matrix. That is the part of the nail commonly referred to as "the root". The corner of the nail almost never, (that is the missing 2%), grows back ingrown. Many podiatrists are able to remove an ingrown nail and make it appear as if there was ever a problem with the nail in the first place.
You Don't Have to Suffer Any Longer. Remember, an ingrown toenail is not a problem that you have to suffer with forever. There is never a bad time to get an ingrown toenail "fixed". You can go to the podiatrist when it is inflamed and infected or go in when the toe looks great and doesn't hurt. If you have a history of multiple ingrown toenails, this procedure IS what you have been dreaming about finding. While bathroom surgery may be tempting, put an end to it with a trip to your podiatrist!
