When it comes to taking care of your feet, it’s important that you’re also taking care of your toenails. When you accidentally cut a nail too short, it can lead to an ingrown toenail, which can be painful and cause irritation. Dr. Jeffrey Agricola at Prestige Podiatry in Indianapolis and Carmel, IN, can explain everything you need to know about ingrown toenails and how they’re treated.

Everything You Need to Know About Ingrown Toenails

If you’re dealing with an ingrown toenail, you’ll be able to identify it fairly easy. Ingrown toenails are often painful and start out hard, swollen, and tender. When left untreated, you may notice that the area around the ingrown toenail becomes sore, red, and infected and skin may start to grow over the ingrown section.

Ingrown toenails are often caused by trimming the toenails too short, which causes the toenail to grow irregularly and move into the side of the skin. You might also start experiencing ingrown toenails because of improperly fitted shoes, injuries, fungal infections, poor foot structure, or hereditary reasons.

Treating ingrown toenails is easy when you have the help of your podiatrist in Indianapolis and Carmel, IN. They may recommend conservative methods that you can try at home to start with. This could be by soaking the foot in warm, soapy water several times a day. You should also be sure to avoid wearing tight shoes and socks and your podiatrist may prescribe an antibiotic if there’s an infection. If the case is severe, you may need to have surgery to remove part of the toenail so that it can regrow properly.

Contact Your Podiatrist Today

Don’t hesitate to treat an ingrown toenail today. Contact Dr. Jeffrey Agricola at Prestige Podiatry in Indianapolis and Carmel, IN, to learn more about ingrown toenails and how you can manage them. Call for more information and to schedule an appointment today at (317) 881-0070 for the office in Indianapolis, IN, and (317) 846-4111 for the office in Carmel, IN.