Ingrown toe nails - any tricks?

[Mad_Hatter]

I went to the podiatrist once (my nails on both my big toes curve in for some reason even though I literally wear open toe shoes/sandals 99% of the time)... and he told me how I could do it at home and save the $35 copay, assuming I didn't/don't let it get too bad.

Buy Walmart brand lidocaine gel for back/muscle pain it's 5% lidocaine v. 1% in anbesol and cheaper. Step 1, soak your feet in a bowl of warm water for about 10mins..S2, disinfect the toe and the clippers..S3, put the lidocaine on for about 5mins..S4, go to work cutting the nail out. The only difference from what I described and what the podiatrist did was he used a syringe to inject lidocaine around the nail where it was ingrown.

And get on it at the first hint of pain, don't wait. You're just gonna make clipping/digging it out that much more painful when you do have to do it. Good luck..

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
And get on it at the first hint of pain, don't wait. You're just gonna make clipping/digging it out that much more painful when you do have to do it. Good luck..


Quoted for truth...I had one that I couldn't get and became very touch sensitive (I was early 20s), so was always going to "try tomorrow" after a few failed painful attempts...the spur grew out the end of the toe...which I fixes, but man oh man.

 

[bobdoo]

Get these: https://www.amazon.com/SZQHT-Openin...ords=SZQHT&qid=1571973124&sr=8-4

and these: https://www.amazon.com/Solingen-Sta...re+Nippers&qid=1571973444&sr=8-4

File the points off the Solingen!

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by Shannow
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
And get on it at the first hint of pain, don't wait. You're just gonna make clipping/digging it out that much more painful when you do have to do it. Good luck..


Quoted for truth...I had one that I couldn't get and became very touch sensitive (I was early 20s), so was always going to "try tomorrow" after a few failed painful attempts...the spur grew out the end of the toe...which I fixes, but man oh man.

Yeah the one time I had to go to the podiatrist is when I made that mistake. Like you i just kept putting it off because I didn't want to deal with it..well, the toenail just kept digging deeper and deeper into the side of the toe. What got me to do something about it and see the Doc' was i dropped something relatively heavy on it (like I said I'm usually wearing sandals) and hoooo boy, I think they head me cursing all the way in China!...‚

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by bobdoo
Get these: https://www.amazon.com/SZQHT-Openin...ords=SZQHT&qid=1571973124&sr=8-4

and these: https://www.amazon.com/Solingen-Sta...re+Nippers&qid=1571973444&sr=8-4

File the points off the Solingen!

I bought mine off eBay for a fraction of the price. Yeah it took a couple weeks to slow boat from China but they work great, no complaints, and only cost like $5usd. i ended up getting that pick like instrument that helps lift the nail so you can get get a good cut. Especially helpful for nails that are ingrown on the side.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by fisher83
Another vote for getting the podiatrist to remove part of the nail.......

Podiatrists are a rip off for a lot of things. This is one of them. Another is, "callous removal". I have a reoccurring callous on the side of my big toe. It got really big and thick, so I made an appointment with one, (after getting a referral from my primary care guy who wouldn't touch it, because it required a, "specialist"). So I go to this gal, who was really nice and friendly.

She looks at it, comes back with a scalpel, and proceeds to start whittling away at it. A minute later she was done, after giving me the infamous warning, "Don't ever try this yourself!" I found out she charged my insurance $350.00 for what amounted to a 5 minute visit. This is one of the many reasons why so few people can afford health care today.

A couple months later it was back, just as big and thick as the first time. I went out in the garage, put a 3/4" drum sander on my variable speed Dremel with a 60 grit drum, and had at it. (The same one I use on my dogs nails, so I don't have to listen to them go, "click, clack" on our hardwood floors).

In a couple of minutes it was even smoother and better than she had it. The trick is to do it dry, not after a shower. The dead skin is too soft and will clog up the sanding drum. If you are afraid to employ power tools, they sell those callous rasps in the foot care section at Wal-Mart, and most any grocery store. It will take longer, but they'll work just as well.

Many of these type of "treatments" are overblown by the health care industry. And we all end up paying the price for it, one way or another. If I can change my own oil, I figure I can remove a callous. I never went to school to learn how to do either one.

 

[Mr Nice]

Some ingrown nails are infected with puss need a podiatrist to remove.

 

[mk378]

I got the operation where the doctor would numb the toe, cut off the edge of the nail then kill that spot of the root with caustic so the problem edge part (too wide and curved downward) doesn't ever grow back. It cost less than $400 and was worth it.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by billt460

Many of these type of "treatments" are overblown by the health care industry. And we all end up paying the price for it, one way or another. If I can change my own oil, I figure I can remove a callous. I never went to school to learn how to do either one.

Your problem isn't the Podiatrist, it was going to a Podiatrist for something you can do yourself at home.

Btw, how big does a callus need to be to warrant using a Dremel?.. and at some point did you ever give a name to said callus?🤔...‚

 

[andyd]

BIL's gran'ma showed him a remedy that probably came from caring for horses. Pare down the center of the nail until it is almost into the quick.As the nail grows it will fill in the thin spot and draw the nail out of the flesh while doing so.. I used a Dremel and it takes a few days but it works. I 've done it a few times to my big toes.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Some ingrown nails are infected with puss need a podiatrist to remove.


LOL,they are the easy ones...

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by Shannow
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Some ingrown nails are infected with puss need a podiatrist to remove.


LOL,they are the easy ones...

Right.. it's the one's you're doing on your own that hurt....‚ I did have my big toenail removed once after it got smashed and broke the toe... they did it in the ER. Never felt a thing except for the force/pressure of the doc' finishing ripping it off..they numbed the foot with lidocaine injections, an IV painkiller and sent me home with a bottle of Vicodin...... wasn't till the next day that it hurt like a sob.

 

[andyd]

Ingrown nails are one thing . Every shoe wearing kid does it if they go barefoot long enough. Stubbing the big toe. Yeowtch! Blood trapped under a nail. Throbbing pain with every heart beat. I Dr's visit cure me of bothering him with a detail. He opened his desk drawer, hunted up a paper clip, straightened it, got out his Zippo and heated up the wire. and ZAP speared through the nail into the quick. A quick shock then relief. In grown toenails are easy compared to that. Getting a few quick stitches before the Novacain sets in. First One's gonna burn a little, All 3 did. Suck it up , Buttercup Life has pain to tell you you're alive enough to feel pain.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Some ingrown nails are infected with puss need a podiatrist to remove.


Ingrown toenails are like slivers. The longer you wait to remove them, the more it's going to hurt. You'll feel pain long before infection sets in.