the “md” in my screen name has nothing do to with the medical field. I do not now do have I ever worked in the medical field.
below is a few cut and paste selections from respected medical sites (mods – please keep the links) – I do not think that anyone posting here can argue with either of these sites.
from U.S. National Library of Medicine – The World’s Largest Medical Library:
“Treatment
If you have diabetes, nerve damage in the leg or foot, poor blood circulation to your foot, or an infection around the nail, go to the doctor right away.
Do NOT try to treat this problem at home.
To treat an ingrown nail at home:
1. Soak the foot in warm water 3 to 4 times a day if possible. Keep the toe dry, otherwise.
2. Gently massage over the inflamed skin.
3. Place a small piece of cotton or dental floss under the nail. Wet the cotton with water or antiseptic.
You may trim the toenail one time, if needed. When trimming your toenails:
Do not try to cut out the ingrown portion of the nail yourself. This will only make the problem worse.”
From the mayo clinic:
“You can typically treat ingrown toenails through lifestyle and home remedies, such as soaking your foot regularly in warm water and applying an antibiotic cream.
If pain continues or there’s pus or redness that seems to be spreading, see your doctor. You may need to have part of the nail removed and antibiotics prescribed for infection.
Ingrown toenail treatments include:
Lifting the nail. For a slightly ingrown nail (redness and pain but no discharge), your doctor may place cotton, dental floss or a splint under the edge of the nail to separate the nail from the overlying skin. This helps the nail eventually grow above the skin edge.
Partially removing your nail. For a more severe ingrown toenail (redness, pain and pus), your doctor may trim or remove the ingrown portion of the nail. Before this procedure, your doctor may temporarily numb your toe by injecting it with an anesthetic.
Removing nail and tissue. For a recurrent ingrown toenail, your doctor may suggest removing a portion of your toenail along with the underlying tissue (nail bed) to prevent that part of your nail from growing back. This procedure can be done with a chemical, a laser or other methods.”
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So now we have 2 very respected sites saying certain simple things like soaking and lifting the nail is fine* to try at home but leave the cutting to the doctors.
To recap: soaking, lifting and triming may be fine* – however more than that is dangerous and is strongly advised against.
*re-read the first paragraph for those that should not even try these things at home and should go to the doctor right away.
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For those dispensing medical advice on this board or on other boards – without knowing the full medical history and condition of the patient you may be correct in some aspect of what you say however without knowing all the particulars a patient may place themselves in jeopardy if they follow your advice. It is akin to someone calling a doctor whom they do not know and complaining of a sore throat and asking the doctor to call in a prescription to the local pharmacy without knowing the history of the patient and the other meds the patient is taking – it could be deadly and a doctor with proper ethics would never do this.
the best advice was by those who said to call your doctor.
perhaps this thread should be closed.