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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staff
You can treat most ingrown toenails at home. Here's how:
- Soak your feet. Do this for 15 to 20 minutes two or three times a day in warm water. Soaking reduces swelling and relieves tenderness.
- Place cotton or dental floss under your toenail. Put fresh bits of cotton or waxed dental floss under the ingrown edge after each soaking. This will help the nail eventually grow above the skin edge. Change the cotton or the floss daily until the pain and redness subside.
- Use a topical antibiotic. Apply an antibiotic ointment and bandage the tender area.
- Choose sensible footwear. Consider wearing open-toed shoes or sandals until your toe feels better.
- Take pain relievers. If there's severe pain, take over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) to relieve the pain until you can see your doctor.
- Check your feet. If you have diabetes, check your feet daily for signs of ingrown toenails or other foot problems.
References
- Ingrown toenail. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00154. Accessed Dec. 31, 2010.
- Foot care. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/foot-care.html?print=t. Accessed Jan. 10, 2011.
- Melio FR. Soft tissue problems of the foot. In: Tintinalli JE, et al. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y. The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6393319&searchStr=nails%2c+ingrown. Accessed Jan. 10, 2011.
- Heidelbaugh JJ, et al. Management of the ingrown toenail. American Family Physician. 2009;79:303.
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