3 Easy Ingrown Toenail Prevention Tips

Ingrown toenails can be painful, cause discomfort, and even increase your risk for infection, but the good news is they are treatable. There are many cases which can be successfully addressed at home and, of course, our foot experts at Dallas Podiatry Works are here for ones that need professional care. That said, we would prefer to know you were able to prevent an ingrown toenail from developing in the first case, and we bet you do too!

Even better than the fact ingrown nails can be treated is knowing many can be prevented. Now, sometimes nails become ingrown due to an inherited nail structure, but you can take the following steps to reduce your chances of having one develop due to other causes:

• Trim your toenails correctly. Perhaps because we tend to do it with our fingernails, many people will round off the corners of their toenails when trimming them. Unfortunately, a nail trimmed in this fashion can become ingrown. Instead, clip them straight across. Also, be careful not to cut them too short, as this also increases your risk. A good rule of thumb is to keep them roughly even with the edge of your toes.
• Protect your feet. Another common cause of ingrown toenails is physical trauma, like when someone drops something heavy on his or her foot. If you know you are going to be moving or handling heavy items—like at work or moving things around at home—ask for help or make sure you are wearing safety shoes or steel-toed work boots.
• Wear properly-fitting shoes. This is a major prevention step for many potential foot and ankle conditions, including ingrown toenails. Specifically, always wear shoes that are not too tight or too small. When footwear is tight in the front, it crowds the toes together and can force nails to grow into the soft skin flanking them.

Now, if you have an ingrown toenail that develops on account of an inherited foot structure there isn’t really much that can be done from a prevention perspective, but you can still come see us for the treatment you need.

We take pride in providing effective care for the wide array of lower limb issues—including ingrown toenails—that bring patients in to see us. If you are in need of quality foot care services, contact Dallas Podiatry Works by calling us at 972.853.7100. Of course, if you want to schedule an appointment with either our Plano or Dallas offices, you can do that online right now.