Will My Ingrown Toenail Heal on Its Own?

The inflammation, redness, and pain you get from an ingrown toenail is enough to make every step hurt and put a damper on your day. At Arizona Foot Health in Phoenix, Arizona, one common question our podiatrists get is whether ingrown toenails go away on their own.

The bad news is, if you don’t get it treated, your ingrown toenail won’t go away and could cause potentially dangerous problems. Thankfully, Ryan Golub, DPM, and Zachary Flynn, DPM, AACFAS, can fix your ingrown toenail in mere minutes. Find out how to treat your ingrown toenail.

Understanding ingrown toenails

If you’ve ever felt pain coming from the area where your toe’s skin meets your nails, you might have had an ingrown toenail. If you look down at your toe, you’ll see a portion of your toenail growing into the skin, instead of growing out.

Ingrown toenails most often occur on your big toe, but you can get one on any toenail. Toenails that are ingrown can also appear red and swollen and feel irritated and painful to touch. Walking with an ingrown toenail can be painful.

Why ingrown toenails don’t just go away

The only way to treat a painful ingrown toenail is to get it removed from your skin. Without treatment, your ingrown toenail will continue to grow further into your skin.

Not only are ingrown toenails incredibly painful, but the longer you go without resolving it, the more likely you will suffer from additional problems. You can develop an infection that can become systemic, and you’re also at risk if you have conditions like diabetes that impact your feet.

Having your toenail treated at Arizona Foot Health also removes the risks of attempting to fix your ingrown toenail at home. Our careful and precise podiatrists ensure no more of your nail is removed than necessary, minimizing skin and blood loss. We can numb any pain from the removal process with local anesthesia.

Ingrown toenail removal

Getting your ingrown toenail removed is quick and painless. First, if the toenail is ingrown in a large area or extremely painful, our podiatrists numb the area using localized anesthesia to ensure you experience no discomfort.

Next, they carefully lift and trim away any part of the ingrown toenail that’s embedded into your skin. If the area around your ingrown toenail has become infected, they also prescribe antibiotics to fix the issue.

After the procedure, your ingrown toenail should resolve completely and stop causing you pain and swelling.

Recurring ingrown toenails

Ingrown toenails are often a one-time problem, but some people have problems with getting them chronically. If this is you, our podiatrists can help you resolve the nuisance and health risk of your recurring ingrown toenails.

Sometimes, you can stop getting ingrown toenails by making simple changes. For example, if the way you trim your toenails is causing them to grow back ingrown, our team can help you learn to trim your toenails in a way that reduces your risk.

Otherwise, our podiatrists can perform an easy in-office procedure that permanently stops an ingrown toenail from recurring. This procedure removes the root of your toenail, making it impossible to grow back.

You retain your toenail after getting the procedure. It’s only the root of the recurring ingrown toenail our podiatrists remove.

Getting ingrown toenails is painful, annoying, and occasionally dangerous, but our team can make the problem go away very quickly. Contact us for prompt treatment of your ingrown toenail.