3 ways to beat... INGROWN TOENAILS

PREVENT

An ingrown toenail develops when the sides of the toenail grow painfully into the surrounding skin. Prevent the problem by cutting your toenails straight across, and not too short. Avoid wearing too-tight shoes as they can put pressure on the skin around your toenail, causing the nail to pierce the skin. Keep feet dry as sweaty feet cause the skin around the toenails to soften, making it easier for the nail to pierce the skin and embed itself.

TREAT

Prevent the nail from becoming infected by keeping the area clean and wearing comfortable shoes. Try applying a little olive oil to the skin before gently pushing it away from the nail with a cotton bud.

‘Although damage to the nail bed is irreversible, a good podiatrist will be able to reduce a thickened nail safely, and without pain,’ says nail expert Margaret Dabbs.

‘They will be able to shape it properly, which makes a tremendous difference to the appearance. At my clinic, we also perform medical nail reconstruction using a resin applied while a damaged nail is growing back. This encourages the nail to grow back in the correct direction, while also protecting against nail-bed infection.’

Always see your GP or podiatrist if your ingrown toenail is badly inflamed, bleeding or has pus coming from it.

You may need to have part of the toenail removed and a chemical called phenol applied to the affected area to prevent the nail growing back and becoming ingrown in the future.

In some cases the entire toenail may have to be removed, but it’s perfectly safe not to have a toenail.

DON’T BOTHER

Cutting a ‘V’ shape in the centre of the nail to try to relieve pressure at the sides as the nail grows out was believed to help ingrown toenails. However, experts now say there is no evidence to suggest a central cut will help the sides and say it could even cause infection.