Ingrown Toenail Specialist
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Madison Advanced Foot & Ankle
Foot & Ankle Surgery & Podiatry located in Madison, WI
An ingrown toenail is painful, unattractive, and can lead to a severe infection without treatment. Podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon Colin Graney, DPM, offers ingrown toenail procedures at Madison Advanced Foot & Ankle to relieve your pain quickly and gently restore your foot to a healthy appearance. For friendly and professional care of ingrown toenails, call or book an appointment online today.
Ingrown Toenail Q & A
What are ingrown toenails?
An ingrown toenail is one in which the corners grow under the skin surrounding the toe. Usually, ingrown toenails affect only one side of a big toe.
Ingrown toenails can be quite painful, and it’s usually not safe to treat this problem at home. Fortunately, you can count on Dr. Graney for fast ingrown toenail care to relieve your symptoms and restore their appearance.
What are the signs of an ingrown toenail?
An ingrown toenail causes symptoms in the side of your toe, such as:
- Red skin
- Skin swelling
- Pain
- Warmth
- Oozing clear fluid, blood, or pus
- Foul odor
You should never ignore these symptoms. If an ingrown toenail is left untreated, it can eventually lead to severe complications like bone infections and even foot ulcers.
People with diabetes are particularly likely to develop ingrown toenail complications due to nerve damage and circulatory issues, so any ingrown nail requires immediate treatment.
How are ingrown toenails treated?
Dr. Graney can take care of ingrown toenails the same day if your pain requires prompt care. The treatment he prescribes depends on how deeply the nail grows into the skin, what kind of symptoms you have, and whether you have any complications like an infection.
He may splint the nail, which involves lifting the nail border and placing a small splint to keep it from growing back under the skin. You may also need to apply antibiotic ointment and soak your toe in a saltwater solution at home afterward. If you have an infection, Dr. Graney may prescribe oral antibiotics and a topical ointment.
If an ingrown toenail causes severe pain and you need a lasting solution, he can perform an in-office procedure using local anesthesia. A procedure called avulsion, involves surgical removal of the ingrown part of the nail. Dr. Graney skillfully performs the procedure with the goal of restoring the look of your nail plate.
In some cases, especially with recurrent ingrown toenails, Dr. Graney might have to remove an entire section of the nail, including the root.
To find relief from ingrown toenails, call Madison Advanced Foot & Ankle or book an appointment online today.
