Posted on November 3, 2023
What can cause pain like an ingrown toenail?
Pain down the edge of the toenail is pretty common, but a true ingrown toenail isn't that frequent. By classification an ingrown toe nail has grown in to the skin. This means the side, or perhaps a sharp corner with the nail has actually breached your skin making a hole in the skin. This is often quite painful as well as a portal for an infection to get in. That is what a proper ingrown toe nail is. What is a bit more common than this is when the side of the nail hurts yet it is not necessarily ingrown, ie the toe nail has not breached the epidermis. What is occurring with this is that the edge of the nail is pushing onto the skin and this becomes sore coming from that pressure, but the toe nail does not actually penetrate the skin. In many cases a callus will probably build up between the toe nail and the skin within the toenail groove which gets to be even more painful. This callus down the side of the nail groove is known as onychophosis and can be fairly painful.
The reason for this pain down the side of the toenail is nearly always as a result of shape of the toe nail. Typically the toe nail is rounded over at the sides and pushed down on the toenail groove. This toenail is often shaped that way because that's the natural shape of the toenail. Some people’s toe nails are merely more curled than others. Stress from the using of tight-fitting shoes also can drive the sides of the toe nail to be a great deal more curved. The footwear also applies force on the sides of the toes and causes the skin within the nail groove into the curled toenail and creates the pain and the formation of the callus that causes the onychophosis. When the nail has been cut improperly or even a sharp corner is left about the side of the toe nail after it has been trimmed, then there is a good chance that this sharp edge may penetrate the skin, creating a true ingrown toe nail as opposed to just force between the nail groove and the toenail causing the pain.
The therapy choices for this is to manage why you have the discomfort. When there is pain along the side of the toe nail and it is not ingrown, then the toenail should be meticulously cut and a file used to remove the callus or thicker skin of the onychophosis removed. A podiatric doctor is the ideal health care provider to do that. It's a competency which is built up after years of experience. Following the callus has been meticulously removed, then cotton wool or other material is often placed down the nail groove to help keep the nail away from the skin . If it is a true ingrown toenail is the cause then that too really should be meticulously and expertly extracted. If an infection exists, then prescription antibiotics may be required. In both situations of an onychophosis and true ingrown nail, if they are a regular concern then it may very well be preferable to undergo some minor surgical procedure to get rid of the problematic section of toe nail permanently.