Can An Ingrown Toenail Be At The Base Of The Nail

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An infected toenail is a tedious pain that's easy to ignore. That is, until information technology isn't. Whether the infection is acquired past an ingrown nail or because of an injury, it's hard to ignore when your toenail is a carmine, infected, sore mess. If you experience that yous have an infection in your toe, you should follow up with a podiatrist or visit your local InstaCare or urgent care clinic as soon as possible.

What causes an infected toenail?

Your toenail tin become infected in a number of ways, including fungal infections or even calluses caused past your shoes. Ane of the most common types of toenail infections is an ingrown toenail. If your toenail is ingrown, it means the edges of your toenail start to abound into the skin adjacent to your toenail. Ingrown toenails can be blood-red and inflamed, sore, and may even be filled with pus.

The most common causes of an ingrown toenails include:

Cut your toenail likewise short or too long
Toenail injury
Curved toenails (genetic predisposition)
Improper footwear (too tight or narrow) that puts pressure on your big toes
Cutting your toenail improperly (you should cut it directly across without angling the sides of the boom)
Certain sports and activities like trip the light fantastic toe, soccer, and skiing
Poor human foot hygiene (not keeping your feet make clean and dry)

Infections on your toes may be common if you have diabetes or similar conditions that cause poor circulation or a weakened immune system. Diabetics should check their feet often and accept regular appointments with a podiatrist considering they may not experience the pain of a toe infection until the problem is severe.

Toenail infection symptoms

An infected toenail comes with pretty specific symptoms. They include:

Pain with pressure on your toe
The skin next to your smash existence swollen, tender, or hard
Redness
Bleeding
Skin that grows over part of your toenail
A cicatrice filled with pus (you may non notice a cicatrice, but accept big amounts of drainage coming from your toe)
Xanthous toenails that are thick or cracked, suggesting a fungal infection in your toenails

At-home treatment options for ingrown toenails

Y'all can do several things at home to care for an ingrown or infected toenail to help save hurting and pressure level:

Soak your toe in a warm pes bath with unscented Epsom salt. Mix i-2 tablespoons of unscented Epsom salts into 1 quart of warm water and soak your pes for 15 minutes at a time. Practice this several times a day for the kickoff few days. Always dry your foot completely after soaking. Soaking your ingrown or infected toe volition help salvage the pain and force per unit area of an infection. Information technology tin can also help to draw out pus from your toe.
Go on your feet dry, unless you're soaking them for treatment.
Carefully pull skin away from your ingrown toenail with a small nail file that'south blunt and won't cut your toe. Place a small piece of cotton or dental floss between your smash and the lifted skin to lift the skin away from your nail.
Wear comfortable shoes.
Keep antibody ointment on your ingrown toenail to reduce infection.
Salvage pain with over-the-counter pain medications. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen can both help relieve the pain that comes from an infected toe.
Use an antifungal cream if you think yous have a fungal infection. Yous tin can purchase an over-the-counter cream or get a prescription from your dr..

When to see a doc

Although you can practice many things to treat an infected toe at home, it's important to sympathize when you demand to seek medical care. Call your doctor or a podiatrist if:

You are noticing redness, swelling, and/or drainage coming from your toe
You think you may have a fungal infection and over-the-counter creams haven't worked
Yous have an infected or ingrown toenail and y'all're diabetic
Your toenail infection symptoms don't go away, they worsen, or they continue coming back

You should seek immediate medical attention if y'all accept a fever and notice red streaks on your peel that lead away from the infected area on your toe, as these symptoms indicate a more severe infection.

An infected toenail can impact your daily life, but it doesn't have to. Learning how to care for an infected toe and knowing when to call your medico tin get you back to doing all the activities y'all beloved. If you're concerned about an infection in your toe, yous should schedule an date with a podiatrist before attempting to care for painful symptoms at home.