# Ingrowing Toenails **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432 "2008-10-24T21:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/1 "2008-10-24T21:31:29Z")
A pal of mine had an ingrowing toenail removed during the week and I got to wondering. Why do we never hear about ingrowing fingernails?. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/2 "2008-10-24T21:33:12Z")
Could it be because they’re, in part, caused by the pressure of shoes and fingernails don’t have any comparable pressure on them? Just a wag! ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/3 "2008-10-24T21:41:02Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Could it be because they’re, in part, caused by the pressure of shoes and fingernails don’t have any comparable pressure on them? Just a wag! Yes this is one reason that causes them. Another is cutting your toenails on a curve rather than the recommended method of straight across. That said, I cut my fingernails on a curve and so do a lot of others ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/4 "2008-10-24T21:41:53Z")
I used to get ingrown thumbnails when I was a kid. It’s not pleasant. I bite my nails which doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/5 "2008-10-24T21:45:14Z")
What **Hazle Weatherfield** said. > [@](#): > > Pressure from ill-fitting shoes and improper cutting of the lateral edge of the nail are the usual predisposing factors. Proper shoes with an ample toe box should be worn to remove pressure from lateral nail folds. [http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce\_article.asp?tid=722986](http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=722986) > [@](#): > > An ingrown toenail is caused by pressure of the nail against the skin on the side of the nail. Prolonged periods of pressure can cause irritation of the skin, swelling, infection, and pain. Ingrown nails are seen mainly in the big toes of people in industrialized nations. People in cultures that don’t wear shoes rarely get ingrown nails. > Causes of Ingrown Toenails > > There are several factors that can lead to an ingrown toenail. The first is an abnormality of the soft tissue on the side of the nail. Certain rare diseases can cause a laxity of the skin, but the most common soft tissue abnormality is that seen with tight-fitting shoes. The shoes cause overcrowding of the toes pushing the soft tissue against the edge of the nail. Another common factor that can lead to ingrown toenails is nail abnormalities. [http://dermatology.about.com/cs/ingrownnail/a/ingrownnail.htm](http://dermatology.about.com/cs/ingrownnail/a/ingrownnail.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/6 "2008-10-24T22:21:28Z")
Saying it as “ingrowing toenails” makes it sound like a hobby. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ingrowing-toenails/469432/7 "2008-10-25T02:28:50Z")
I recently (two months ago) sprang for a really decent pair of steel-toed work boots, with _much_ better arch support. I can’t really feel any difference in the “toe room” between old and new boots; if anything, I think the old, “cheap” boots may have had more “toe room.” But my ingrown toenail problem has almost entirely disappeared. :shrugs: YMMV.