Luckily, I’ve never been cursed with an ingrown toenail. From what I’ve gathered, they hurt like the devil and can require some unpleasant remedies (a shot of novacaine right in my toenail bed doesn’t sound like fun). I’m careful to keep my toenails trimmed straight across, and not round the corners.
While taking care of the toenail clipping this weekend, I wondered why you never hear of ingrown fingergnails? There isn’t much difference in the shape of toenails vs. fingernails - do they somehow grow differently? I keep them my fingernails short, and I do cut them more often than my toenails (I think), so maybe they don’t the chance to become ingrown?
Actually, I trimmed my thumbnail too short last week and had what felt like an ingrown thumbnail for a few days. It is better now, but it hurt like the dickens.
I suspect what happened is that you exposed a part of the nail bed that isn’t used to being touched and is really sensitive. You’re right, that is a really uncomfortable feeling, but is different than an ingrown nail.
as to why they are less common, toenails are bigger and the skin surrounding them is thicker - less easy to break through or fold around so it is easier for it to get stuck in the skin
We probably would, if we crammed our hands into protective coverings that don’t allow for much free movement of each finger or the squooshing of soft tissie, and then carried the full weight of our bodies by walking on them.
My name is Bus Guy, and I am a chronic nail-biter…
So begins my twelve steps.
To the point though, several years back I went to the doc with what was (duh) an ingrown fingernail. I bit too far back, and the edge of my nail started to grow up into the skin surrounding the nail. By the time I got to have it looked at, it was swollen, starting to fill with icky looking stuff and I couldn’t so much as pick anything up with that finger without writhing on the floor in pain.
I had to have the thing deadened, lanced and the skin around the nail cut away, leaving an exposed hunk of me around the nail. I got antibiotics, and I was instructed to soak the thing a couple times a day, and while the skin was soft and pliant to “pull it back” away from where the nail was growing back so that the nail could grow properly back into place.
I was also advised to stop chewing on myself, or if I couldn’t do that, at least limit how much I ripped off with my teeth, or barring THAT (call me Mr. Self Control), to remember the soaking/pulling back of the skin should I find myself getting into the predicament again.
I’ve had six toes and two fingernails done. They give you three shots of novicane (to the center of your digit), and then another three afterwards to make sure you can’t feel it. Then they cut both sides of the nail off, peel back the skin and put a chemical on the area where the nail grows from to make it stop growing. Alas, more than half have grown back although they’ve grown back weaker and I’ve never had the same spot done more than once.
The reasons I have such bad luck is simply the shape of my nails. They make a complete upsidedown U. The sides are 100% vertical going down into my toes/fingers. These sides end up buried in skin and need to be cut out. It’s not fun.
So to answer your question, fingernails do happen too. Believe me, I wish they didn’t.
WhyKid just had an ingrown toenail removed completely, and it was rather horrid. The painful part is not the removal of the nail itself, it’s the ring block of Lidocaine which takes six or more very painful injections all around the toe or finger. They fill the nerves and tissues with several mL of Lidocaine, which makes the toe swell up and burn like the dickens. The removal of the nail was nothing but gross, and there was no cutting at all - the doctor took a metal probe and slid it under the cuticles and nail and the thing just popped out.
While he claimed that 90% of the time, neither he nor the patient will ever know why the nail became ingrown, he did counsel the kid to keep his toenails a little bit longer, so that a mm or two of white remains. Up to now, he’s kept them very, very short.
It may be that there are fewer ingrown fingernails than toenails because people tend to keep their toenails shorter than their fingernails. Even short fingernails usually have a small moon of white at the free edge. From what I notice in massage practice, people cut toenails all the way down.
My expirience matches CanTak3’s, except i’ve been fortunate to only have my big toes done (at the same time, though, which was fun for walking after :rolleyes: ). I’d like to ask, will the nail ever grow back to normal? It’s been a good couple of years now, and the nails still lack the sides they used to have - they’re still thinner. I’m guessing they won’t?
I’ve had a couple of ingrown toenails, but never had those procedures done. A podiatrist trimmed the nails back with a clipper that’s more powerful than anything you and I have at home, and that was it. After we went through that maybe twice - once on each big toe, I think - he said that if the problem persisted, we’d do the nailbed-killing procedure CanTak3 described. Since then, I’ve trimmed my nails more judiciously and I suppose I’ve ignored a small amount of pain. One of my brothers has had a goodly number of ingrown toenails and probably should have opted for that procedure years ago, but just won’t do it.
You can get ingrown fingernails too. If I don’t trim my fingernails so they mirror the way my cuticle grows, (Which isn’t particularily rounded) they’ll curve under the skin and I have to “retrain” them to grow properly. I have to be very careful and file the edges of them so they don’t grow incorrectly, since my nails are curved.
I’ve always had problems with ingrowns on my left big toe. But last August it got so bad I thought I was going to curse god & die!
When I went to the Podiatrist for the first time I was surprised they were going to do the surgery right then and there. Within 5 minutes of the visit she said it needed to be cut out. The shots were given on the side of the toe, not directly into the nail. They didn’t hurt at all. Once it was numb (and when numb it felt like my toe had grown 50 times it’s size. What an odd feeling) she cut the nail out and put a chemical on it so it wouldn’t happen again. You would not believe what was under my skin. It looked like a mini buck knife. Sharp as hell.
The next day I was fully recovered, except for soaking it in epsom salts and applying band aids. No pain whatsoever.
And it did not grow back. The insurance paid for everything minus a $20 office visit deductable.
If you have an ingrown nail, don’t suffer with it. Getting that sucker cut out was the best. My toe feels great.
I am not a doctor, but I stayed at Holiday Inn Express and I do have my two great toe nails removed.
Nail beds go with the bone.
You can have not so great genes, an accident or a slow change due to binding, rubbing, chewing, shoes, gloves and many more.
The bone is damaged or changes for one of the various reasons and the nail follows along. If the meat and flesh of the finger do not, then you get trouble.
They can be in most any shape included the one most people see, a winged V shape, up on one side and down on the other, all over the place really.
No matter how you cut them, if the bone is damaged enough to change the shape enough then no amount of trimming will make then not curl under, over or what not.
So mostly we get the mild stuff that is being reported here except for a couple with real bad luck.
Toes that are not jammed or in tight places and are not ever damaged are usually going to be fine unless you got unlucky in the gene department.
Once they go real bad. Don’t fight it or be a tough guy. Get them pulled. The relief is great.
Just remember, in 99% of the cases, it is what the bone is doing, not the trimming.
Not really. Not in the cases where the nail itself is not deformed, which, in my experience, accounts for more than 90% of badly ingrown nails that I see. And I’ve removed hundreds of nails partially or completely to treat acute ingrowing with infections.
In those types of cases, it is very important to properly trim the nail and wear proper fitting shoes to minimize the risk of recurrence.
Granted, if the nail is deformed, then all that may not help much. And permanent nail removal (which I do seldom) may be desireable. But these are the minority of cases.