ingrown toenails

[Riffster]

yeah i get them on both big toes...next trip in the nails will have to be removed and nerves killed cause they keep growing back wrong, I feel your pain...literally

[toys2cool]

It doesn't matter how much you take care of them Damien, you are born with ingrown toenails or not... I have always taken good care of mine and kept them quite short, it's just a hereditary thing.

wow, i guess I've been lucky so far

[Hector]

Diabetics also have problems with curving of the tonenails...thus developing ingrown toenails.

I'm not diabetic...but have a younger cousin who is...and he's already experiencing ingrown toenails.

I told him about the procedure...he's definitely looking into it...I told him to run...no walk...and do it as soon as possible...lol.

[Hector]

wow so many things to answer. partial or total nail avulsion with or without matrixectomy. the matrix at the base of the nail is wear the nail grows from; about 1mm/month. i do 2-5 of these a day. very common. number 1 causes: bathroom procedures weaken/damage the skin causing the nail to ingrow, hereditary deformity within the nail causing ingrowth along the borders of the nail, trauma or tight fitting shoes in our formative years causing deformity or ingrowth.

Thanks for the more in depth info.

In my case...I always had the bad habit of wearing really tight-fitting shoes. I used to play soccer as a youth...and felt more comfortable playing and kicking with tightly fitted shoes.

I also had the bad habit of trimming my toenails to the very brim....and I always "curved" the trim in the corners of the toenail...as opposed to trimming them in a straight line.

I had no problems until I started hitting my 30s...then it became really bad.

I finally did the procedure when I was about 40.

[Hector]

I did the Hector thing and it didn't work. The skin kept getting imbedded with the nail. I'm an extreme case. The procedure of taking out only a portion works for most people with the problem.

Yeah...the doc told me that a certain small percentage of this procedure does not work with some patients...I believe he said 10-20%.

[MegoNutt]

Um, I don't have to imagine...I didn't know there was a procedure besides going to hospital to have them removed, so I am grateful for this thread .

i do this in my office. hopefully you'll never have to go to the hospital for this. that would be very bad. like lose your toe cause infection is bad BAD! and if you had a doc who wanted to do it in the hospital under general anesthesia I'd run!

[MegoNutt]

wow so many things to answer. partial or total nail avulsion with or without matrixectomy. the matrix at the base of the nail is wear the nail grows from; about 1mm/month. i do 2-5 of these a day. very common. number 1 causes: bathroom procedures weaken/damage the skin causing the nail to ingrow, hereditary deformity within the nail causing ingrowth along the borders of the nail, trauma or tight fitting shoes in our formative years causing deformity or ingrowth.

[txteach]

I did the Hector thing and it didn't work. The skin kept getting imbedded with the nail. I'm an extreme case. The procedure of taking out only a portion works for most people with the problem.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Can you imagine people suffering from ingrown toenails before modern medical times?

That thought alone makes me grateful I live in this modern era.

Um, I don't have to imagine...I didn't know there was a procedure besides going to hospital to have them removed, so I am grateful for this thread .

[Hector]

It doesn't matter how much you take care of them Damien, you are born with ingrown toenails or not... I have always taken good care of mine and kept them quite short, it's just a hereditary thing.

Can you imagine people suffering from ingrown toenails before modern medical times?

That thought alone makes me grateful I live in this modern era.

[Hector]

Thanks for the info Hector. I have 'em and I stubbed my big toe and ripped the nail right back recently. OUCH. Good to know there is a procedure available.

Perhaps MegoNutt can describe the procedure in more accurate detail...to me...it's a better option that to just permanently kill the entire toenail...because nature (or God) gave us toenails for a reason...to protect our toes.

[Rallygirl]

i did that to myself last summer. since i am a podiatrist, i had all the equipment. it really wasn't that bad. just needed the courage to inject myself.

Heck, I'd ask if you needed a great assistant, but that would be quite the drive. Maybe next time you want to tackle your own feet, I can wield the cold spray and the needle! LOL

I worked for a wonderful doc until he recently sold his practice. I still accompany him once a week on house calls, which was the one part of is practice that he kept. After all, what fun would life be without mycotic nails to trim?

[Hector]

i did that to myself last summer. since i am a podiatrist, i had all the equipment. it really wasn't that bad. just needed the courage to inject myself.

Wow...now that's impressive!!!

[Hector]

Never heard of that procedure. Thanks. Good to know.

Rallygirl--I am squeamish about that stuff but I read through your post with great interest. Wow.

No problem.

To the layman...it's generally referred to as "kill the corners" of the toenail.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

It doesn't matter how much you take care of them Damien, you are born with ingrown toenails or not... I have always taken good care of mine and kept them quite short, it's just a hereditary thing.