How to Clip Your Nails to Prevent an Ingrown Toenail

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), 20% of people who seek medical care for a foot problem have an ingrown toenail. If you’re suffering from pain and swelling around one of your toes, it may be due to an ingrown toenail. 

At AllCare Foot & Ankle Center in Arlington and Dallas, Texas, our dedicated podiatrists, Michael Tran, DPM, and Scott Floyd, DPM, specialize in wound care and offer compassionate care to help alleviate pain and restore mobility when you’re suffering from a foot or ankle condition like an ingrown toenail. Here they explain more about the uncomfortable condition and share important information about how to clip your nails to prevent it from happening.

What is an ingrown toenail?

You develop an ingrown toenail when the hard corner of the nail on your toe grows into the soft fleshy skin that surrounds it. There are a number of telltale symptoms, such as:

• Redness
• Swelling
• Inflammation
• Infection

Pain is the key symptom and the reason most people seek treatment.

Causes of an ingrown toenail

You can develop an ingrown toenail from:

• Wearing ill-fitting shoes
• Injuring your toe or toenail
• Improperly cutting your toenails
• Poor foot hygiene

It may be that you’re just more prone than others to develop the condition due to thicker nails or nails that are especially curvy.

Complications of an ingrown toenail

Without treatment, an ingrown toenail can progress into a serious infection that can impact your bone health and overall well-being. Foot disorders are especially serious if you have diabetes because poor circulation and nerve damage make you more susceptible to dangerous gangrene. In fact, diabetic foot infections are a leading cause of amputation.

Preventing an ingrown toenail

Our team recommends a number of ways that you can clip your nails to prevent an ingrown toenail:

• Use nail clippers that are specifically designed for toenails
• Cut your nails when they are dry and firm, not soft and wet after a bath or shower
• Cut your nails straight across, not in a curved shape 
• Keep your nails even with the end of your toenail bed. Don’t leave any excess over the bed’s edge or cut it too short into the bed area.
• Cut your nails every 6 weeks to keep them from getting too long 

After each cut, if there are any rough edges, it’s appropriate to use a nail file or emery board to smooth out the nail.

If you’re suffering with an ingrown toenail or want more information about how to take good care of your feet, call the office closest to you in Arlington or Dallas, Texas or book online. We look forward to talking to you soon.