Diabetic Foot Care Advice

The aim of this blog is to help members of the public to understand their feet better. However the information on this blog should never be regarded as medical advice. Readers with foot problems are strongly encouraged to visit their GP if not the podiatrist for further medical assessment and treatment.

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Thursday, April 3, 2008

Ingrown Toenails And Its Specifics

Ingrown toenails are also known scientifically as “unguis incarnates”. In the medical world, it is commonly referred to as, “onychocryptosis”.
Ingrown toenails are actually a type of disease occurring within the nails. This is very painful and oftentimes unbearable since it involves the actual nails themselves. The nail grows uncontrollably into the nail bed and ends up cutting through the skin and then hurting the nail’s fleshy area during the entire process. This condition happens on both the hands and feet, particularly on every fingernail area. However, it often occurs within toenails.

If ingrown toenails are left untreated, the circumstances may become severe. From a simple type of inflammation, it can become a fatal infection, which can eventually lead to ulceration and then into an abscess which would ultimately need surgery for it to be completely removed.

There are actually several factors which can cause this nail disease. Some of them are as follows:

- wearing tightly-fitted and enclosed footwear
- rounded trimming of nails especially on corners
- fungal infection
- nail or finger injury
- nail biting
- trauma experienced by the toe nail
- diseases causing nail deformity
- hereditary factors

It is easy to spot symptoms of ingrown toenails. The signs and symptoms are very obvious and really painful. At its earliest stage, an ingrown toenail will exhibit some form of redness combined with lengthened pain and just a mild swelling within the affected area. It does not necessarily follow that you will most likely observe pus coming out from it. However, as the condition progresses, an infection can develop when it remains untreated. The swelling will become severe until a colored drainage can be observed forming from the area. In severe cases, ingrown toenails can also cause fever.

Read more on Treatments of Ingrown Toenails

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