Home Remedies For Ingrown Toenails

Ingrown toenails can be extremely painful. The big toe is usually affected. Toenails that are curved are more prone to developing ingrown toenails. Cutting toenails straight across and avoiding cutting them too short will help prevent ingrown toenails.

If an ingrown toenail develops, there are some home remedies that provide relief for some sufferers. One home remedy starts by soaking the foot in salt water for half an hour. After the soak, gently use a tweezers to pry the nail over the skin in which it is embedded. A small piece of gauze or cotton should be wedged between the nail and the broken skin so that about a third of the gauze or cotton extends beyond the injury.

This process should be repeated every day until the nail is safely growing over the skin. The cotton or gauze should be changed frequently, as leaving such a bandage in place for an extended period of time could cause a bacterial infection.

Some home remedies for ingrown toenails involve lemons. Applying a small wedge of lemon against the toe, securing it with a bandage or medical tape, and covering it with a sock overnight is said to make the nail pliable enough to allow the person to free the nail from the skin. Another lemon remedy is to submerge the toe in half a lemon overnight before attempting to free the toenail from the skin.

Some suggest keeping a strip of waxed dental floss between the toenail and the affected skin. Remember to change it frequently to reduce the risk of infection. Smoothing the edges of the toenail with a file is mentioned in some home remedy. The idea is to make the nail less sharp and somewhat less likely to cut into the skin of the toe. If home remedies fail to provide relief, seek medical attention.

Recommended: Ingrown Toenail Clipper, Ingrown Toenail File And Ingrown Toenails Treatment