Ingrown Toenail Pictures

Today I'm posting pictures of ingrown toenails. I think this post will serve a couple of purposes.

(1) These pictures illustrate how bad ingrown toenail problems can become if you don't take care of them properly. Don't let them get infected and see a doctor even if that's something you're a little uncomfortable about. Don't be embarrassed about your feet. The people inspecting them are doctors and that's their jobs and that's what they do every day. I know that whether people have health insurance or not (and especially if they don't) the costs of seeing a doctor about a toenail might seem prohibitively expensive. The truth is that an once of prevention can be worth a pound cure. Do the right thing and get yourself fixed up before your ingrown toenails get too painful to deal with or too gross to look at.

(2) These pictures of ingrown toenails will hopefully help people who have not had them before understand just how bad they can be. This is important for two reasons. The first reason is that hopefully by seeing these pictures those who haven't had ingrown toenails before will be motivated to do everything they can to avoid getting them. The second thing is that these pictures will hopefully help those who haven't had these problems before understand the pain and stress friends and family with ingrown toenails endure. This is serious stuff. If you haven't been exposed to pictures like the one below it's be easy to discount the issue of ingrown toenails as simple a tiny problem involving the toenail. This is very painful stuff that can be bloody, debilitating, and in cases of infections very dangerous.

If you're wondering if all of these pictures are from my personal experience, I'm happy to say that the answer is not. I have had more than my fair share of ingrown toenails, but thankfully I don't think any of them have ever been this bad. I've had plenty of painful ones, and there has been some blood. I'm pretty sure that it's also safe to say that if I haven't handled my the way I did, things could have quickly spiraled out of control to the point where I could have looked like some of these pictures.

Ingrown Toenail Remedies

There are several ingrown toenail remedies. The grouping of such remedies can be divided between home remedies and those fixes that require a professional foot doctor.




Most of the over the counter type treatments are safe to use, but it never hurts to consult a doctor first if you can. For many people the idea of going to a doctor to deal with a foot problem is bothersome for one of the couple of reasons. It typically involves (1) not wanting to spend the money on a doctor or (2) being self-conscious about seeing a doctor about a foot problem. A lot of people have negative associations with hospitals and doctors and consequently are often times reluctant to visit a doctor unless it's an absolute emergency.

If you have a very mild ingrown toenail problem then soaking your foot in warm water can offer some relief. The easiest way to do this is usually to fill the bathtub with about a foot of warm water and then sit on the side of the tub with your troubled foot in the water for 10-20 minutes. Try listening to the radio or reading a magazine to help pass the time. There are also powered solutions that can be added to the bathwater to increase the soothing effect for worn out feet.

Before poking or prying at an ingrown toenail, especially one that has punctured the skin causing bleeding, make sure to use sterilized equipment. The worst thing you can probably do is to make the problem worse by causing an infection that results from using an old dirty pair of toenail clippers in a vulnerable place. For more specific instructions on the pros and cons of various suggested remedies take a look at the related articles on this website that discuss at length the multitude of options for both short term cures and long term fixes.

Outgro is a great home remedy to relieve pain.

Ingrown Toenail Doctor

An ingrown toenail doctor is typically a podiatrist which is a doctor that specializes in feet. Pod (as well as pod) is the Latin word for foot. A podiatrist has completed medical school and received an MD (medical degree) after completing their bachelor's degree is most any subject but typically a science because of the course work necessary to prepare for the MCAT exam that is required for medical school admission and placement.

For many people it's the cost of ingrown toenail removal that keeps them from going to a professional. After cost the next biggest reason why more people don't see a pro is because of a general fear about the pain that can be involved. Ultimately it's most often only after home remedies fail that a majority of people elect to actually seek treatment from a toe doctor to find relief from the problem that can in the worst case scenario lead to dangerous infections.

Most people initially try to solve the problems themselves with a simple set of toenail clippers while cutting their nails. When it becomes apparent that this strategy alone won't be enough to eliminate the problem the next step is to actually look into purchasing products like files and specific ingrown toenail clippers. Generally speaking it's only after exhausting all do it yourself options including topical solutions like Outgro before breaking down and paying and going through the hassle and process of dealing with an actual ingrown toenail doctor.

For the best results in terms of finding a reputable podiatrist ask around for recommendations from friends, coworkers and family. You might be surprised at who's had to deal with similar issues.

Ingrown Toenail Clippers

Ingrown toenail clippers are for the most part almost the same product as your average clippers for cutting toenails with the notable distinction that ideally they will have the pointed extender that normally is also associated with having a very small file on it. In the very fist post on this site titled "how to help ingrown toenails" a highlighted illustration shows exactly what's being described in the previous sentence.

The right toenail clippers fall into the category of having the right ingrown toenail products such as braces and various other topical solutions and such to fix the issues that are causing the pain and inflammation. Finding some help and relief from the pain makes spending a few dollars on a nice pair or toenail clippers a great use of a modest amount of money. Finding a cure that goes beyond simple home remedies is often the result of having the right products for the job.

Below is the most highly recommended ingrown toenail clipper that was built specifically for ingrown toenails with a slanted cutting surface that can be worked into the odd corner areas where ingrown toenails are most likely to occur. Something to keep in mind is that even if you have access to an old finger nail or toe nail clipper (older than one year) then do yourself a favor and spend a little bit of money to get a brand new state of the art quality piece of equipment.