READ FIRST: I'm just a guy who's had ingrown toenails and then stumbled on a way to manage them and I think (fingers crossed) put them behind me. One time I even had to go into a podiatrist and have an ingrown toenail surgically fixed. It was not pleasant. A buddy turned me onto this topical solution called Outgro (pictured to the right). It's cheap and it really works. Basically it numbs the area where your ingrown nail is digging into your sensitive skin, (so that's nice) for some quick pain relief. Secondly, when the skin is numbed up it's more manageable to get in there with the right (sterile) tools and fix the problem yourself. This Outgro stuff is cheap and works well, but for whatever reason isn't at most drug stores (at least where I live) so I order it online. It's surprisingly cheaper that way too.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

How Do You Fix an Ingrown Toenail


The question, "how do you fix an ingrown toenail?" is one I remember asking myself quite frequently when the problem first sprung up for me personally.

The truth of the matter is that there are numerous options and strategies and to a certain extent the success rate of the various tactics is at least somewhat dependent on the individual.

Many people know that going to a doctor is an option and quite frankly it's the option almost all doctors would recommend. But for many people there's concern over the cost of ingrown toenail removal as well as a fear or at the very least a desire to stay away from hospitals and doctor's offices because of negative associations with the environment from either stories heard or more likely personal experiences remembered.

For folks looking for a more do it yourself style of fix there are ingrown toenail removal video choices that can easily be found online but by and large it's a good idea to leave minor surgery up to the professionals. Of course a certain (large) percent of readers are still going to try things on their own and the biggest and most important piece of advice I can give those people is to make absolute certain you're using sterile equipment that you've scalded in hot/boiling water and scrubbed down with soap before poking anything into an open wound. Refer to the how to help ingrown toenails for more specific advice.

Other more rudimentary methods for easing ingrown toenail pain if it's caught early enough includes trying out Outgro or tea tree oil or even getting resourceful and constructing your own homemade toenail brace.

Clearly there are numerous ingrown toenail solutions and finding the option that works best for you may turn out to be an effort in trial and error but you certainly can't go wrong with visiting a doctor for a truly informed professional opinion.