Untreated Ingrown Toenail

Untreated ingrown toenails can quickly lead to inflamed ingrown toenails and in more serious cases infected toenails. The thing with this problem is that it won't just go away on its own. In fact almost by definition the issues will only continue to get worse. A proper understanding of the cause of ingrown toenails provides insight into why this problem will quite literally continue to grow out of control until some sort of ingrown toenail solution is found.

Even for sufferers concerned about the cost of ingrown toenail removal this factor alone should not be a determining reason to leave a troubled area completely unattended. There are numerous ingrown toenail products available both online and from area drug stores and an entire kit including a topical pain relieving solution like Outgro, an anti-bacteria solution like Tea Tree Oil, bandages and padding, and an ingrown toenail file for less than $50 and probably closer to $30.

Please do not leave ingrown toenails untreated or you're asking for problems which at the very least will be increasingly worse pain and at the very worst means an infection that could cause extreme permanent damage and in very rare cases amputation or death.

Cause of Ingrown Toenails

The cause of ingrown toenails is something that more people should be aware of before getting their first really bad ingrown toenail. Unfortunately for a number of reasons most people don't start actually worrying about the causes until they're already dealing with recurring ingrown toenail issues.

As far as I can tell there are three main reasons why this topic isn't discussed more often in a manner that educates the public.

1. People are reluctant to share personal hygiene stories involving their feet
2. Almost no one regularly sees a podiatrist (foot doctor) and general practitioners don't normally check or ask about toenail issues - even in children.
3. Schools, health classes, first aid training, etc. don't discuss this problem. There's no formal structure in place to get this info to the public.

Most doctors will tell you that the cause of ingrown toenails is improper toenail maintenance by the individual. For the most part it's believed that these issues can simply be solved by taking the time and making the effort to properly cut your toenails in a manner that discourages the growth of ingrown toenails.
As discussed and illustrated in the ingrown toenail solutions post the gold standard in advice for understanding the cause is to realize that improperly cutting toenails in a rounded arc like fashion (like fingernails) as opposed to straight across can lead to rogue portions of the nail growing at an angle into the skin.

It's when a piece of toenail (even an extremely tiny piece) grows sideways at the corner into the flesh that irritation mounts. The longer the problem if left untreated the further the misplaced toenail can grow into the skin causing irritation that can easily lead to an inflamed ingrown toenail, and potentially if left untreated an infected ingrown toenail.