Amman- Treating an ingrown toenail that ingrown under the flesh does not always require surgery, according to specialist doctors, but those who suffer from it are advised to do certain treatments that avoid surgery and eliminate the symptoms.
What is an ingrown toenail and its causes? And what are its symptoms? And how can this be prevented? When is surgery recommended? How does surgery help get rid of the problem?
What is an ingrown toenail?
Dr. Khitam Al-Rufouh, Consultant Dermatologist and Associated Tissue Diseases and Professor of Dermatology at Mutah University School of Medicine in Jordan, explains that an ingrown toenail occurs when the tip of the nail (primarily the big nail of the foot) pushes into the surrounding skin, causing pain, redness and swelling in the area.
She added to “Al-Jazeera Net”, that this problem affects all ages, even children, and that it is a common form of nail disease and is considered one of the case often painful because the growth of the nail is towards the skin. and that is why it is called nail embedded in the flesh, and it can also occur in the nails.Hands or feet, but the dominant form is with the nails of the toes.
His reasons
Reasons that lead to an ingrown toenail, according to Dr. Al-Rufou’, are: cutting the toenail too much to make it too short, wearing tight shoes, and hitting the toenail with a hard object like a table or a door. This causes the nail to sink into the ends.
In addition, cutting the nail and leaving angles that facilitate its implantation with the surrounding skin is one of the important reasons, as well as a bad cut of the nails in a curved way with short edges, instead of being straight, in addition to congenital cases when the nail is larger than the finger and the nails are congenitally curved abnormally.
his symptoms
Dr. Al-Rufou’ pointed out that the growth of the nail into the surrounding skin causes pain in the toe on one or both sides of the toe, with redness and swelling around it, and may lead to surrounding tissue inflammation with bacterial infection, and it may be a cause of danger especially for diabetics. .
Injury Prevention
One of the most important ways to prevent an ingrown toenail, as mentioned by Dr. Al-Rufou’, is to cut the nails appropriately, cutting them straight, avoiding cutting them in a curved way, maintaining a moderate length of the nails and avoiding cutting them short. Not to mention avoiding wearing tight shoes and checking the nails frequently, especially for adults and diabetics, to treat the problem early on and avoid the need for surgery.
Treat minor cases
Dr. Al-Rufou’ pointed out that minor cases do not require medical assistance but can be treated at home, while severe cases require medical intervention and mild cases are diagnosed and treated at home early before infection from occurring, by soaking the feet for 15 to 20 minutes two or three times a day with lukewarm water, to reduce swelling and pain.
والبعض قد يستفيد من وضع قطن أو خيط تنظيف الأسنان المحاط بالشمع تحت الأظفر المنغرس بعد كل استحمام، لمساعدة الظفر على النمو فوق حافة الجلد إضافة الى استخدام المضادات الحيوية الموضعية وتناول مسكنات الألم أما إذا كانت الحالة شديدة مع التهاب واضح وتورم وألم وإفرازات فيجب على المريض مراجعة the doctor.
Ingrown toenail surgery
General surgery specialist Dr. Rashid Elyan confirms to Al-Jazeera Net that if the symptoms of ingrown toenail persist and frequent infections occur in the area, surgery should be performed, and therefore it is always advised to those who suffer from it to take medical advice and follow the instructions, which avoids them having to perform surgery.
How does surgery help solve the problem?
Dr. Elyan indicated that ingrown toenail surgery has different methods depending on the doctor’s assessment of the case, but it mainly involves removing the part of the ingrown toenail that is embedded in the skin and eliminating its root in that area to prevent it from growing again and the problem from recurring.
He added that there is always a possibility of recurrence of the infection for two main reasons, either the growth of the nail root again or the recurrence of inappropriate behaviors such as wearing tight shoes and the like. , which causes the nail to become embedded in the skin again.
Are there any risks to surgery?
Dr. Elayan explained that the surgery is performed under local anesthesia and is considered safe, but the patient should let their doctor know if they have any allergies or are using blood thinners to take the necessary precautions. It is also one of the most important things the surgeon does is to inform the patient of the possibility of a new injury.
Ingrown toenail surgery
Dr. Elyan says the principle of surgery is to remove the edge of the nail embedded in the skin under local anesthesia, where the doctor removes the edge of the nail down to the root and may use a surgical method or a chemical to try to eliminate the root in that edge and prevent it from growing again, and that may take some time.
Types of surgery
Dr. Gandhi al-Amayreh, Consultant General Surgeon at Jordanian Al-Bashir Hospital, explains that there are two types of ingrown toenail removal operations, removing the partial or total toenail, where the proportion of the ingrown nail is determined under the skin and the presence of inflammation in it, although there is no difference in the rate of recurrence between the two operations.
And he considered that ingrown toenail surgery is a basic treatment that prevents its recurrence, and for this, one must consider its risk of wound infection, give the patient an antibiotic, carry out the process of ablation in a sterile environment, and following all sanitary instructions and instructions to reduce the occurrence of infection in the wound.
The impact of the injury on daily activities
And Dr. Al-Amayreh told Al-Jazeera Net that the occurrence of major complications of ingrown toenail, regardless of age, requires surgery to remove it, as it has a fundamental role in get rid of it, because this disease affects the efficiency of life by the pain associated with it and determines the movement of the person or by its direct impact.It affects the health of people, especially diabetics, due to the occurrence inflammation of the foot and the possibility of blood poisoning.
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