Nail problems
Ingrowing toenails
An ingrowing toenail is a nail edge pressing into the skin beside it. It is one of the few foot problems that genuinely stops people in their tracks, and it is usually far simpler to deal with than people expect.
Treatment Summary
How long
30 minutes
What it costs
£35
No new patient fee. If the nail needs surgery, that is priced separately and we tell you the figure first.
Getting in
Free parking at the Tesco next door, under a minute's walk.
What we do
Does it hurt
The toe already hurts, so we work carefully and we stop whenever you ask. Easing out the piece of nail that is doing the damage gives most people relief before they leave the chair. If it comes to surgery, the toe is numbed first and you feel nothing.
A short line in a patient's own words goes here, once we have a real one to use.
Placeholder — name and town go here.
How to tell if a nail is growing in.
Not every sore toe is an ingrowing nail. A nail can press hard without breaking the skin, and an infection can build up beside a nail that is perfectly straight. The difference matters, because it changes what we do about it.
An ingrowing toenail with a red, tender nail fold — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
A nail spike embedded in a swollen nail fold — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
A chronic ingrowing toenail with overgrown tissue at the edge — at Complete Chiropody and Podiatry in Chester-le-Street
Treatment Information
What we do about it.
01
We find out what is actually happening
We look at the nail edge and the skin beside it, and ask how many times this has happened. A nail that has done this once after a bad cut is a different problem from one that has flared three times in a year.
02
We take the pressure off
The spike or edge pressing into the skin is eased out and removed. That is what is causing the pain, and taking it away is usually what stops it. Most people feel the difference straight away.
03
We clean it up and dress it
If the skin beside the nail is broken, or proud flesh has grown over it, the area is cleaned and dressed and we show you how to look after it. If it needs an antibiotic that comes from your GP, and we will say so plainly rather than leaving you to guess.
04
We talk about whether it will come back
If the shape of the nail is the problem, it will keep happening. There is a small procedure that deals with that permanently, done in the chair under local anaesthetic. We would rather explain it now than have you find out about it after the fourth flare-up.
What you can do at home
Ring us the same day if…
These need looking at quickly rather than at the next routine appointment. Ring us the same day, or contact your GP if we cannot get you in.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
An ingrowing toenail is called onychocryptosis. Most involve the outer border of the great toenail, where a spike of nail plate penetrates the sulcus, provokes an inflammatory response and often produces hypergranulation tissue at the nail fold, with secondary bacterial infection. Conservative management removes the offending spike and drains the area, and that resolves the majority of first episodes. Where it recurs, the definitive treatment is a partial nail avulsion with chemical matricectomy using phenol, under a digital local anaesthetic block: the involved strip of nail and the matrix producing it are removed so that portion does not regrow. Recurrence after a phenolised partial avulsion is in the region of five per cent. Circulation is assessed before surgery is offered, and antibiotics are used to treat infection rather than given routinely.
Questions
Things people ask about ingrowing toenails.
Usually not the first time. Easing out the piece of nail that is pressing settles most of them. Surgery is for a nail that keeps coming back, and it is a straightforward procedure done in the chair under local anaesthetic.
Please do not. Digging down the side of a nail leaves a jagged spike behind, and that spike is what grows into the skin next time. It is also the quickest way to turn a sore toe into an infected one.
If there is pus, a smell, spreading redness or throbbing, treat it as infected and get it seen the same day. Antibiotics come from your GP, but clearing the nail spike is usually what allows it to settle for good.
No. Where surgery is needed we take a narrow strip down one side rather than the whole nail, so the toe still looks like a normal toe afterwards.
Usually the shape of the nail — a wide or curved nail in a narrow nail bed — helped along by tight shoes or by cutting the corners down. Where the shape is the cause, only dealing with that edge permanently will stop it.
Still have a question?
Ask it here and we will come back to you by email, usually the same working day. If it is urgent, calling is quicker.
Online booking opens soon
Our appointment diary is not open just yet. Leave your details and be the first to know when it opens, so you can pick a time that suits you, evenings and weekends included.
Diary opening soonOr ring 07838 652554 and we will find you a time.
Rather talk to someone?
Ring during opening hours and you will speak to a person. Home visits are arranged this way.
Ingrowing toenails
treatment in Chester-le-Street
Our clinic is in Chester-le-Street, right next to Tesco, so parking is free and it is less than a minute's walk from the car park to our door. We also see people from the towns and villages around it, and visit at home across the same area.