Is There A Home Remedy For An Ingrown Toe Nail?

Posted on Tue, 2 Aug 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 2 Aug 2011 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : my son is 14 and recently had a toenail that he pulled a corner of it out, probably was digging in skin, anyway. it turned red and hurt and we treated with peroxide a couple times a day, bacitracin and a bandaid. now it looks like he has a bubble over part of the nail that is flesh colored and it hurts him. he plays many sports and even on moms advice keeps putting the cleats, shoes on. is there a home remedy that we could try? i just had him soak his feet in warm salted water for the last 30 minutes.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (1 hour later)

Hello,

Thanks for writing to us.

Your son is most likely suffering from an ingrowing toe nail. Repeated dressings with peroxide and bacitracin are not helping him.

Now surgical removal of the ingrown part of the nail under a good oral antibiotic cover is the only solution left for him. Soaking the feet in salty water might reduce the swelling and pain for a while but are not going to cure his problem.

The best thing would be to consult a surgeon for proper treatment without any delay.

I hope my answer and recommendations are adequate and helpful. Waiting for your further follow up queries if any.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad