Making Your Feet Work For You

Tips For Healing An Ingrown Toenail

Ingrown toenails are painful and can be embarrassing. If you are not a fan of using traditional medical treatment and would prefer a more natural solution to this problem then there are some easy and simple ones that you can try at home.

Warm Soapy Water

Soak your feet in some warm soapy water that contains Epsom salt for at least twenty minutes, this helps to soften the skin around the nail and helps the nail to grow out faster. Soaking in Epsom salt will also help to reduce any swelling or pain that you encounter. If you cannot soak your foot at any given time, then you may wash it with some castile soap.  Castile soap is made with pure ingredients such as olive oil and potassium which help to nourish the skin around the ingrown nail while cleansing it.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider vinegar is a great remedy for ingrown toenails. You only need to add a cup of it to some warm water and soak your foot in it.  You can also apply the apple cider vinegar to your ingrown nail directly after mixing it with some distilled water. Apple cider vinegar will help to keep infection away from the nail and this helps to promote faster healing.

Cotton Wisp Remedy

You can place some cotton wisps between your skin and your ingrown toenail to help guide the nail into growing in the right direction.  You can take advantage of this remedy by lifting the corner of the ingrown nail that is digging into your skin. Tear off a very small piece of cotton wisp and place it between the skin and the toenail

Watch Your Footwear

You need to be careful of the kind of shoes you wear when you have an ingrown toenail since the wrong shoes can increase the pressure on your toenail. When extra pressure is put on your toenail, it can cause you a lot of pain and increase the chances of infection.  While you have an ingrown toenail you should avoid wearing high heeled shoes because these put a lot of pressure on your toe. The best shoes to wear are sandals so that your toe will be exposed and have time to heal.

Taking care of an ingrown toenail is not difficult when you know exactly what to do to keep from further irritating the toenail. If you use the remedies outlined above you will be well on your way to getting your toenail healthy once again. To learn more, contact a podiatrist near you. 


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