A mildly infected ingrown toenail can be healed by lifting the edge of the nail and placing a cotton swab, dental floss or a splint under it. This prevents the nail from sticking onto the overlying skin and helps the nail grow above the skin’s edge.
When the nail causes pain and pus, the portion of the nail that is digging into the skin will be removed after numbing the toe with local anaesthesia. The doctor will narrow the toenail and place a piece of cotton under it to prevent the recurrence of the ingrown nail.
Total nail removal becomes necessary when the ingrown nail is caused by thickening. The entire nail and a portion of the nail bed or underlying tissue is removed after a local anaesthetic is injected into the toe. This procedure effectively prevents that part of the nail from growing back.
