Ingrown Toenails Stop Play!

John had been experiencing severe foot pain on and off for over three years and had reached the point where he could stand it no longer. Working away from home during the week he was having difficulty finding a Chiropodist West Bromwich that worked on Saturdays. A relative had seen one of my adverts which mentioned that I operated as a mobile Foot Health Practitioner in West Bromwich, and worked weekends, a perfect fit for John.
During my initial telephone conversation, he explained that his toe was red, sore, inflamed and there was a yellow discharge. My initial recommendation was to steer him in the direction of a walk in centre local to where he was working as I suspected that he needed antibiotics to deal with the infection. On their recommendation, he had started a course of
tablets.
That Saturday, I was able to meet up with John. There was already an improvement in the infection, and the pain had subsided considerably. I set to carry out a full assessment, but it was evident that he was suffering from an ingrown toenail.
During the assessment, John explained that he played football when the pain allowed him to, a sport which had likely caused the problem initially.
Football is well known for causing ingrowing toenails due to the impact caused by kicking the ball. With repeated trauma, the nail can embed in the skin to the side of the nail and eventually lead to a wound.

Treatment for Ingrown Toenails

A wedge section of the nail was removed from the affected side. This is done without the need for anaesthetic with the procedure being over in a matter of seconds. Although it sounds pretty dramatic, it’s a pretty straight forward procedure which gives relief from pain almost immediately. With the offending section of nail removed, the area was cleaned, and I recommended that he has regular saltwater foot soaks with tea tree oil for the next couple of days. I reiterated the importance of completing the prescribed course of antibiotics and advised him not to play sports for a couple of weeks to allow his toe to heal completely.
Keeping in touch with John throughout the following week, he let me know that the wound was healing nicely and the pain had pretty well gone.