Ingrown Toenail Treatment | Removal | Singapore

What is ingrown toenail?

The toenail starts to bend at the side and starts “ingrowing” into the “meat”. 

What about infected ingrown toenail?

If your toe is infected you may notice yellowish discharge (pus) and sometimes even fever.

Ingrown toenail treatment at home?

Prevention is better than cure. If it is only ingrown, but not infected, you can try the following:

1. Pull the skin away from the nail, and tape it down with a skin tape like micropore.
2. Pull the nail away from the skin daily and massage it.
3. Allow the nail to actually grow out and maintain a “free edge”, the white part of the nail that is sticking out. 

If it is already infected, you can try the following:

1. Soak it in a potassium permanganate or a gentle antiseptic solution like Chlorhexidine 0.25% solution for a minute.
2. Gently squeeze out the pus.

What causes ingrown toenail?

1. Tight footwear, especially those that presses on the toenail
2. Cutting your toenails too short or not cutting your toenails straight across
3. Previous injury to your toenails
4. Being born with very curved toenails

Is ingrown toenail serious?

Generally no, but very very annoying and painful. Ingrown toenail can become infected if it is left untreated.

In healthy patients, the infection can be contained by the body’s immune system, and sometimes require oral or topical antibiotics.

In people with poor blood flow to the feet (such as those with diabetes or heavy smokers), the infection can spread to involve the whole toe or cause serious infection of the bones, requiring an amputation.

How can i prevent ingrown toenail ?

1. Wear shoes of the right size. Tight footwear may force your growing nails downwards into the flesh.
2. Trim your toenails straight across. Remember to leave both edges of the nail alone. It is a common mistake to keep cutting into the edges / sides.
3. Keep your toenails at the length of the tip of your toes. Toenails that are too short are easily directed downwards or inwards into your flesh.
4. Check your feet regularly if you have diabetes, or any other condition that reduces blood flow to your feet.
5. Wear protective footwear, such as steel toed shoes for jobs that may put your toes at risk of injuries

Ingrown toenail treatment?

Sometimes, no matter what we do, the condition gets worse, and becomes too painful. The Zenith doctors might do the following ingrown toenail treatment.

Ingrown toenail removal (Nail avulsion)

Separate the nail from the underlying flesh. After a dose of anaesthesia, the entire nail is removed. This is typically done if there is ingrown toenail on both sides of the same toe, or if there is severe damage to the nail. Generally doing this alone will lead to a high rate of recurrence. 

Partial ingrown toenail removal (Wedge resection)

Partially removing the nail. This is done for severe/infected ingrown nail. The doctor will give an injection to numb the toe. After which the doctor will remove part of the nail. The method is less preferred as the nail will grow back after 3 months and there is a chance that the ingrown nail may recur again.

Ingrown toenail surgery at Zenith (Wedge resection with phenolisation)

Partially removing the nail and phenolization of nail matrix. This is done for severe/infected ingrown nail or for those that has failed multiple treatments. In addition to removing part of the nail, the doctor will apply 80% phenol to chemically destroy the base of the nail so that the nail no longer grows back. This method is highly effective and safe to prevent future recurrence of ingrown nail.

Can a GP treat ingrown toenail in Singapore?

Yes, for most GPs, the milder cases are treated with antibiotics. For some GPs like Zenith with a surgical setup, we provide ingrown toenail surgery for patients that fail all other treatment.

Is there ingrown toenail treatment at the Singapore Polyclinic?

Yes, but they will mostly give you medication only or at most a nail avulsion, which will lead to a high chance of the condition coming back again.

Ingrown toenail removal cost

Toenail pain

Yes, ingrown toenail is the most common cause of pain to the toes. Although nails have no nerves, so technically, it is not “toenail pain”.

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