How to remove an ingrown nail

Author: doctor Derjushev A.N.

The ingrown nail is a deepening or really present ingrowth of one edge or both edges of the nail into the soft finger tissues surrounding the nail. Most often this happens with the lateral (outer) edge of the nail near the first finger on the foot. It leads to this state of the use of tight shoes and improper treatment of the nail (too deep cutting the edges of the nail). However, there is an opinion that the basis of this disease may be a congenital feature of the direction of nail growth.

The disease manifests itself, especially pain when walking in shoes, a sore is formed on the roller of such a nail, it is possible to separate the pus, the finger swells. With the progression of the disease, the inflammatory process spreads over the entire nail roller, which often leads to its detachment. In patients with diabetes, or obliterating atherosclerosis, this process can sometimes end even with a gangrene of the finger. Diagnosis usually does not cause difficulties, but a similar picture can give angiopathy.

In the early stages, the treatment is usually conservative, using warm baths with a solution of sodium bicarbonate, or with manganese, laying between the edge of the nail and soft finger tissues of strips of gauze moistened in an antiseptic solution, or an antibiotic. Be sure to avoid tight shoes. With a very deep ingrowing of the nail, surgical methods of treatment are always shown. The operation is performed after the acute inflammatory phenomena have subsided. Preference is usually given to operations in which the altered portion of the body of the nail is excised together with its bed, otherwise the disease may recur.

There are several different types of surgical

interventions with ingrown nails

Bartlett's operation is the wedge-shaped excision of the soft tissues of the finger on the side of the ingrowth outside the site of inflammation followed by the application of sutures to the edges of the defect, with the roller being pulled from the edge of the nail.

Dupuytren's operation: the nail is divided longitudinally into two halves with the subsequent twisting of each half of the nail and with careful excision of damaged tissues.

Operation Schmiden: wedge-shaped excision of the ingrown edge of the nail along with its roller and also part of the bed. The nail bed is excised to the periosteum, granulation, which has grown in the area of ​​the bead, scraped with a sharp spoon. On the incised tissues of the nail bed, sutures are applied.

Operation Hadzhistamona: directly at the root of the nail on the side of ingrowth and then remove the triangular flap of the skin, from this defect distally on the nail cut the soft tissue, this incision must go around the granulation, and reach the free edge of the nail. All soft tissues and granulations, located next to the nail, remove together with the ingrown part of the nail, as well as the site of the bed. The remaining flap of the roller must be sewn at the edge of the nail. For two or three days, a small drainage is introduced into the wound.

At operations it is recommended to impose a bandage with ointment on such wound. When, about a month later, the growth of a new nail is outlined, it is recommended to put under its edge a turunda made from gauze, until the nail takes the correct position. After one or two days, the turunda should be changed.

Currently, often enough and effectively in the surgical intervention with ingrown nails, laser technologies are used that make operations less traumatic. It is worthwhile to be aware of the treatment of the subungual panaricium - it's another disease.

From folk methods of treatment, at the initial stages of the disease it is recommended to use casting of aloe. This allows you to reduce pain and clean the wound from purulent contents. Help and rinse with broths of chamomile pharmacy, St. John's wort, perforated, sage, that is, herbs that have anti-inflammatory properties.

Prevention of this condition consists in the proper selection of shoes (excluding the use of tight shoes), proper care for the skin of the legs, fingers, nail care, the proper order of cutting the nails.