Ingrown toenail??????

Question

i have a ingrown nail and school starts in a week. I was wondering if anyone knew how to fix them easily. i can't soak it and then pull it out b/c the nail is so far in that it curved under the visible part(i can feel the edge) it has a lot of pus coming out but my doc doesn't know what to do b/c i am on so much meds and it hasn't helped at all. please help i just bought a new pair of closed toe shoes for school but i can't wear them, i can hardly even walk!

Answer 1

go to a pediatrician and for like 15 or 20 dollars he numbs up your toe and theyve got a special tool and they remove it in like 5 seconds and the medicine thay give you prevents you from feeling it and it is all better in 2 days tops

Answer 2

No offense, but your doctor is incompetent. They don't know how to treat an ingrown nail? Since yours is infected, home treatment is not going to cut it. You need to go to a doctor who can remove the ingrown nail. If your doctor cannot do that, they should be able to refer you to one who can. Depending on how severe the infection is, you may also require antibiotics. Medicine by itself will not treat an ingrown nail; it will treat the infection only.

Edit: do you have insurance? The doctor might cost $500 (that seems expensive just to have an ingrown nail removed!) but the co-pay might be more like 30-50 dollars.

If you really absolutely can't go to the doctor some tips for your nail: soak your toe 15 minutes 2x a day in warm water with Epsom salts; that will help with the infection. Cut a "v" shaped notch in the center of your nail; that will relieve the pressure on the edges of the nail. More home treatment here: http://firstaid.webmd.com/ingrown_toenai...

HOWEVER: I stand by my previous statement about home treatment not being enough due to the infection. If the infection does not improve within 3 days and/or gets worse, you NEED to go to the doctor at least for antibiotics if you can't afford to actually get the nail removed.