Q: What do you recommend for ingrown toenails?
I used to use a product called Outgro® which did a fine job helping me prevent the pain of ingrown toenails. Then it went off the market, only to return as a wimpy “not worth your money” remedy that didn’t remedy ANYTHING. Afterward, I spent years searching for something that would do what Outgro® could: toughen the skin of my big toe, preventing my toenail from gouging into the tender skin underneath, and encouraging it to grow out straight instead of curling under and repeating the misery.
A couple of years ago I finally found a product that works for most early cases of ingrown toenails, and another product that helps with more advanced cases. But NEITHER of these are powerful enough to overcome an infected ingrown toenail. If your toe is infected, you MUST seek medical help. And if you are a diabetic please, DON’T WAIT! I have seen far, far too many folks with diabetes LOSE A TOE or even a leg because an infected toe spread into the toe bone, and the only way to keep it from spreading was to CUT IT OFF.
If your nail hasn’t actually cut into your skin yet, applying a thin layer of New Skin® liquid bandage will toughen and protect it. New Skin® has an additional advantage: it contains 8-hydroxyquinoline, the same anti-infective found in Bag Balm®.
Here’s how to use New Skin® for an early ingrown toenail:
Step 1: Soak your foot in warm salt water or Epson salts for at least 20-30 minutes. This softens the nail and helps you get any dirt out from around and under the nail.
Step 2: Dry your toe thoroughly, then paint a thin layer of liquid bandage on the skin on and around the offending toenail where it is getting sore. If you use too much, it will drip off and cause a mess.
Step 3: Take a clean toothpick and gently lift the nail just a tiny bit, letting the liquid bandage run underneath the nail onto the skin below. This coats the tender skin to make it “tougher” and more able to resist your nail from cutting into it.
Step 4: Let your toe dry before putting on socks. You now have a waterproof barrier that you can add to daily or several times a week until the nail stops pinching into your skin.
Using the liquid bandage encourages your nail to grow out without curling under.
However, if your nail is already embedded into the skin enough that the liquid bandage can’t get underneath it, you’re going to have to get the nail out of there first. I have found that Dr. Scholl’s Ingrown Toenail Pain Reliever works to soften your toenail and make it rubbery, allowing you to pry it out of your skin and trim it off yourself. It comes as a kit containing a small tube of 1% sodium sulfide gel, 12 foam pads shaped like tiny donuts and 12 protective bandages.
To use Dr. Scholl’s Ingrown Toenail Pain Reliever to soften up your toenail, you need some salt or Epsom salts and the kit, which is sold without a prescription. It’s not widely available in some areas, so I recommend calling around to save time and gas.
Step 1: Soak your foot first to soften the nail, in warm salt water or Epsom salts for 20-30 minutes.
Step 2: Apply the donut-shaped foam pad, centering the donut hole over the nail that you want to remove.
Step 3: Apply the stinky gel onto your nail inside the donut hole of the foam pad and cover it with the protective bandage supplied in the kit.
Step 4: Repeat twice a day for up to a week until you can lift the nail out and trim it off.
Because ingrown toenails often come back I suggest applying New Skin® liquid bandage to the exposed skin that’s around and underneath the newly trimmed-off nail to encourage it to grow back nice and straight.
Please remember, if your toe is infected, seek medical help; don’t mess around with this on your own!
