What Is an Ingrown Toenail?
An ingrown toenail happens when the edge or corner of the nail grows into the surrounding skin. This most often affects the big toe and can cause pain, redness, swelling, tenderness, drainage, or difficulty wearing shoes.
Some ingrown toenails start as mild irritation, while others become infected or keep coming back. At Foot & Ankle Specialists in West Jordan, Dr. Trevor R. Williams provides careful evaluation and treatment for painful, recurring, or infected ingrown toenails.
What Causes Ingrown Toenails?
Ingrown toenails can develop from trimming nails too short, rounding the nail corners, wearing tight shoes, toe injuries, curved nail shape, thickened nails, or repeated pressure on the toe. Some patients naturally have nail shapes that make ingrown toenails more likely.
Athletes, active adults, people who wear narrow shoes, and patients with thick or difficult-to-trim nails may be more prone to this problem. Patients with diabetes, poor circulation, or nerve issues should take ingrown toenails especially seriously because infections can become more complicated.
How Dr. Williams Evaluates Ingrown Toenails
An evaluation includes checking the nail edge, surrounding skin, pain level, swelling, drainage, infection signs, nail shape, and whether the problem has happened before. Dr. Williams also considers medical history, circulation, diabetes risk, and footwear pressure.
This helps determine whether the toenail can be treated conservatively or whether a minor in-office procedure may be needed to remove the painful nail edge and reduce recurrence.
Treatment for Ingrown Toenail Pain
Treatment depends on severity. Mild irritation may improve with professional trimming, pressure relief, shoe changes, and careful monitoring. More painful, infected, or recurring ingrown toenails may require partial nail removal.
When appropriate, Dr. Williams may remove the small section of nail that is digging into the skin. For recurring cases, treatment may also focus on preventing that section of nail from growing back in the same painful way.
Preventing Ingrown Toenails from Coming Back
Good prevention includes trimming nails straight across, avoiding overly tight shoes, protecting the toes from repeated trauma, and seeking care early when pain or redness begins. Patients who cannot safely trim their nails or who have diabetes should consider professional foot care.
Why Choose Foot & Ankle Specialists?
Dr. Williams treats ingrown toenails with a focus on comfort, infection prevention, and long-term relief. Foot & Ankle Specialists helps patients resolve painful nail problems and get back to wearing shoes, walking, and daily activity more comfortably.