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If you have an ingrown toenail, do they need to cut off your toe?
My ingrown toenail is what I wouls say badly infected..... Could my toe need to be cut off? Is there anything i can do to prevent this from happening?!
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No they do not cut your toe off just because you have an ingrown toe nail. The doctor in some cases may have to remove your toenail but that is the worst extent to which they have to go to correct an ingrown toe nail.
Now just to be fair and open with you. If you ignore the problem and the toe becomes infected and you still do not seek treatment. Then yes you would be lucky if only the toe is removed. Untreated infections can turn into something called a gas gangrene infection for which most times the only cure is to remove the area affected. In this case it would be the toe and anywhere up the leg that the gangrene has migrated.
The best thing to do is to make an appointment with a podiatrist. This is a medical doctor who specializes in treatment of the feet. The doctor will examine you toe and advice you of the best course of action. In most cases the doctor can fix your ingrown toenail right there in the office.
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I certainly hope no one has been telling you a toe would need to be cut off.
No toes are not cut off. Some people have nails that grow differently than other peoples. Some are flatter, and others curve more around the nail bed. Those that curve alot can grown into the skin at the corners and down in front too. And yes it gets very painful and inflamed and can be infected too.
Your general med. Dr. would likely need to see you to recommend you to a podiatrist (a foot doctor)
These people are well trained to work on foot related problems. Once seen by a foot dr. they will tell you what they need to do. If not done at the time, they will set an appt. for you to have the ingrown part of nail removed.
Since it is so sensitive, they will numb the area first with a cream like a dentist does, then give a numbing shot so that you wont feel anything as they work to remove the embedded nail. If theres an infection they will give prescription for anti biotics. I took a friend to Dr for this, she dosnt drive. So afterwards, all she had to do was soak the foot in epsom salt baths for a week and come back for a follow up appointment so he could see how it was healing. The doctor can probably give you tips on how to trim your nails frequently so it doesnt happen again. Some peoples nails also grow faster than others so you will figure out how often to take care of your nails. A person can go to a beauty salon for foot nail trims, some will do work on both hand nails and feet nails. It would be too expensive to see a podiatrist for that. The only exception is that diabetics who need their feet and nails cared for must see only a podiatrist.
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I don't think your toenail needs to be cut off honestly. If you are super concerned, the best option is to see a doctor and he/she will tell you what to do from there. You might end up putting cream on it or some sort of medicine to prevent further infection. Also, find out what the cause of the infection was, that might help.
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