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(08) 6110 0570admin@pdchealthhub.com.auAn ingrown toenail is when the side of the nail grows into the skin beside it, most often on the big toe, and it usually gets worse rather than better. Our Perth podiatrists treat it.
An ingrown toenail (also written ingrowing toenail) is when the side of the nail curls down and grows into the skin around the nail.1 It most often affects the big toe, though any toe can be involved, and it can occur at any age.1 Tight shoes, socks or tights that squeeze the toes, cutting nails too short or not straight across, toe injuries, picking at nail corners, sweaty feet, and naturally curved or fan shaped nails all contribute.1 It becomes more common in older people, because toenails thicken with age and are harder to cut.1,2
Conservative care comes first. Soaking the foot in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes, three or four times a day, and gently lifting the skin away from the nail corner with a cotton bud, helps many toes settle.1 Do not pick at the toenail or try to remove it yourself.1 Cut toenails straight across and file sharp edges.2 Podiatrists treat ingrown toenails,3 and you do not need a referral to book with ours.
An infected toenail may need antibiotics, and pus may need draining by your doctor.1 PDC clinicians do not drain pus or prescribe. In severe cases, part or all of the nail may need to be removed by surgery.1 Nail surgery is a procedure some podiatrists provide and others do not, so please ask when you book whether it is available at your clinic, and we will refer you on if it is not. Anyone with poor circulation, diabetes or nerve damage in the legs or feet should see a doctor about an ingrown toenail.1 Foot checks are more frequent as risk rises, from yearly to every one to three months.4,5
PHOTO NEEDED · Add a Hero Image to this condition in the CMS: a PDC clinician with a client, natural light, no identifiable health information on screen
Symptoms are a guide, not a diagnosis. Your GP confirms the diagnosis; our team helps you manage it day to day.
The teams and services that most often support people with this condition. They work from one shared plan, and one GP referral reaches all of them.
This page follows Australian guidance throughout: Healthdirect on ingrown toenails, foot care and the role of a podiatrist, with the RACGP Management of type 2 diabetes handbook and NDSS foot health guidance where diabetes, neuropathy or poor circulation raise the risk.
Soak the foot in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes, three or four times a day, and gently lift the skin away from the nail corner with a cotton bud, repeating daily. Do not pick at the toenail or try to remove it yourself, and do not pack anything under the nail edge at home, particularly if you live with diabetes or have reduced feeling in your feet. If the nail edge needs packing or dressing, have a podiatrist do it.
Straight across, not too short, filing any sharp edges rather than rounding or tapering the corners. Soaking your feet in warm water first makes thick nails easier to cut. If nails have thickened with age, or you cannot see or reach them safely, a podiatrist can do it for you.
Nail surgery, where part or all of the nail is removed, exists and is sometimes needed in severe or repeatedly recurring cases. Whether it is available depends on the podiatrist and the clinic, so please ask when you book rather than assuming it will happen at your first appointment, and we will refer you on if we cannot do it. Most ingrown toenails settle without it.
When it is infected. Pus or fluid discharge, bleeding around the nail, throbbing pain, warm spreading redness or a fever all point that way, and an infected toenail may need antibiotics and sometimes drainage of pus, which your doctor does. Antibiotics are prescribed by your GP, because PDC clinicians do not prescribe, and we escalate to them the same day. Go to an emergency department instead if redness is spreading, you have a fever or you feel generally unwell.
Yes. Healthdirect advises seeing a doctor about an ingrown toenail if you have poor circulation, diabetes or nerve damage in your legs or feet, because infection is more likely and skin heals more slowly. Do not wait for your next routine foot check. We can measure your circulation and set a foot check interval that matches your risk.
Tell us what is going on and we will point you to the right discipline, or to more than one. Most people start with a single appointment and leave with a plan the rest of the team can see.
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