5 Natural Solutions for Ingrown Toenails
Having ingrown toenails is a painful problem that can take place on a recurring basis for many people. Feeling helpless, many patients resort to constant visits to the podiatrist to prevent them from getting worse.
In this article, we will share the 5 best natural solutions to alleviate pain and inflammation caused by ingrown toenails. These homemade remedies help you endure this problem better and prevent it from coming back.
What Are Ingrown Toenails?
When a part of your toenail grows in the wrong way, it can embed itself into your skin. In this way, your nails become ingrown and cause redness, swelling, pain, and in some cases, infection. Most of the time, this problem happens to the big toe.
The problem with ingrown toenails is that they usually come back once the nail grows back. However, it can also be a one-time issue from cutting it wrong (too round, for example). Also, other factors such as footwear, foot injuries or poor hygiene can influence it.
There are different medical treatments to treat ingrown toenails. However, it’s important that the method you choose doesn’t damage your nail nor make it a recurring problem or give you undesired side effects.
There are some non-surgical solutions that offer great results nowadays.
Also read: 5 Remedies to Strengthen Weak Nails
Natural Treatment
Fortunately, you have different natural solutions at your disposal to reduce pain and inflammation caused by ingrown toenails. These remedies are great options that are easy to get and apply, and don’t present health risks. However, you should accompany them with a proper medical treatment.
To obtain effective results, you should use foods and medicinal plants that have anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties. In addition, you will also need remedies that help you prevent possible infections.
Homemade Solutions for Ingrown Toenails
Next, we will show you the best homemade solutions to fix your ingrown toenails.
1. Makuna Honey
Although any type of honey would be beneficial for this treatment, makuna honey is worth emphasizing because it has a very powerful curing effect.
What to Do
- Applying honey on the ingrown nail reduces inflammation, prevents infection, and softens your skin to facilitate extraction of the nail.
2. Garlic
One of the most common homemade remedies for this problem is garlic. This superfood acts as a natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory substance.
What to Do
- All you have to do is put a piece of a clove of garlic on the ingrown toenail and let it sit overnight.
3. Lemon
Lemons are great natural disinfectant that also reduce the swelling that causes ingrown toenails.
What to Do
- Cut a lemon in half, make a hole in the center and put the affected toe inside.
- Let it sit for half an hour.
4. Epsom Salts
These mineral salts made of magnesium sulfate have a calming and disinfectant effect on your feet.
What to Do
- You can make a hot bath with them that is very pleasing and effective.
- Additionally, you can use these salts to make relaxing full-body baths.
Also read: 7 Things You Need to Know About Toenail Fungus
5. Apple Vinegar
Apple vinegar is a remedy for almost everything. Thanks to its vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and acids, it’s also a treatment to soften and disinfect the skin around ingrown toenails.
What to Do
- You can make foot baths or soak a cotton ball and apply it to the affected area.
Careful with Footwear
If you frequently suffer from this painful problem, you should try some habits that could influence it.
One of them is footwear, especially for women. Shoes that are too tight or have heels that are too high cause your toes to become deformed and give you ingrown toenails.
Nowadays, there are very beautiful and feminine shoes that respect the natural shape of your toes. Some soles adapt to the curvature of your foot and have good arch support which are very beneficial for your feet.
To conclude, you should always consult a podiatrist if you suspect you have an ingrown toenail. Especially if you suffer from them frequently and they easily become infected.
However, we recommend using these homemade remedies to alleviate the symptoms naturally. Also, don’t forget to wear good footwear to support your natural foot shape.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Nazari S. A simple and practical method in treatment of ingrown nails: splinting by flexible tube. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2006 Nov;20(10):1302-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2006.01793.x. PMID: 17062049.
- Schäfer G, Kaschula CH. The immunomodulation and anti-inflammatory effects of garlic organosulfur compounds in cancer chemoprevention. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2014 Feb;14(2):233-40. doi: 10.2174/18715206113136660370. PMID: 24237225; PMCID: PMC3915757.
- Pullar JM, Carr AC, Vissers MCM. The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients. 2017 Aug 12;9(8):866. doi: 10.3390/nu9080866. PMID: 28805671; PMCID: PMC5579659.