INGROWN TOENAILS IN CHILDREN

Ingrown toenails can become unbearable for fully-grown adults, so imagine how painful it could be for babies. Toenails in kids develop extremely fast and you have to give them your additional attention. You also have to be extremely careful and attentive of ingrown toenails, which can lead to other foot and ankle complications in your babies. Read about what do the symptoms of ingrown toenails look like and how you can prevent them and care for your kid’s toes.

Often you’ll find an ingrowing toenail developing on the big toe, but any other figure can fall target to it. You would notice that the toenail begins to grow into the skin from the corner of the nail. Also, you would find selling and reddening of that part of the skin, which may also discharge unwanted pus from it.

Your kid will imply that the toe is none too comfortable by crying when that infected part of feet is either touched or is put pressure on. The child may also suddenly start to avoid wearing his/her shoes, pull at his toes, or, if he is walking, may limp or cry out.

Parents can simply avoid this very common and uncomfortable foot situation in children by following a few simple advices directly from the doctor:

Dr. Parekh says that many children are observed to be concealing their ingrown toenails from their parents, even though the problem can trigger major pain in their feet. If not given proper attention, the nail may open out of the skin and lead to further other infections. Dr. Parth Parekh gives these following suggestions to assist parents in preventing ingrown toenails in their kids.

• Tip #1: If your kid is grown-up enough that he/she cuts his/her nail, then teach them how to cut and shape their toenails properly. Trim toenails in a proper straight fashion, and never cut them too short.
• Tip #2: Always make sure children’s shoes fit their toe width. They are neither too tight nor too loose. Shoe’s width is more significant than their length. While choosing the shoe, pay attention on whether the widest part of child’s foot matches with the widest part of the shoe or not.
• Tip #3: If a child develops a painful ingrown toenail, parents can give them quick relief and reduce the pain by dipping the child’s foot in room-temperature water and mildly massaging the side of the nail fold.
• Tip #4: The only proper way to treat a child’s ingrown toenail is with a minor surgical procedure at a doctor’s office. Parents should never try to dig the nail out or cut it off. These dangerous “bathroom surgeries” carry a high risk for infection. Doctors may prescribe antibiotics to children with infected ingrown toenails.

Dr. Parth Parekh
DNB(Orthopaedic) ; D (Orthopaedic) ; M.N.A.M.S (Orthopaedic)
Consultant Orthopaedic Foot And Ankle Surgeon

CIMS Hospital
Science City Road,
Sola,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat India 380060

+91 9712300124
www.drparthparekh.com
www.cims.org