Treating An Ingrown Toenail For Your Child: How To Help

If your child has pain in the toe and you aren't sure what it is, it could be an ingrown toenail. Ingrown toenails can plague anyone at any age. They can be very painful, especially if there is an infection. If you have this pain it can be difficult to walk, and for a child it can be even more of a pain. To help treat the ingrown toenail in a child, read on for ways you can help.

Inspect Their Shoes

Take a look at your child's shoes and see if they are too tight. Your child may have wide feet and need a wider-sized shoe. If you aren't sure if your child's shoes fit them properly, you can take them to a shoe store to help fit your child properly for a pair of shoes. Shoes that are too small or shoes that add too much pressure can also cause problems for your child's toes. If your child is wearing shoes that push their feet forward, this can lead to ingrown toenails. Change your child's footwear and see if this helps at all.

Cut Their Nails Straight

Don't attempt to shape your child's toenails. Trim them straight across and never cut the sides of the nail at an angle. Nails should always be cut straight, otherwise the sides of the nail will begin to grow into the side of the toe, which will lead to the ingrown toenails in the first place. Ingrown toenails should never be clipped. You could dig into the skin causing much more pain for your child, and you could also cause an infection if you aren't careful. 

Soak Their Feet

Soak your child's feet in a warm foot bath or in the bathtub with Epsom salts to soften the skin and nails and to help remove toxins in the feet. The Epsom salts can also help heal infections in the toe from ingrown toenails. It can be soothing for your child's feet and ease pain they may be feeling from the ingrown toenails.

Take Them To The Podiatrist

Take your child to the podiatrist for treatment. If the ingrown toenail is not getting any better with new footwear, from clipping their nails the right way, or from a good foot soak, then it's time to take your child to the podiatrist for treatment. The podiatrist can clip the nail the right way to remove the ingrown toenail or will use cotton beneath the nail to pull the toenail out and away from the surrounding skin without causing further pain to your child.

If your child has an ingrown toenail, use the tips above to help. If you don't see any improvement in the ingrown toenail, take your child to the podiatrist for treatment.