by Dr. Brant McCartan
Here is a photo from last week of an 11 year old patient with an infected ingrown toenail. Ingrown toenails are fairly common, especially in kids. This is because kids are often very active, and due to growing quickly they may be wearing too tight shoes. Kids who play cleat sports like soccer are also more likely to have ingrown toenails. You can also just be genetically predisposed to having ingrown toenails – you inherited it!
When should you see a doctor for an ingrown toenail? If it is infected, it’s already too late! Call for an appointment sooner, when it is just starting to become irritated, red, and painful – before any blister has started to form. We have a simple, in-office procedure that we can do on the same day to relieve the pain and prevent infection.
