Taking care of your feet is essential, especially if you have diabetes. People with diabetes require greater attention to foot issues, as they can develop neuropathy, which causes decreased sensation. This decreased sensitivity can lead to people not noticing issues with their feet, such as ingrown toenails.
Dr. Florin Costache and Dr. Kevin Derickson of Cherry Creek Foot Clinic in Denver, CO, can treat ingrown toenails and get you back on your feet to good health. They specialize in diabetic foot care and have many years of experience between them.
What Are Ingrown Nails?
Cutting your toenails is a common way to get an ingrown nail. This condition’s primary cause of discomfort involves cutting the nail into the wrong shape and rounding the corners of the toenail so the skin grows over the edge of the nail. Overgrowth often doesn’t cause any discomfort at first, so treatment isn’t usually initiated until later stages of discomfort.
Other causes of an ingrown nail are a little less common, such as wearing improperly fitted shoes, trauma to the toe (banging or dropping something on your toe), torn toenails, and genetics, such as a naturally large nail bed with a small toe or skin overgrowth around the toenail.
Signs and Symptoms of Ingrown Nails
According to Cherry Creek Foot Clinic in Denver, CO, ingrown toenails may start to feel uncomfortable, but you physically don’t see anything wrong with your toe yet. Below are signs that this will happen to your nail.
- Increased redness - Your toe may appear normal at first, but slowly, over a couple of days, there may be an increase in redness along the side of your toe, curving over the top of the nail.
- Heat - A sure sign of an ingrown toenail is heat. Your toe will be very warm to the touch and may appear shiny with increased fluid in the toe.
- Drainage - Eventually, your toe will start leaking either clear or bloody fluid or pus.
- Sensitivity - Along with redness and swelling, sensitivity and pain will be present due to the pressure of added fluid in the tissue.
Treatment for Ingrown Nails
Ingrown toenails provide an entry point for bacteria to cause an infection. For those with diabetes, it is especially important that issues like ingrown toenails are addressed as soon as possible to prevent any damage that an infection may cause. If you have struggled with ingrown toenails in the past, it’s likely that you may experience the condition again. Contact our podiatrists today to get the help you need to not only recover from issues like ingrown toenails, but to prevent these issues in the future as well.
Leading Podiatry Doctors in CO!
Contact our doctors, Dr. Costache and Dr. Derickson of Cherry Creek Foot Clinic at 303-355-1695 in Denver, CO, for ingrown toenail treatment and other foot-related care today.
