How long does it take for ingrown toenail to heal?

Let’s talk about one of the most painful things that can happen to your toe – ingrown toenails. They can make you feel like you’re walking on daggers and be incredibly irritating, both physically and mentally. If only they could live their life out safely in the folds of our nail bed; alas they tangle with us mere humans and cause a mighty ruckus.

So, how long does it take for this pesky issue to heal? Let’s find out!

What is an Ingrown Toenail?

Before we get into healing time frames, let’s quickly discuss what these little monsters are all about. An ingrown toenail happens when the edge or corner of your toenail grows into the surrounding skin rather than over it and makes itself comfortable inside your tender flesh (ugh). This strange growth pattern typically affects big toes but can occur on any other posh pinkies if treated badly.

Wearing tight shoes or socks that squeeze toes together exacerbate this problem adding more deadly sins to a poor soul’s existing agony (sigh).

Ingrown toenails may result in infections causing swelling, redness and an ulceration at the end top – never something worth actively seeking out as a party trick, trust me! So now that we know what an ingrown toenail looks like let’s see how long typically takes it for glory days ahead (high hope).

Healing Time

If you’ve been plagued by this common nuisance—and there are no signs of blissful freedom ahead—fear not! With good hygiene practices and patience (because nobody has those), an average case will generally take between four months right up to eternity before fully healed depending on which treatment option we choose.

Home Remedies

Fearlessly checking Google with confidence after some DIY home remedies (7/10 intend never to heed formal medical advice) might reveal some helpful tips and tricks for your poorly limb including the following:

  • Soaking in warm water to promote draining and reduce swelling.
  • Resting affected foot by wearing open-toed shoes or sandals making sure those toes are aired nationally at all times (never wear socks with flip flops cos we ain’t barbarians dude!).
  • Applying topical antibiotics prescribed may prevent an infection in people whose toenails have penetrated their skin.

Although home remedies can be a great help, they will never compare to proper medication (aka professional treatment).

Professional Treatment

If you’re suffering from unbearable pain or pus appears in the infected area that is when it’s time to seek out expert intervention sooner rather than later.

Now let’s walk through different types of specialized ingrown toenail treatments which provide patients faster healing results compared against any DIY solutions. These procedures include:

  1. Partial Nail Avulsion

Partial nail avulsion involves removing only part of the affected toenail that is causing issues using either local anesthesia or general sedation (AHHH). Then, educated professionals clean up beneath your temporarily clipped toe, which sounds like far more fun than it actually is—trust me on this one—but after all this; many find partial removal reduces ingrowth risk considerably helping wounds heal four months (~16 blink eye moments) post-surgery.

  1. Total nail Avulsion

Total nail avulsion has us pressing the nuclear option button – involving full removal of section problematic nails via surgery whereby special instruments remove its entirety under general anesthesia (think unconscious but not forever okay? They bring you back). Although total heel time frame (~ 2+ Netflix binge-watch seasons) tends to take longer a significant reductionin regrowth subsequent surgeries remains constant.

  1. Matricectomy

Never heard of this word before?? You’re Not Alone!. This highly invasive surgical process removes a portion of the nail matrix (“root”) to solve gnawing ingrowths once and for all (say goodbye forever waving hello to freedom and a bouncing fresh start!). The healing process can take six months (Good things come to those who wait) But reducing future infections works swiftly.

In Conclusion

Finally, how long it takes an ingrown toenail to heal will depend on what approach you take towards them from our discussion above.

While over-the-counter remedies may temporarily provide relief, nothing beats professional intervention by specialized care providers who use procedures like medication, partial or total avulsion, as well as matricectomy procedures with higher success rates in treating this pesky sucker thing that hinders your walking game! And remember no matter which road most suited; strive towards healthy lifestyle preferences (changing socks frequently depending on outdoor temperament) give yourself foot spa relaxation time intervals when required (tip: Christmas comes every year so why not treat yo self)!!

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