Ever had an ingrown toenail? I had a minor one, once, about 30 years ago, that I was able to take care of myself. I had trimmed a toenail too short and at an angle, both apparent no-nos.
Dr. Steve, the cuddly teddy bear grandpa-type teaching some of the off-grid medicine classes I took, is a former ER doctor now practicing family medicine in a small Utah town. He said he sees two or three cases of ingrown toenails each week in his practice. And yet, there isn't a word on treating them in any of my off-grid medicine references. Nothing.
How is this possible? I'm not sure, but I do know that the little one I had was a bit painful. I can't imagine having a much more serious one and not knowing what to do.
Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so let's look at the causes and risk factors first.
- Toenail trauma, such as stubbing your toe
- Wearing shoes that are too tight
- Cutting toenails too short
- Cutting toenails at an angle
- Unusually curvy toenails
The
first four of these causes are easily preventable. Always wear shoes
that fit properly and don't cut toenails too short or at an angle.
Doctors recommend not to trim toenails any shorter than the tip of the
toe. Easy peasy. Unusually curvy toenails are due to genetics, and
there isn't much that can be done about that.
But for those who make a mistake or got lucky with the genetics, there are treatments. We'll begin with the basic home treatments for minor ingrown toenails and then cover what you'll need to have on hand for minor surgery performed by a medical professional for more serious cases.
Minor ingrown toenail treatments:
- Soak affected foot in warm, soapy water or Epsom salts, 3x per day, for 20 minutes each time.
- Soak affected foot in a basin of warm water and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 3x per day, for 20 minutes each time.
- Soak affected foot in a basin of dilute Betadine solution, 2x per day, for 20 minutes each time.
- Lift the toenail with a little bit of cotton fibers from a cotton ball or some dental floss. This is the approach recommended by the Mayo Clinic. Other doctors disagree, indicating that this increases the chance for infection under the nail. (This is what I did for my little ingrown nail.)
- Apply antibiotic ointment.
- Wear comfortable shoes and socks with plenty of room for the toes when you have to go out, but otherwise, keep the foot uncovered as much as possible to prevent pressure on the toenail.
- Use OTC pain relievers as needed and as directed by a physician.
If you or someone in your family suffers from ingrown toenails, you'll want to have lidocaine and epinephrine as well as needles and syringes on hand for a physician to perform this common minor surgery. Removing the toenail is extremely painful for the patient, and you'll want to prepare accordingly.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ingrown-toenails/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355908 (accessed 23 September 2020).
https://www.everydayhealth.com/foot-health/treating-ingrown-toenails.aspx
10.21.20
Okay, interesting post. Most I knew, some was very new to me. Most of my knowledge comes from my own "battles" with in-grown toenails. Anyways, on to my question... you mention off-grid training. How would someone find training of this type?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great articles.
As I went looking for links for you, it seems that these courses are getting harder to come by. Whether it's just a post-covid thing or government interference, I can't say. The best classes I took were through OnPointTactical.com and taught by Dr. Steve Pehrson. I posted a review of the classes on this blog a few years back. You could check with Kevin, the director of OnPoint, to see if they will be offering classes in the future. Warning, though. Communication is not Kevin's strong suit, and it can be enough to drive a person crazy. But all of those classes are phenomenal. Dr. Steve also teaches austere medicine through Sam Coffman's The Human Path. https://classroom.herbalmedics.academy/courses/austere-medicine-trauma/ The cost is quite reasonable, however, I have never taken this course and don't know what the balance is between Steve's teaching and Sam's focus on the herbs. I took a class from Sam in person and he really rubbed me the wrong way, so much so that I didn't want to take any more classes from him. Anyway, they have a class starting in March 2023 that is entirely online. I'm thinking about taking it for a refresher.
DeleteI checked Dr. Joseph Alton's survival medicine classes at https://www.doomandbloom.net/medical-classes/ and it appears they haven't offered anything in 3 years.
Patriot Nurse has a beginner online class. https://www.patriotnurseacademy.com/offers/42QLvfTd/checkout
I know nothing about it, but I have gleaned some good information from her videos. If she were teaching in my area, I'd definitely take classes from her.
Gunsite Academy sometimes offers classes. I took one there several years ago, however it wasn't nearly as practical and informative as Dr. Steve Pehrson's classes.
Good luck finding some classes. GOod preparation for any classes would be studying some off-grid medicine texts--any of the books I've reviewed here on the blog.
When I was in Navy bootcamp 37 years ago, I had an ingrown toenail on my big toe. It got to the point that I could barely walk. I was sent to sickbay. It wasn't just a small thing. The doctor looked at my swollen toe and said, "we're going to have to remove part of that toenail." He asked if I wanted to lie down but I wanted to watch. So I sat and watched. After 3 painful shots that numbed my toe, he grabbed a tool that looked like a pair of dikes. He pried up part of the toenail, cut the toenail and then with locking forceps slowly pulled the ingrown toenail out. It wasn't pretty. The puss and blood that came out looked like a horror show. The doctor was shocked how long it was. It looked like a fish hook and it was growing into the middle of my toe. The doctor wanted to show the other doctors.
ReplyDeleteMy toenail grew back eventually and I've never had a problem since.
Sounds absolutely horrid. So glad you haven't had any further problems.
DeleteI have used the following remedy a few times in the past before the toe got infected. It would be shiny red, swollen and really hurt, thumping like crazy. I would apply Vit E oil along the affected side of the toenail and then carefully work the oil down in between the toe and the nail using a small crochet hook, because they are very thin and not sharply pointed. It didn't take too many days for the pain, redness and swelling to subside. My mother had read this in Prevention Magazine and passed it along to me over 40 years ago. Needless to say, now I don't wait for the toe to begin hurting before applying this method.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this. It's the kind of information we need to share, even if our experiences may be anecdotal. Not saying yours is, just that this is the kind of stuff we need to share.
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