Ingrown Toenail or Vacation

Have you ever had a red swollen painful toe?  It could be an ingrown toenail.  Ingrown toenails can be caused by tight shoes and socks, not cutting your nail straight across or injury to the nail.

My billing coordinator, Kristi, suffered an ingrown toenail right before she was going on vacation.  She was very stressed and worried about how to treat the ingrown right before going on vacation and still being able to enjoy the ocean.  After some encouragement, Kristi decided to go ahead and have a corner of her nail removed to help relieve the pain and tenderness.  

We prepped her toe with a rubber band tourniquet and injected lidocaine to numb the area.  The medical assistants draped the area I was working on so Kristi didn’t have to watch the procedure, unless she wanted to!  After about 5 minutes I squeezed Kristi’s toe to make sure it was completely numb and we were ready for the actual procedure to begin.  I removed the part of Kristi’s nail that was ingrown in a matter of minutes.  Kristi said she felt no pain what so ever, simply pressure.  After getting worried and worked up, Kristi admits her toe actually felt better immediately!

Kristi was able to enjoy her vacation as the toe was very simple to take care of post operatively with the Amerigel Post Op Kit.  It included everything she needed to care for her toe along with a gel toe cap to help keep the toe dry and safe- so Kristi could still enjoy the beach!

Kristi testifies, “I highly recommend that if you have an ingrown toenail have it checked out by Dr. Lockwood because the treatment and care is very easy and it feels so much better!”

If you are like Kristi and have an ingrown toenail, give us a call at (309) 661-9975 and we will get you back on your feet in no time!