6 Tips To Help Your Ingrown Toenail Removal Recovery Go Smoothly

Making the decision to undergo ingrown toenail removal can be one filled with many emotions. On one side of the coin, there's relief, relief that the pain of dealing with an ingrown toenail can be put behind you, but sometimes a whole new set of concerns or worries come up, especially during the recovery period, after the surgical removal of the ingrown toenail.

If you have questions about your ingrown toenail removal recovery, this blog post is for you.

1. No swimming, or putting your foot in spas, hot tubs, or whirlpools

   

   
   

   With any surgery, including ingrown toenail removal, it is critical to not expose your wound to shared or natural bodies of water. This includes pools, hot tubs, spas, whirlpools, rivers, lakes, ponds, you name it.

This is because these bodies of water have many differnet germs, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which with an open wound can lead to infection.

If you decide to have ingrown toenail removal done, also remember that you will be unable to swim or be in hot tubs for 2-4 weeks.

` Lowering your risk of infection by avoiding bodies of water until you are cleared by your doctor is one of the best and easiest ways that your ingrown toenail removal recovery goes slowly.

2. Don't be afraid to take pain medication as needed.

   Usually, ingrown toenail removal surgery is pretty straightforward and considered a minor procedure. Everyone responds to pain differently.

   
   

   During ingrown toenail removal recovery, pain is usually minimal and can be managed through over the counter medications like Tylenol or Advil.

   
   

   To keep your recovery going as smoothly as possible, don't be afraid to take over-the-counter pain medication as needed.

3. Don't wear shoes that are too tight, narrow, or put pressure on your toes

   Wearing shoes that press directly on your toes can lead to more pain, swelling, bleeding, drainage, and slower recovery from your ingrown toenail removal surgery.

   
   

   During this time in your ingrown toenail removal recovery, choose looser fitting shoes with a natural shape to your toe box to allow for the least pressure on your toes as possible, and speedy healing.

   

   
   

4. Don't clean your wound aggressively

   Cleaning any wound too much can disrupt or slow down your body's healing process. This is because cleaning can increase your risk of damaging very new skin cells which are responsbile for wound healing.

   
   

   Overcleaning a wound can also change the delicate and specific ideal enviroment needed for wound healing, which can lead to longer healing, and a much long ingrown toenail removal recovery.

   
   

   It can be tempting, but do not overclean your wound after your inngrown toenail removal.

5. Don't use any other products other than those recommended or prescribed by your doctor on your toe.

   Again, in wound heaing, a very specfic enviroment is needed, with things like mositure, and pH being balanced. Cleansers, not recommended byyour doctor, a lot of times, are not keeping these things in mind, especially when used for ingrown toenail removal, which is a much deeper wound than a scratch or scrape.

   
   

   Common wound cleaning products like rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide actually destroy healthy new skin cells, which can slow down the time it takes to heal a wound.

   
   

   Rubbing alcohol especially can be very drying, which can kill skin cells, and also slow down wound healing.

   
   

   To make your ingrown toenail removal recovery go as smoothly as possble, dont clean your wound with products not reccomended by your doctor, or without checking with your foot doctor or podiatrist first.

   

   
   
   
   

6. Don't be afraid to ask your doctor questions about the recovery period of an ingrown toenail removal.

   Over the years of being a foot doctor, that creates content online, one of the most common comments I receive is that people were not told about what to do or not do after thier ingrown toenail removal or surgery.

   
   

   Finding a foot doctor or podiatrist that will take the time to listen to your concerns, and answer your questions about your ingrown toenail removal recovery is key.

   
   

   If the doctor you find, is not willing to discuss these things with you, then its very much worth it to find a foot doctor that has the time and attention span to listen, and set your mind at ease.

   

   
   
   
   

   Key Takeaways

   Ingrown toenail removal recovery can be a simple process if you have the right tools in place. Knowing about the proper aftercare for ingrown toenail removal like not beng afriad to take pain medicaton as needed, or not overcleaning or using cleaning products that your doctor hasn't recommend, can make a diffrience between an easy vs rough recovery peroid. Finding a foot doctor that will take the time to listen to your concerns and answer your questions, is also key for having the smoothest ingrown toenail removal recovery possible.

Schedule Your Appointment at Direct Podiatry Arizona

Are you looking for a podiatrist in Phoenix that does ingrown toenail removal? My name is Dr. Tarr, and I am the owner of Direct Podiatry Arizona in Tempe. To view my avaliable appointment times, click here.