An ingrown nail, or onychocryptosis, is a painful condition that involves the nail growing and cutting into the sides of the nail bed, or paronychium. This causes inflammation of the paronychium resulting in pain and, in some cases, infection.
Risk Factors for Development of an Ingrown Nail:
At the Melton and Bacchus Marsh Foot Clinics we can manage ingrown nails either conservatively or surgically.
Conservative management consists of removing the nail spike from the skin by trimming the edge of the nail.
Surgical management is conducted under local anaesthetic where a wedge of the nail or entire nail may be removed.
The nail matrix is then chemically cauterised to ensure that the nail that has been removed does not regrow.
