Ingrown toenails are often extremely painful, and if you have one you may be looking for immediate relief from the pain and discomfort they can cause. Because of this, you may be searching for home remedies that you can do to provide relief. Some people may be attracted to home numbing creams for the pain relief that they claim to offer for ingrown toenails.
At home numbing creams claim to provide relief for ingrown toenails. Some of them even claim to soften the skin around the toe and allow the ingrown toenail to grow out of the skin. Others claim to soften the skin to allow you to remove the ingrown toenail yourself more easily. The only claim that these creams make that is completely truthful is that they may provide relief for the pain of an ingrown toenail. What is important to know about these creams is that they are not treatments for the ingrown toenail themselves. They should be considered like an over the counter pain medication like aspirin; they might relieve the pain of the ingrown toenail temporarily, but they won’t do anything long term.
These numbing creams can be useful if you have scheduled an appointment for treatment with a licensed podiatrist and are currently waiting to be seen. Aside from that, these numbing creams can actually be dangerous because they can make your ingrown toenail seem less severe than it actually is. When numbing creams are consistently used to dull the pain of an ingrown toenail, you may not notice the ingrown toenail getting worse. This is especially dangerous if your ingrown is infected; numbing creams will not treat an infection at all. If you do have an ingrown toenail, the best thing to do is be seen by a licensed podiatrist immediately instead of seeking home treatments. To schedule your consultation with a podiatrist, give us a call at (424)-299-4627 or visit our website for more information.