Home remedies for ingrown toenails can be appealing for many reasons. Ingrown nails are often very painful and can place limits on your daily life. Home remedies claim to be able to treat ingrowns without the need for an appointment with a doctor. This can seem appealing when you want to get rid of your ingrown quickly and cheaply, but it is important to understand the risks they carry with them. Some at home remedies are relatively safe, like epsom salt soaks. Others can pose risk of infection and damage to your toe, like an attempt to use dental floss to remove an ingrown toenail.
Some websites online claim that you can use dental floss at home to remove an ingrown by sliding the floss between the nail and skin and pulling. While this seems straightforward, this “procedure” is dangerous and should be avoided. First of all, dental floss is not meant to be used for this purpose. The floss may have flavors or chemicals designed for oral use that could aggravate irritation from an ingrown. Also, any person who isn’t licensed to perform medical treatments on the feet risks pushing the ingrown further inside the skin or causing more irritation to the toe during the attempted procedure.
This treatment is also ineffective at curing the ingrown. Once the nail is out of the side of the skin, it can easily slip right back into the wound, increasing risk of infection. Dental floss does nothing to prevent the nail from becoming ingrown again. The bottom line is that this claimed method of ingrown treatment is dangerous and ineffective. If you have an ingrown toenail, you should be seen by a licensed podiatrist to discuss safe and effective treatment options. To schedule an appointment with a podiatrist, give us a call at (424)-299-4627 or visit our website for more information.