An ingrown toenail occurs when the toenail imbeds itself in the surrounding skin. This leads to the skin around the toenail becoming red, inflamed, painful, and often infected. An infected ingrown toenail makes it painful to wear shoes. It usually does not improve with antibiotics alone. In order for the infection to resolve, the offending nail must be removed from the skin.  

The knee-jerk reaction that I see from most is the "do-it-yourself" approach. Many of my Houston patients decide that they have a future in "bathroom surgery" and dig out the piece of the nail. This usually causes the ingrown toenail to become worse. The only way to most properly and completely treat an ingrown toenail is to visit your Houston foot doctor.
Dr. Andrew Schneider
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A podiatrist and foot surgeon in Houston, TX.