What Will Happen If I Don’t Treat My Ingrown Toenail?

Although some mild ingrown toenails may go away on their own with time and normal nail trimming, the truth is that many (if not most) won’t.

Trust us: you do not want to wait and see what happens to yours.

Ingrown toenails usually do start out at a milder stage, causing only some minor swelling and discomfort. But over the following days and weeks, things often tend to get worse and worse.

Untreated ingrown toenails can become severely painful, and can easily get infected. If that infection isn’t dealt with promptly, it can spread and deepen, potentially even reaching the bone. By this point, if you haven’t sought help from a podiatrist, extreme measures like amputation may now be on the table.

Infections are especially dangerous if you have diabetes or immunocompromised. Common signs of infection include red streaks and pus under the nail.

There’s more bad news. For many people, ingrown toenails are at least partially linked to the natural shape of your nails, which is determined by your genetics. So even if one ingrown toenail does go away on its own or with home treatments, you are likely to keep getting ingrown toenails over and over again in the same spot.

We actually recommend that you contact us as soon as you notice a problem with an ingrown toenail, regardless of other factors. Home treatments (regular nail trimming and soaking the toe) may work for you if you are healthy and the pain is mild, but you’re just as likely to merely prolong your suffering and delay the inevitable. Early intervention from a professional is the best way to keep an ingrown toenail from spiraling out of control.

That being said, people in the following situations should not even give home treatments a second thought. Call us immediately if any of the following statements are true:

• Your pain is severe
• You notice any signs of infection, such as red streaks, significant inflammation, or pus
• You have diabetes or are immunocompromised
• You have developed ingrown toenails multiple times in the past

Unfortunately, by the time most people finally make the call to come see us, their toenails are already severe enough that we need to take a more aggressive treatment approach.

That said, we promised you good news. Here it is:

Ingrown Toenail Treatment Is Usually Safe, Painless, and Effective