Daily foot care is key to keep your feet feeling good. In addition to tending to infections between the toes and on your toenails, exercising and soaking your feet, and wearing shoes that fit well and don’t pinch, it’s important to clip your toenails properly. Here’s what the National Institutes of Health recommend doing:
To avoid ingrown toenails, redness, swelling, pain and possible infection, you should cut your toenails straight across and not too short. Rounding your toenails at the edges increases the risk that the sides of your nail will grow into your skin. Also, don’t wear tight socks and shoes.
When cutting your nails, feel free to use scissors, nail clippers or a nail file, whichever is most comfortable for you.
What to do for an ingrown toenail?
- To reduce inflammation, soak your toenail in warm (not hot) water with Epsom salts.
- Wear flip flops or loose-fitting shoes.
- Contact your doctor.
If you have a fungal nail infection, it will not hurt you. Most likely your nail will thicken and turn yellow. To keep the fungus from spreading to other toes, you can also apply an over-the-counter colorless nail polish that contains amorolfine or ciclopirox. These substances can prevent the fungus from spreading and even kill it. But, it can take many months for them to work. Consider filing or putting a moisturizer with urea on your nail to thin it out. You should also contact your doctor.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Feet hurt? Foot care is key
- If you’re worried about the environment, consider being composted when you die
- Six reasons you need a primary care doctor in this age of specialization
- Exercise may be your best bet for bone health, not calcium or vitamin D supplements
- How you sleep could turn on what you eat
