Fast, effective relief for ingrown toenails " IT IS AN AILMENT so minor that it is regarded as something of a medical joke, yet treatment for an ingrown toenail can prove absurdly complicated. For while a state-registered podiatrist can deal with this simple yet painful condition quickly using a local anaesthetic, you could — depending on your GP and local hospital — find yourself on interminable courses of antibiotics or waiting months for treatment that might involve outmoded surgical procedures carried out under general anaesthetic" "State-registered podiatrists claim that 98 per
cent of ingrown toenails can be treated more conservatively,
permanently and painlessly
with a method called phenolisation, which was introduced to the UK
in the early 1980s. Under local anaesthetic,
only the ingrown sides of the toenail are removed, and the exposed
nail bed is painted with
phenol, a
corrosive
chemical solution which destroys the tissue, preventing any future
regrowth at the edges. The middle of the nail is retained, which,
although narrower, leaves the toe looking more “normal”. |