Dangers of “Bathroom Surgery”: Why You Can’t Treat an Ingrown Toenail at Home

Ingrown toenails – the condition you develop when your nail grows into your skin – can seem painful and annoying, but not necessarily serious. As a result, many people consider treating ingrown toenails at home. 

In reality, the team at Texas Foot & Ankle Specialists, PLLC, finds that attempting self-treatment for ingrown toenails instead of having them professionally treated can lead to additional problems. Here’s why you shouldn’t attempt bathroom surgery for ingrown toenails and what to do instead.

Why avoid bathroom surgery

Bathroom surgery is attempting to remove your ingrown toenail at home without the assistance of medical professionals. The excruciating pain caused when your nail grows into the skin can cause people to try to take matters into their own hands and cut or dig out the nail themselves.

Unfortunately, bathroom surgery doesn’t always work, and even when successful, it can lead to further problems. Some of the reasons our team doesn’t recommend bathroom surgery include: 

Lower success rate

Some ingrown toenails are embedded deeply or awkwardly into your skin and can be hard to get out completely. You can guarantee the whole nail is removed when you see a medical professional.

Higher risk of infection

The equipment you use at home to remove the nail usually isn’t properly sterilized, and you also risk opening up more of the skin surrounding the ingrown toenail during the removal process. This increases the likelihood you’ll develop an infection after removing the nail.

Untreated infection

Sometimes, ingrown toenails develop infections that need to be treated with antibiotics. If you remove it at home yourself, the infection won’t go away as quickly and can develop into a more serious systemic infection. 

No care for concurrent conditions

Medical conditions that decrease circulation to your feet, including diabetes and chronic conditions like HIV, mean your feet need to be examined by a podiatrist when you develop an ingrown toenail. This helps us take special care of your feet to prevent you from worse complications. 

Greater odds of recurrence 

When treating your ingrown toenail, our team does the procedure to either reduce or eliminate your risk of getting another one. On the other hand, bathroom surgery can leave your nail jagged and make it more likely to grow ingrown again. 

How to safely treat ingrown toenails

Our team sees you promptly for an in-office appointment to treat your ingrown toenail. Within minutes, your provider quickly and safely trims the nail out from under the skin. This can be done under local anesthesia. 

For a recurring ingrown toenail, our team performs a quick procedure that removes the root of the nail. Your nail continues to look and function the same as it did before the procedure.

While waiting for the appointment to treat your ingrown toenail, you can relieve pain by taking over-the-counter pain medication, soaking your toe in warm water, and carefully massaging the toe.  

There’s no need to resort to dangerous bathroom surgery when our team offers safe, prompt, and effective ingrown toenail removal. Contact us to discuss your ingrown toenail at a location nearest you in Mesquite, Forney, or Kaufman, Texas.