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THE GIBSON PROTOCOL

Specialized Treatment For Ingrown Toenails

Diagnosis Confirmed: Through careful evaluation the diagnosis can be confirmed easily. The procedure will not be performed if the nail is not ingrown.

Same Day Repair: Careful removal of a small sliver of nail (leaving the nail looking normal) on the same day. This is a procedure done under local anesthetic to the toe with either: 1) destruction of the nail border or 2) surgical removal of the nail border.

Specialized Bandaging: Application of a pressure bandage to be utilized for 6-8 hours until initial bandage change.

Post-op Care: An Ingrown Healing Kit is to be utilized by patients including a proprietary Essential Healing Salve (to be applied daily), Epson salt to allow 1-2 soaks a day (15 minutes each) and bandaids to be utilized for at least the first week.

What Is An Ingrown Toenail?

Although an ingrown toenail is very common, many individuals don't truly understand what it is. The simplest explanation is a condition where a spike, shoulder or serrated edge of the nail has grown into the skin, usually at the nail edges. It usually produces significant pain and may become inflamed, red, shiny and tense (Paronychia) with swelling of the toe.

Common causes of ingrowing nails include:

Nail Injury: Breaking, splitting or other injury to the nail may cause an edge to catch the skin.

Poor Nail Care: Failure to cut the nail often enough or cutting the nail too short (especially by curving the sides) can lead to ingrowing of the nail.

Shoegear: Tight shoes or shoes that are too small can cause ingrown toenails.

Nail Anatomy: Genetics is the most common cause of ingrown toenails. This includes shape of the nail, curvature of the nail and even strength of the nail.

How Is An Ingrown Toenail Diagnosed?

The medical term is onychocryptosis or encurvation of the nail border into the skin. The diagnosis is simple and can be done even at home by answering these three questions:

Does The Toe Hurt (especially on the sides or tip of the nail)? Although there are other reasons the nail or toe may hurt, this is usually the first sign that you have an ingrown toenail.

Is The Toe Red or Swollen? Erythema (redness) to the toe is an important sign of inflammation (not necessarily infection) from the irritation caused by the ingrown toenail.

Is The Toenail Curved? Curving of the nail, by definition, is indication of an ingrowing toenail. This may include abnormal appearance of the nail border including pus, drainage or beefy red tissue.