Home
Rodale Bookshelf
New Choices in Natural Healing: Ingrown Toenails

Chapter List

Special Limited Time Offer!
Order today and
Save an Extra 15%!
Use coupon code: LSAVE15

Ingrown Toenails

They don’t call them toenails for nothing. When one of them changes course and starts growing down into your toe, it feels like someone is driving a sharp tack right into your flesh.

Ingrown toenails happen mostly to the big toe on each foot. Sometimes a shoe that’s too tight or an overzealous pedicure that leaves your toenail too short can cause the nail to grow into the flesh on the sides of your toe. This can be extremely painful and can become infected. Unfortunately, the tendency to develop ingrown toenails can be hereditary. The natural remedies in this chapter, used with the approval of your doctor, may help heal an ingrown toenail, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When...

You notice that the skin surrounding your toenail is red and swollen or discharging green or yellow fluid.
You have diabetes.

Homeopathy

At the first sign of discomfort from an ingrown toenail, soak your toe in five drops of Hypericum tincture and five drops of Calendula tincture diluted in ½ pint of warm water, write Andrew Lockie, M.D., and Nicola Geddes, M.D., in The Women’s Guide to Homeopathy. After 15 to 30 minutes, they say, remove your toe from the water and gently wrap a small piece of soft linen around the side of the nail, slipping it between the skin over the top of the nail and the nail bed.

Dr. Lockie and Dr. Geddes also suggest taking one of these 6C remedies every 12 hours for two weeks. To strengthen nails that repeatedly ingrow, they say, try Magnetis polus australis. If your nails are quite brittle, they recommend Thuja. If there is no improvement in a month, see your medical doctor or homeopath.

All of these remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

To help heal an ingrown toenail, soak your foot in hot, sudsy water for 20 minutes, suggests Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. Then, she says, cut off the corner of the nail (make sure it’s square) and wrap your toe in a hot compress covered with a dry cloth, keeping it in place overnight.

In the morning, says Dr. Thrash, trim the toenail in a shallow U shape across the top, leaving it squared off in the corners. She suggests slipping a few fibers of cotton under the edge of the nail to stop it from digging into the flesh. Trim the ends of the cotton short to get them out of the way, so it can remain in place for several days or even weeks, she adds.

See also Foot Pain

Shop with Us: Brands A-Z; Products A-Z; Autoship; Ways to Shop; Member Discounts

Customer Service: Contact Us; Help Desk; Shipping Policy; Return Policy; Ask a question; Track Your Order

My Account: My Account; My Order History; My Shopping Cart

Health Library: Vitamin Guide; Guide to Herbs; Health Concerns; Home Remedies; Seniors Health; Women's Health

About Us: Our Blog; Our Philosophy; Corporate Discounts; Affliliate Program; Terms of Use

Featured Partners

Email Sign up: Weekly health news, sale announcements and coupons!

Call us M-F 9am-5pm: 1-800-439-5506

Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Information about each product is taken from the labels of the products or from the manufacturer's advertising material. MotherNature is not responsible for any statements or claims that various manufacturers make about their products. We cannot be held responsible for typographical errors or product formulation changes. You should read carefully all product packaging. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.All discounts are taken from suggested retail prices. Prices are subject to change.