Patient/caregiver was educated on measures to manage and prevent ingrown toenail as follows:
- Avoid wearing shoes with too big heels and narrow toe boxes. This can provide better arch support and avoid undue pressure and compression of toes, thus helping to prevent injury and ingrowing of toenail.
- Always wear properly fitting shoes, with appropriate room in the toe box, to accommodate all the toes without any crowding.
- Maintain 3 – 4 pairs of shoes, which will give you an opportunity to rotate the shoes. This can expose the shoe to fresh air during the break from wearing and help get rid of the moisture inside the shoe due to sweating and the odor associated with sweating.
- Rotation of shoes also helps with avoiding any undue pressure from the same shoe on the same site of the foot, due to continuous use of the same footwear. Individuals with history of ingrown toenails can choose to have open toed shoes, to avoid any pressure of the shoe on the toes.
- Observing compliance with receiving booster shots for tetanus, given once every 10 years, can help prevent complications with ingrown toenail. Individuals with an active episode of ingrown toenail must receive a booster shot for tetanus regardless of when they received the last tetanus shot, to prevent any risk for cellulitis & tetanus.
