Ingrown Toenails: Causes, Treatment, and Prevention

By Sylke Bommel · Updated August 2026 · 6 min read

What Is an Ingrown Toenail?

An ingrown toenail, medically called onychocryptosis, happens when the corner or edge of the nail grows into the surrounding skin instead of over it, most often affecting the big toe.

It's a common, usually minor condition, but it can become painful, swollen, and, if untreated, infected, particularly for anyone with reduced circulation or sensation in their feet.

What Causes Ingrown Toenails?

Ingrown toenails are most commonly caused by cutting nails too short or rounding the corners rather than trimming straight across, which allows the nail edge to grow into the surrounding skin as it lengthens.

Tight or narrow footwear, repetitive trauma like stubbing a toe, genetic predisposition to curved nail shape, excess sweating, and poor foot hygiene are all recognized contributing factors, according to family medicine literature on the condition.

Signs and Symptoms

The clearest signs of an ingrown toenail are pain, redness, and swelling along one edge of the nail, often worsening with tight shoes or pressure.

Left untreated, the area can become infected, showing warmth, discharge, or increasing pain, which is a sign to seek professional treatment rather than continuing home care.

Conservative, At-Home Treatment for Mild Cases

For mild ingrown toenails without signs of infection, warm water soaks combined with careful, straight-across trimming are the standard first-line approach recommended in family medicine guidance.

Soaking softens the skin around the nail, making it easier to gently lift the ingrown edge with clean hands, without cutting into the nail fold. A warm foot soak, like Imperial Feet's Wellness & Detox Foot Soak XL, supports exactly this softening step before careful at-home care.

When to See a Podiatrist

See a podiatrist if the ingrown toenail is painful with visible pus or discharge, doesn't improve with a week or two of home care, or if you have diabetes, poor circulation, or reduced sensation in your feet.

For moderate to severe or recurring ingrown toenails, professional procedures such as partial nail removal, sometimes combined with treatment of the nail matrix, are considerably more effective at preventing recurrence than home care alone.

Preventing Ingrown Toenails

The most effective prevention is trimming nails straight across, not rounding the corners, and choosing shoes with enough room in the toe box that nails aren't under constant pressure.

Keeping feet dry, since excess moisture is a recognized risk factor, and avoiding overly aggressive at-home cutting into the nail corners, both reduce the chance of a nail growing into the surrounding skin over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best way to trim nails to prevent ingrown toenails?

Trim straight across rather than rounding the corners, and avoid cutting nails too short, since both of these are the most consistently cited causes of nails growing into the surrounding skin.

Can I treat an ingrown toenail at home?

Mild cases without signs of infection often respond to warm soaks and careful, straight-across trimming, but any pus, worsening pain, or diabetes and circulation issues should prompt a visit to a podiatrist instead.

Why do ingrown toenails keep coming back?

Recurrence is common with home treatment alone, especially if the underlying nail shape or trimming habit isn't addressed; professional procedures that treat the nail matrix are considerably more effective at preventing recurrence.

Does tight footwear cause ingrown toenails?

Yes, tight or narrow shoes that put constant pressure on the toes are a recognized contributing factor, alongside nail trimming technique, trauma, and excess sweating.

When is an ingrown toenail an emergency?

It's rarely a true emergency, but signs of spreading infection, such as increasing warmth, redness, or discharge, especially in someone with diabetes or poor circulation, warrant prompt medical attention rather than continued home care.

Clinical Sources

1. Heidelbaugh JJ, Lee H. Management of the Ingrown Toenail. Am Fam Physician. 2019;100(3):158-164.
2. Mayeaux EJ, Carter C, Murphy TE. Ingrown Toenail Management. Am Fam Physician. 2019.
3. Cleveland Clinic. Ingrown Toenails: Signs, Causes, Treatment & Prevention. Patient education resource.
4. Ingrown Toenail Management review, Osteopathic Family Physician, on recurrence rates and risk factors.

Related Reading

• How to Get Rid of Toenail Fungus: A Complete Guide
• Nail Health: How to Keep Your Toenails Strong and Healthy
• Corns and Calluses: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Sylke Bommel

Owner, Imperial Feet — Third-Generation Foot Care

Sylke Bommel is the owner and third-generation leader of Imperial Feet, the Dutch professional foot care brand her grandfather founded in 2001. Raised in Aruba and based in Haarlem, just outside Amsterdam, she has led the brand's international expansion for over a decade, growing Imperial Feet from a single Dutch distributor to a professional range used by pedicurists, podiatrists, and pharmacies in more than 20 countries, including the United States.

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Editorial note: Sylke writes from the perspective of a foot care brand owner and formulator, not a medical practitioner. Content is educational and does not replace individual medical advice from a qualified foot care professional.