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Straight across, without going deep at the sides. It sounds simple, and a poor cut is one of the most common causes of a nail digging in.
Many ingrown toenails have to do with how the nail is cut. It is not the only cause —footwear, the shape of the nail or a knock also play a part—, but it is one of the easiest to prevent: cutting them properly takes a couple of minutes and you do not need to buy anything.
There is one rule: straight across, without going deep at the sides. The rest of this article explains why, and when it is better not to do it yourself.
Why a rounded cut ends up digging in
When you round the nail to follow the shape of the toe, the edge ends up below the fold of skin at the sides. The nail keeps growing forward, but the part that was left hidden grows against the skin instead of over it: it digs in, the area becomes inflamed and it starts to hurt when the shoe presses.
Digging into the sides with the tip of the scissors does the same thing, only worse: as well as leaving the edge hidden, it usually leaves a tiny spicule that acts like a splinter. That is what produces the stabbing pain that appears days after the cut and cannot be explained by looking at the nail from above.
How to cut them, step by step
- After a shower, when the nail is slightly soft: it cuts without splintering.
- With straight-jawed nail clippers or straight scissors, not curved ones.
- Straight across, from one side to the other, following the free edge of the nail rather than the curve of the toe.
- Leaving the nail level with the tip of the toe, without cutting back into the flesh.
- Without putting anything down the sides: if something is bothering you there, it is not removed by poking.
- Filing the edge with an emery board to smooth corners that might scratch, without cutting them off.
Footwear matters too. A shoe that is short, narrow or shallow at the toe presses on the sides of the nail even when it is well cut: check the length, the width and the depth, especially when you go back to closed shoes.
When it is better not to do it yourself
There are four situations in which cutting your nails at home stops being a routine and becomes a risk, and in all of them a regular check at the clinic is the better option.
- If you have diabetes or circulatory problems: sensation may be reduced and a small wound can go unnoticed for days.
- If you take anticoagulants: a cut that would not matter in someone else does matter here.
- If you cannot reach or cannot see the foot clearly: forcing the position ends in cutting blind, and the big toenail is the least forgiving.
- If the nail is thickened, deformed or an unusual colour: there, the first thing is to find out why, because cutting it does not fix the cause.
If it has already dug in
A nail that has already dug in is not fixed by cutting it better: preventing and treating are different things. Do not try to remove the piece that is digging in. Poking at the side usually pushes it further in and adds a wound to the problem you already had. What does help while you book an appointment: footwear that does not squeeze the front of the foot, and not cutting that nail again.
And if there is pus, heat, spreading redness, or pain that stops you standing on it, do not wait: that is no longer just a badly cut nail.
Ingrown toenails explains what is done at the clinic and how the cause is looked for so that it does not happen again.
And if the nail has not dug in but has turned dark without an obvious knock, cutting it is not the answer: black toenail without a knock explains what to watch for and when to get it checked.
Sources
- Ingrown toenail (opens in a new tab) · National Health Service (NHS)
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