INCORRECT NAIL CUTTING
The most common cause of ingrown toenails is incorrect nail cutting. Usually, the nail is cut short and round which, will cause the nail corners to grow back into the nail wall. In some cases, this gets inflamed so the patient quickly stops walking and running around. Or parents wait with cutting their child’s toenails until they are too long and under pressure.
What can I do for you?
I can teach you how correctly cut your child’s nails and also what you need to do to take good care of your child’s feet and nails. If the nails are already growing in, I can get them pain-free by removing the pressure, and help you to further regulate the nail so that it doesn’t grow in again.
What can you do yourself?
Cut your children’s nails regularly – at least once every two weeks – and make sure the nails don’t grow over the edge of the toe. Cut the nails straight and make sure that the corners remain free of the nail wall. Make sure your child doesn’t mess with or tear off toenails because torn nails have the same risk of growing in as nails that have been cut too short.
POORLY FITTING SHOES
Another reason for ingrowing toenails, but also for many other foot problems, are shoes that are too small. Your child’s feet are growing fast and shoes that are too tight can force the nails back into the feet. Especially since children often only have one pair of shoes that they wear all day long almost every day.
What can I do for you?
I can measure your children’s feet and advise you on the shoe size and model of the shoes.
What can you do yourself?
Buy well-fitting shoes for your child and don’t wait too long to buy new shoes. When buying, make sure that the shoes fit in length and width and make sure there is enough space for the toes. Buy children’s shoes at the end of the day – even children’s feet are swollen at the end of the day, which means that the size of the shoe has to be adjusted accordingly. And…shoes don’t have to be expensive to meet the fitting requirements.
FOOT WARTS IN CHILDREN
Another common ailment in children is foot warts. This is mainly because children often shower and change their clothes in public areas. Swimming pools, changing rooms at school or sports clubs… they are all potential sources of infection. Often these warts disappear without intervention, but sometimes it is advisable to seek the help of a chiropodist or family doctor.
What can I do for you?
If your child has one or more warts, first visit your doctor to get confirmation that the warts are indeed warts. The doctor will probably give you a remedy to smear on the warts, but because often warts are covered by callus, it is possible that the remedy is not as effective as you hope it will be. If that is the case, visit me regularly. I can gently remove the layer of callus that lies on top of the wart, which makes medicines work better.
What can you do yourself?
Prevent infection by convincing your child to always wear flip-flops or bathing shoed in public (swimming) baths, showers and sports halls. If your child already has a wart, tell him or her to not scratch the wart. Especially the top layer is very contagious and by scratching it, your child could also get warts on his or her hands as well.
You can buy cheap warts removal products, but many of these products are not very effective and are even less so because the layer of callus on top of warts prevents the product from penetrating the skin. Of course, you may be tempted to perform ‘home surgery’, but this can be very painful for your child and also increases the risk of a more serious infection.