INGROWN TOENAIL DAY in the Pediatric Clinic...
Yes, my area of interest is ears, but in a general pediatric clinic, and with my family practice background, I am also the resident podiatrist. For some reason, I am the only one of the group who removes ingrown toenails.
Kids, especially teenagers, absolutely butcher their toenails by trimming them so close, it causes them to ingrow. They become infected...painful...and swollen. The only solution, if this problem continues, is the permanent removal of the borders of the nail and nail matrix. This is a relatively simple procedure, unless your patient is an uncooperative child...or woosy teenager.
Today, I did two toenail avulsions. Both kids did great. Initially, they were concerned about the huge needle that was used to put their toe to sleep, but a soon as that was over.....a piece of cake. Toes require a digital block...you have inject lidocaine entirely around the base of the toe in order to get a good anesthesia. This procedure can be painful....if you hurry. In kids, it is best to give them some control. I tell them to give me a number from 1 to 5, with five being the highest pain. If they have a 4 or 5, I will stop and wait until they give me the okay. I take my time, and even two year olds will sit still for this painful procedure.
After the nail has been removed, I wrap the toe in sterile gauze and draw a picture of how they are to cut their nails in the future....square....straight across....NOT round and the corners dug out!
Related Topics: Take care of your feet, Finding the right shoe
Kids, especially teenagers, absolutely butcher their toenails by trimming them so close, it causes them to ingrow. They become infected...painful...and swollen. The only solution, if this problem continues, is the permanent removal of the borders of the nail and nail matrix. This is a relatively simple procedure, unless your patient is an uncooperative child...or woosy teenager.
Today, I did two toenail avulsions. Both kids did great. Initially, they were concerned about the huge needle that was used to put their toe to sleep, but a soon as that was over.....a piece of cake. Toes require a digital block...you have inject lidocaine entirely around the base of the toe in order to get a good anesthesia. This procedure can be painful....if you hurry. In kids, it is best to give them some control. I tell them to give me a number from 1 to 5, with five being the highest pain. If they have a 4 or 5, I will stop and wait until they give me the okay. I take my time, and even two year olds will sit still for this painful procedure.
After the nail has been removed, I wrap the toe in sterile gauze and draw a picture of how they are to cut their nails in the future....square....straight across....NOT round and the corners dug out!
Related Topics: Take care of your feet, Finding the right shoe
1 Comments:
can you rupture your eardrum with a cotton swab?
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