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Ingrown Toenail

Checked: 22-07-2025 by Rob Adams Next Review: 21-07-2027

Overview

The following information on management and prevention of ingrown toe nails for patients is available below:

Infected ingrown toenails require treatment with oral antibiotics.

Patients with ingrown toe nails that are recurrently infected or that are causing localised tissue damage should be referred for assessment and management by a podiatrist.

Referral

Community Referral (Sirona)

Sirona podiatry service offers partial /total nail avulsions for children (7 years and above) and adults with ingrown toenails that are causing localised tissue damage and assessed as suitable for this procedure. Please see the Community podiatry page for details on how to make a referral.

Information about surgery can also be found on the Sirona website:

Guide to Toenail Surgery

Secondary Care Referral

Referrals to secondary care for treatment of ingrown toe nails are not routinely allowed and are subject to the Ingrown Toenail Treatment in Secondary Care Policy - Criteria Based Access.

Referrals will be returned unless criteria are met.

Ingrown toenail in children <7 years

Referral for children aged under 7 - interim guidance (September 2025)

There is currently no community podiatry service for children aged under 7 years old. These children should be managed conservatively in primary care initially. Referral in this age group is rarely indicated but if a referral is considered necessary, then please submit an exceptional funding application. If this is then approved, please submit a eRS referral to paediatric surgery with the funding approval letter attached.

Pseudo-ingrown toenail of the newborn

About 2% of newborn babies are noted at birth to have ingrown toenails because the growing nail plate is very short. It is rarely painful. The appearance rights itself within a year or so (1).

Resources

(1) Ingrown toenails (onychocryptosis)

(2) Paronychia - PCDS

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