Nail Cutting... Straight? With a V???
Posted on 2nd August 2017 at 09:28
I know, I know... cutting your nail across is the only way to do it, right?
Yeeaahish.
If you are lucky enough to have none of the above and have a lovely flat nail like this one then please cut it straight across and it will stay lovely.
Unfortunately, many of us do not have flat nails and have variations on the top images to a greater or lesser degree. Cutting these can be a minefield and really, it's worth seeing a podiatrist and having a lesson on nail cutting. The curly nails, called involuted nails, impact the skin and can cause hard skin and corns to develop along the nail borders. They can become painful.
Image Alert ***
First use the right tools - nippers like these make it easy to control what you are doing.
You only use the last few millimeters of the nippers and nip across the nail. In a curved nail, it is easier to start in the middle of the nail and work to the edge never going at a steep angle, use the shape of the toe to guide you.
When you have clipped the nail run a thumb nail or nail file around the edges to check you have not left any spikes at the corners.
Get an old tooth brush and shower gel and gently brush around the sides of the nail. This will remove loose skin cells and debris.
Do this little and often, say once a month just taking off a few millimeters or whatever has grown over the past month.
At the first sign of trouble - pain, redness, swelling, puss... call a podiatrist. DON'T cut deep, it is always only a temporary fix.
Tagged as: Ingrowing toenails, Nail Care
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