How to Remove an Ingrown Toenail With Phenol

Ingrown toenails result from improperly trimmed toenails, hyperhidrosis, and shoes that fit poorly, according to American Family Physician. Other causes include fungal infections and injuries. Ingrown toenails can occur on any toe, but they usually occur on the big toe. Phenol is a substance commonly used to treat the problem by burning the nail matrix.

Things You'll Need

• Local anesthesia for numbing the toe
• Band-aid
• Alcohol
• Hemostat
• Nail splitter
• Disinfecting agent

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Instructions

• 1

  Apply a local anesthetic to the infected area to numb the toe.

• 2

  Clean the area with a disinfecting agent.

• 3

  Separate the ingrown toenail from the healthy toenail by cutting the borders of the ingrown toenail with a nail splitter and removing the nail with hemostat. This leaves the nail matrix clear for treatment.

• 4

  Apply Phenol to the nail matrix to kill the cells that produced the ingrown toenail. Flush the phenol out with alcohol. Apply phenol at least three times for five to 10 seconds and flush with alcohol after each time.

• 5

  Cover the toe with a band aid.