Dr. Belinda Dotter, myself and one of the medical assistants |
Within 5 minutes of running on the treadmill I felt a sudden
sharp, stabbing pain in my toe. From past experience, I knew exactly what it
was- an ingrown toenail. It was too painful to continue my workout so I headed
home.
An ingrown toenail doesn't sound like much, but these can
cause a lot of pain if left untreated and can affect simple tasks in your everyday
life. If yours are anything like mine,
then even the smallest touch will make you cringe. An ingrown toenail is a
common condition in which the corner or side of one of your toenails (usually
the big toe) grows into the soft flesh of that toe. The result is pain,
redness, swelling, and sometimes, an infection.
The old me would have taken matters into my own hand and
tried to remove the ingrown toenail myself. You would think from past
experience I would know this is a big no-no but that never stopped me before. I
always made it 10x worse trying to remove the corner of the nail myself. The
new me works for a podiatrist, so at this point I know better.
The following day I decided to schedule an appointment with
Community Foot Specialists. I wanted to get back into a regular exercise
routine, I wanted to take my children to the park, I wanted to do regular every
day activities without the almost unbearable pain from the ingrown toenail.
At Community Foot Specialists, we try to get our patients in
as quickly as possible so I was relieved that I was able to be seen for an
evaluation the next day by Dr. Dotter at our Main Street location in Dayton,
Ohio.
Based upon the doctor’s professional opinion, I was able to
be seen the following day for the procedure. And I was a nervous wreck. I’m not
sure why... it’s not like I didn't know what was going to happen. But the thought
of my toe being numbed and my nail being clipped out had me ready to cancel my
appointment.
Once I had arrived at my destination the medical assistant
got me right back to a room. Within minutes, the doctor came in and talked to
me about what was going to happen. She then numbed my toe. She was very gentle
and to be completely honest I couldn't really feel it. I waited for my entire
toe to numb before she came back to remove the nail. It only took a couple of
minutes and she only took out the corner. As a woman, I was worried that the
doctor would take off more toenail than necessary. I mean, it IS Summer and I
love my flip flops!
Relief! That’s all I could think. I couldn't believe how
easy and quick the procedure was.
If you are dealing with an ingrown toenail, or what you
think may be an ingrown toe nail, I highly recommend coming in to see the
doctors at Community Foot Specialists. And I’m not just saying that because I
work here. At Community Foot Specialists our doctor’s mission is to provide
patient centered, high-quality foot and ankle care, delivered by knowledgeable,
compassionate podiatrists and a professional, caring staff… and I experienced
exactly that.
Community Foot Specialists - Podiatrists/Foot & Ankle Surgeons Serving Dayton and Springfield, Ohio Call today to schedule your appointment! (937) 426-9500