Ingrown Toenails after Pregnancy

[MRoeber]

I have lived the first 28 years of my life without ever having an ingrown toenail. In the past two months I have had one side of each of my big toes surgically removed and been on antibiotics twice for infections in smaller toes. Right now I have bandaids on FIVE of my toes, trying to prevent another infection. The podiatrist thinks it's related to my recent pregnancy (my baby is 4 months old) and that it will just stop eventually. Has anyone experienced this? Did it eventually just stop for you? I'm doing all the tricks - cotton under the corners, epsom salt soaks, and while I know I'm not supposed to, I've cut out a few corners that were just SO painful. If anybody has any good tricks, I'd love to hear them, but I'd also really love to hear if anybody else has gone through the same thing and how it worked out. Thanks! :)

[McGucks]

Too weird!  I went 39 YEARS without ever having one and then had a terribly painful one on my big toe after the birth of my second child.  The shots for the procedure to remove it hurt more than I could take and I am desperate to avoid having it again (the nurse was a jerk, too, which didn't help).  What is it about pregnancy that could prompt these things?  Maybe the swelling?

The infection finally got to be too painful despite anti-biotics, so I did the removal procedure after a couple of months.  It eventually grew back worse than it started but has never gotten re-infected, so I am just trying to be very careful about not cutting it too short, wearing loose socks, and I dangle that foot off the end of the bed to avoid pressure.

I always wondered if I had gone to an actual podiatrist for the removal instead of a regular doctor whether it would have gone better (the shots were the incredibly painful part) and whether the outcome (nail growing back in) would have been better.

I am very weird and embarrassed about feet stuff (my dad was a podiatrist, go figure), so it was extra awful for me.

I hope you have success with the soaks and other things you are trying.  I am awfully sorry you are having to go through this.