Gentle Care and No Waiting
We’ll get you in right away!
Ingrown toenails can be very painful. In addition, if they are not treated early, an infection can set in. Thus, we make sure that patients with ingrown toenails are seen right away. Let our receptionist know that your child may have an ingrown toenail and she will get you in on the same day or, if you cannot make it, the next business day.
Don’t Worry – We’ll Make it Easy for Your Child
We treat hundreds of kids with ingrown toenails every year and we take great pride in our ability to make taking care of an ingrown toenail a nearly painless procedure for our patients—especially kids. If your child’s toe is tender we ensure that the toe will be completely numb before taking care of the nail problem. We even numb up the skin with a cold spray before giving a local anesthetic. The most common statement we hear after taking care of an ingrown toenail is “That was easy – I wish I hadn’t waited so long!”
In addition, we usually only have to remove a very small portion of the nail. Your child’s nail will therefore usually look normal after it has healed.
Treatment
Ingrown toenails usually resolve very quickly after the ingrown portion of the nail is removed. The ingrowing portion of the nail is removed by trimming the nail corner or in some cases removing the edge of the nail back to the cuticle. Usually, a local anesthetic is used to lessen the discomfort.
Does Your Child Need Antibiotics for an Ingrown Toenail?
Antibiotics are usually not necessary and in fact there are studies that show that antibiotics do not decrease healing time or the rate of complications as long as the ingrown portion of the nail is removed properly.* In the conclusion of this article, the authors stated:
“The results of this study suggest that oral antibiotics do not play a role in decreasing healing time or mitigating postoperative morbidity when used as an adjunct to phenol matrixectomies when treating ingrown toenails. We believe this has significant implications for future ingrown toenail treatment protocols. In this era of….emerging antimicrobial resistance, this may be a condition for which antibiotics are not indicated.”
If it can be avoided, it’s best that kids not take antibiotics. The more they take them at an early age the less likely those antibiotics will be effective when they might need them later in life.
We Will See Your Child Right Away for Ingrown Toenails
If your child is suffering from ingrown toenails, don’t wait to get them treated. Treating them can be quick and easy. Contact us today for an appointment in our convenient Seattle office—we’ll usually be able to get your child in on the day you call if you are calling on a weekday. Let our receptionist know that this is for a painful or infected ingrown toenails and she will do every possible to get your child in right away.
Cost of Ingrown Toenail Treatment
Most insurance companies cover the cost of ingrown toenail treatment. If you do not have insurance or you are on an insurance plan in which we do not participate, then we offer discounted self-pay prices as noted below:
Service |
Billing Code (CPT) | Price | Self-pay Discount |
Toenail and Wart Treatment |
|||
| Ingrown Toenail Treatment (Partial or total nail avulsion) | 11730 | 175.00 | 140.00 |
| Ingrown Toenail Treatment (Partial or total nail avulsion) per additional toe | 11732 | 83.00 | 71.00 |
| Permanent Ingrown Toenail Treatment (Partial or total matrixectomy) 1st toe | 11750 | 462.00 | 320.00 |
| Permanent Ingrown Toenail Treatment (Partial or total) Additional toe | 11750-51 | 462.00 | 160.00 |
If your child is a new patient or has not been seen in 3 years, there is also a new patient visit charge of $150.
What To Do if Your Child is Very Afraid of Needles?
Our injections are very gentle and we use a numbing spray to numb the skin before injecting your child’s toe to numb it before the ingrown nail procedure. A small number of kids, however, are needle-phobic and they will not allow us to safely numb their toe. In this situation there are a couple of options.
- You can apply a numbing cream to the toe ahead of time. We recommend LMX-4 which is an OTC topical formulation of 4% lidocaine.(2) It is rapidly absorbed through the skin and within 20 to 30 minutes produces an anesthetic effect that is sustained for up to 1 hour after application.
- Review this Tip Sheet on Needle Anxiety from Seattle Children’s Medical Center
- Go over this “My Needle Plan” with your child prior to the appointment.
- Talk to your pediatrician about prescribing anti-anxiety medications for your child to take prior to the appointment.
- Talk to your pediatrician about a referral to a therapist who can teach your child skills to help them cope with needle fear.
- In the event that your child simply will not allow us to numb their toe you can contact Seattle Children’s Medical Center about having the procedure done there where they can provide your child with sedation such as nitrous oxide.
- Reyzelman, a. et. al. Are Antibiotics Necessary in the Treatment of Locally Infected Ingrown Toenails? Arch Family Medicine, 2000.
- Tadicherla S, Berman B. Percutaneous dermal drug delivery for local pain control. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2006;2:99-113.
