Ingrown Toenail

What Is an Ingrown Toenail?
When a toenail is ingrown, it is curved and grows into the skin, usually at the nail borders (the sides of the nail). This “digging in” of the nail irritates the skin, often creating pain, redness, swelling, and warmth in the toe.

If an ingrown nail causes a break in the skin, bacteria may enter and cause an infection in the area, which is often marked by drainage and a foul odor. However, even if the toe isn’t painful, red, swollen, or warm, a nail that curves downward into the skin can progress to an infection.

Physician care:
A minor surgical procedure, performed in the office, will ease the pain and remove the offending nail. After applying a local anesthetic, the doctor removes part of the nail’s side border.  become ingrown

Following the nail procedure, a light bandage will be applied. Most people experience very little pain after surgery and may resume normal activity that day. If your surgeon has prescribed an oral antibiotic, be sure to take all the medication, even if your symptoms have improved.

Plantar Wart (Verruca Plantaris)

Plantar Wart (Verruca Plantaris)

What is a Plantar Wart?
A wart is a small growth on the skin that develops when the skin is infected by a virus. Warts can develop anywhere on the foot, but typically they appear on the bottom (plantar side) of the foot. Plantar warts most commonly occur in children, adolescents, and the elderly.

There are two types of plantar warts:

·    A solitary wart is a single wart. It often increases in size and may eventually multiply, forming additional “satellite” warts.

·    Mosaic warts are a cluster of several small warts growing closely together in one area. Mosaic warts are more difficult to treat than solitary warts.

Causes
Plantar warts are caused by direct contact with the human papilloma virus (HPV). This is the same virus that causes warts on other areas of the body.

Diagnosis and Treatment
To diagnose a plantar wart, the foot and ankle surgeon will examine the patient’s foot and look for signs and symptoms of a wart.

Although plantar warts may eventually clear up on their own, most patients desire faster relief. The goal of treatment is to completely remove the wart.

We may use topical or oral treatments, laser therapy, cryotherapy (freezing), acid treatments, or surgery to remove the wart.

Although there are many folk remedies for warts, patients should be aware that these remain unproven and may be dangerous. Patients should never try to remove warts themselves. This can do more harm than good.

Diabetic Shoes

Does Medicare Cover Diabetic Shoes?

Yes, Medicare will cover the cost of one pair of therapeutic shoes (diabetic shoes) and inserts for people with diabetes if you have a medical need for them. The Medicare payment for therapeutic shoes is subject to the requirement that they are necessary and reasonable for protection of insensitive feet or neuropathy (nerve damage in the feet).

Medicare will cover one of the following per calendar year:

·    One pair of depth-inlay shoes and three pairs of inserts or;

·    One pair of custom molded shoes (including inserts) and two additional pairs of inserts. This option is only available if you cannot wear depth-inlay shoes due to a foot deformity.

·    In certain cases, Medicare may also cover separate inserts or shoe modifications instead of inserts. 

Summer Feet

Now that summer is here, our feet tend to get more abused than usual. Because of increased activity level and changes in shoe gear (or lack thereof), we tend to have more problems with our feet during the summer.

One of the more common conditions is called plantar fasciitis. This is typically experienced as pain in your heel, especially upon walking after rest or in the early morning. It may start out with occasional discomfort and increasingly get worse.

Here at Hosey Foot & Ankle Centers, our doctors can correct this problem in a few short visits. Plantar fasciitis usually does not require surgery and our treatment plan has a 98% success rate. So give us a call at 586-263-4411 and schedule an appointment today! Please visit www.hoseypodiatry.com for more information.