An ingrown toenail occurs when the growing corner of the toenail digs its way in to the delicate skin surrounding the toe. So exactly what causes and ingrown toenail? Seems it should be pretty easy to figure out. And unfortunately it seems that many of the ingrown toenail causes are self-inflicted.

Self inflicted ingrown toenail causes are related to making poor choices. For example, wearing tight fitting, pointy toe, high heel shoes can cause the toes of the feet to be tightly compressed together. It is this compression and pressure on the toenails themselves which causes the nail to grow abnormally. Without making a different choice the toenail can grow and to the skin of the toe.

Another cause of ingrown toenails is related to the improper trimming off your toenails. When you incorrectly cut the corners on the toenails, rounding them off instead of cutting them straight across, causing them to dig in to the skin you are just asking for an ingrown toenail.

There are also some disorders, such as fungal infections on the nail, which can cause the nail to become abnormally thick and it and the toenail to widen. With the abnormally thick and the wider toenail it is not a far stretch to see how the corner of the nail can embed itself into the skin surrounding the toe.

Believe it or not, genetics actually plays into the development of ingrown toenails. If you have a family member who has a history of ingrown toenails, then you are absolutely more likely to get an ingrown total too.

Injuries near the toenail can also cause an ingrown toenail to occur.

The cause of ingrown toenails is certainly varied. But, the bottom line is that there are some ingrown toenail causes which are preventable and these are the ones you should pay attention to. These are the ingrown toenail causes that you should do something about. After all avoiding an ingrown toenail is a great decision for you to make.