Showing posts with label how-to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how-to. Show all posts
Tuesday
Ingrown Toe Nail - Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
The ingrown nail can also apply pressure in the nail fold area without penetrating the skin - this is not technically an ingrown toe nail, but can also be painful (a corn/callus is also common down the side of the nail and is a reaction to this pressure, rather than the nail actually penetrating the skin).
Ingrown nails (unguis incarnatus), are a common form of nail disease. Onychocryptosis also known as Ingrown nails. Ingrown nails may develop for many reasons. Some cases are congenital--the nail is just too large for the toe. Trauma, such as stubbing the toe or having the toe stepped on, may also cause an ingrown nail. However, the most common cause is tight shoe wear or improper grooming and trimming of the nail. Poor maintenance, like cutting the nail too short, rounded off at the tip or peeled off at the edges (versus being cut straight across), is likely to cause ingrowth. Some In growing toe nails are acute which means that they have occurred due to a injury to the toe. Others are chronic, which means the patient has had the problem for a long period of time. The large toe is usually affected, however, it can also affect the lesser toes.
Symptoms of an ingrown nail include pain along the margins of the nail (caused by hypergranulation that occurs around the aforementioned region). Some ingrown toenails are chronic, with repeated episodes of pain and infection. Irritation, redness, an uncomfortable sensation of warmth, as well as swelling can result from an ingrown toenail. Bumping of an affected toe with objects can produce sharp, even excruciating, pain as the tissue is punctured further by the ingrown nail. By the very nature of the condition, ingrown nails become easily infected unless special care is taken to treat the condition early on and keep the area as clean as possible. Signs of infection include redness and swelling of the area around the nail, drainage of pus and watery discharge tinged with blood. The main symptom is swelling at the base of the nail on whichever side (if not both sides) the ingrowing nail is forming. The infection can spread, making the toe red and inflamed (paronychia). A collection of pus may also develop.
Ingrown toenails should be treated as soon as they are recognized. Treatment of ingrown nails ranges from soaking the afflicted area to surgery. Sometimes antibiotics are used to help the infection clear after the nail has been removed. Peroxide is immediately effective to help clean minor infections but iodine is more effective in the long term as it continues to prevent bacterial growth even after it is dry. The problem is congenital, the best way to prevent ingrown toenails is to protect the feet from trauma and wear shoes with adequate room for the toes. Soak the foot in warm water 3-4 times daily. Bandages can help keep out bacteria but one should never apply any of the new types of spray-on bandages to ingrown nails that show any discharge - preventing drainage will likely cause intense swelling and pain. Cutting toe nails properly goes a long way toward the prevention of ingrown toenails. Using a safety nail clipper, cut the nails straight across, so that the nail corner is visible. Trim nails straight across. Don't pick at your nails or tear them at the corners. If the nail is not deeply ingrown, the edge of the nail can be lifted from the skin edge that it is irritating. A small piece of clean cotton can then be used to prop the nail's corner up and over the skin edge until the skin heals.
Juliet Cohen writes articles for acne treatment and eye stye. She also writes articles on beauty tips.
Ingrown nails (unguis incarnatus), are a common form of nail disease. Onychocryptosis also known as Ingrown nails. Ingrown nails may develop for many reasons. Some cases are congenital--the nail is just too large for the toe. Trauma, such as stubbing the toe or having the toe stepped on, may also cause an ingrown nail. However, the most common cause is tight shoe wear or improper grooming and trimming of the nail. Poor maintenance, like cutting the nail too short, rounded off at the tip or peeled off at the edges (versus being cut straight across), is likely to cause ingrowth. Some In growing toe nails are acute which means that they have occurred due to a injury to the toe. Others are chronic, which means the patient has had the problem for a long period of time. The large toe is usually affected, however, it can also affect the lesser toes.
Symptoms of an ingrown nail include pain along the margins of the nail (caused by hypergranulation that occurs around the aforementioned region). Some ingrown toenails are chronic, with repeated episodes of pain and infection. Irritation, redness, an uncomfortable sensation of warmth, as well as swelling can result from an ingrown toenail. Bumping of an affected toe with objects can produce sharp, even excruciating, pain as the tissue is punctured further by the ingrown nail. By the very nature of the condition, ingrown nails become easily infected unless special care is taken to treat the condition early on and keep the area as clean as possible. Signs of infection include redness and swelling of the area around the nail, drainage of pus and watery discharge tinged with blood. The main symptom is swelling at the base of the nail on whichever side (if not both sides) the ingrowing nail is forming. The infection can spread, making the toe red and inflamed (paronychia). A collection of pus may also develop.
Ingrown toenails should be treated as soon as they are recognized. Treatment of ingrown nails ranges from soaking the afflicted area to surgery. Sometimes antibiotics are used to help the infection clear after the nail has been removed. Peroxide is immediately effective to help clean minor infections but iodine is more effective in the long term as it continues to prevent bacterial growth even after it is dry. The problem is congenital, the best way to prevent ingrown toenails is to protect the feet from trauma and wear shoes with adequate room for the toes. Soak the foot in warm water 3-4 times daily. Bandages can help keep out bacteria but one should never apply any of the new types of spray-on bandages to ingrown nails that show any discharge - preventing drainage will likely cause intense swelling and pain. Cutting toe nails properly goes a long way toward the prevention of ingrown toenails. Using a safety nail clipper, cut the nails straight across, so that the nail corner is visible. Trim nails straight across. Don't pick at your nails or tear them at the corners. If the nail is not deeply ingrown, the edge of the nail can be lifted from the skin edge that it is irritating. A small piece of clean cotton can then be used to prop the nail's corner up and over the skin edge until the skin heals.
Juliet Cohen writes articles for acne treatment and eye stye. She also writes articles on beauty tips.
Monday
Stop Nail Biting And Follow These 10 Tips for Beautiful Nails
By: Sherry Merrill
You made the decision to stop nail biting. As your nails grow out, you want to keep them healthy and good-looking. To get you started here are 10 tips to grow your nails out into beautiful nails.
1. Your nails were not meant to be screwdrivers. As your nails grow longer and stronger, you'll think about using your nails to help pick and pry things open.
Scraping a price tag off a purchase with your nail may seem easy. Unfortunately it stresses the nail leading to broken nails. Use a knife to remove the tag.
2. Protect your hands and nails like models do. Wear rubber gloves for cleaning and washing dishes. Detergents, cleaning supplies, soap and dishwater dry out your nails, which causes breaks and peeling.
3. Moisturize your cuticles to avoid hangnails. Keep a small container of cuticle oil or moisturizer by your bed. Every night before you go to sleep generously apply the oil or moisturizer to your cuticles.
4. Rough edges on your nails can be annoying. File the rough edge, don't bite it off. Buy a package of emery boards. Place the emery boards in various places throughout your house; in your desk drawer at work and in your purse. So if a rough nail catches on something you're prepared.
5. Use acetone-free nail polish remover to take off nail polish. Acetone based removers quickly remove polish, but remove moisture from nails as well. Nails low in moisture break easily.
6. Buff your nails to shine and increase circulation to your nail beds. Lightly buffing your nails every other day can improve the appearance and growth of your nails. The key is light buffing. Heavy buffing can damage the nail.
7. Avoid fungal infections in and on your nails. When washing your hands, dry them completely. Don't share or borrow manicure tools or emery boards. If you are having a professional manicure, make sure the tools are sterilized between uses. Better yet, bring your own manicure set and emery boards to the salon.
8. Healthy diets help nails grow strong too. Calcium rich foods such as broccoli and milk can help nails grow strong and healthy. You may want to talk with your doctor about taking extra supplements such as biotin to help grow strong nails.
9. Keep cuticles soft and don't cut them. Moisturize the cuticle before bed. Apply hand lotion or cuticle oil, gently pushing back the cuticle. In time the overgrown cuticle tissue will disappear.
Having a professional manicure? Don't let the nail technician cut your cuticles. Cuticles are the first line of defense guarding against infection in your nail beds.
10 Nail infections can easily spread from one nail to the next. So take infections seriously. Avoid poking or picking at a nail infection. Talk to your doctor as you may need to have antibiotics or other treatment to get rid of the infection.
Your plan to stop nail biting is important. Give yourself every possible advantage to growing strong healthy beautiful nails. You owe it to yourself.
You made the decision to stop nail biting. As your nails grow out, you want to keep them healthy and good-looking. To get you started here are 10 tips to grow your nails out into beautiful nails.
1. Your nails were not meant to be screwdrivers. As your nails grow longer and stronger, you'll think about using your nails to help pick and pry things open.
Scraping a price tag off a purchase with your nail may seem easy. Unfortunately it stresses the nail leading to broken nails. Use a knife to remove the tag.
2. Protect your hands and nails like models do. Wear rubber gloves for cleaning and washing dishes. Detergents, cleaning supplies, soap and dishwater dry out your nails, which causes breaks and peeling.
3. Moisturize your cuticles to avoid hangnails. Keep a small container of cuticle oil or moisturizer by your bed. Every night before you go to sleep generously apply the oil or moisturizer to your cuticles.
4. Rough edges on your nails can be annoying. File the rough edge, don't bite it off. Buy a package of emery boards. Place the emery boards in various places throughout your house; in your desk drawer at work and in your purse. So if a rough nail catches on something you're prepared.
5. Use acetone-free nail polish remover to take off nail polish. Acetone based removers quickly remove polish, but remove moisture from nails as well. Nails low in moisture break easily.
6. Buff your nails to shine and increase circulation to your nail beds. Lightly buffing your nails every other day can improve the appearance and growth of your nails. The key is light buffing. Heavy buffing can damage the nail.
7. Avoid fungal infections in and on your nails. When washing your hands, dry them completely. Don't share or borrow manicure tools or emery boards. If you are having a professional manicure, make sure the tools are sterilized between uses. Better yet, bring your own manicure set and emery boards to the salon.
8. Healthy diets help nails grow strong too. Calcium rich foods such as broccoli and milk can help nails grow strong and healthy. You may want to talk with your doctor about taking extra supplements such as biotin to help grow strong nails.
9. Keep cuticles soft and don't cut them. Moisturize the cuticle before bed. Apply hand lotion or cuticle oil, gently pushing back the cuticle. In time the overgrown cuticle tissue will disappear.
Having a professional manicure? Don't let the nail technician cut your cuticles. Cuticles are the first line of defense guarding against infection in your nail beds.
10 Nail infections can easily spread from one nail to the next. So take infections seriously. Avoid poking or picking at a nail infection. Talk to your doctor as you may need to have antibiotics or other treatment to get rid of the infection.
Your plan to stop nail biting is important. Give yourself every possible advantage to growing strong healthy beautiful nails. You owe it to yourself.
Thursday
Could Manicures Really Be The Secret of Perfect Hands?
Although many of us do not constantly think about our hands, they are permanently on show and everyone can see their condition. Usually one of the most neglected parts of the body, the nails often suffer from being bitten, ripped off and they are rarely cleaned out.
So it is no wonder that they can often cause problems. So what is it that we should be doing? Besides a little general hygiene, there is something else we can do to keep our hands and nails spotless, and that is to have a manicure.
Why Manicures Are Not Just For the Rich and Famous:
When you mention the word manicure, often we think of rich, famous, fake or spoilt women. However, a manicure can really help to keep our hands clean and healthy.
Techniques which are used vary from salon to salon and a manicure can either treat your nails, your hands, or both together. A standard manicure generally consists of the nails being filed, shaped and colored. A French manicure may also be offered, and if you choose to treat your hands they will usually be soaked in a softening substance, followed by an application of hand lotion.
You can even have more luxurious hand manicures known as Paraffin Treatments. This includes dipping your hand into either melted paraffin or wax. The heat is supposed to relax the skin and make it easier for hand lotion to absorb into the skin which is sometimes applied before the hand is dipped into the paraffin. Often the hand is dipped into the melted substance more than once in order to build up a thicker layer of wax which makes coating stay warmer for longer and less likely to tear or break. After the manicurist has finished dipping your hands into the melted substance, they will wrap your hand in either tin foil or plastic and then they are covered in cloth in order to keep the warmth in.
Manicures are not just for women either and many men get a hot oil manicure. This involves cleaning and neatening the cuticles, and softening them with oil.
Whilst manicures might be good for the hands, there is a chance that you could get an infection from the equipment used. This only usually happen if you have not had the treatment done at a professional salon by a qualified person. All manicurists have to be licensed as they are manipulating the hands and trimming them and the risk of infection is recognized.
So, in order to receive the best possible manicure, it is important that you choose a manicurist who is relevantly qualified.
How to Give Yourself a Home Manicure:
Giving yourself a manicure at home is fairly easy once you know how. However, you should ideally make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for one as the average manicure lasts around 45 minutes. If you have ensured that you have got enough time, here are some tips which will help you to give yourself the perfect home manicure:
First Prepare the Hands and Nails
It is essential that you prepare and clean the hands and nails before the manicure. To do this you should wash them thoroughly and then use a double sided emery board to file the nails down in gentle strokes. Try and avoid the corners of the nails as you could weaken them, and then once finished start on shaping them. The most common shape used is the oval but you should choose whichever shape suits your hands better. Once you have finished that, to see how effectively you have done it try and run your nail over something such as pantyhose, and see if the nail snags. If not, you have done a good job!
Now Move to The Cuticles
After preparing the hands, you should now be ready to make a start on the cuticles. First, apply some softener to the cuticles and allow it to absorb for a couple of minutes. Next, place your hands in a bowl of warm water and soak them for another few minutes. Now it is time to push back the cuticles.
When you are pushing back the cuticles it should not hurt. If it does, try and soak them for a little while longer. If there are any hangnails visible, be sure to clip them off. Next it is time to apply hand lotion and start to massage the palm of your hand with your thumb on your opposite hand. This really does help to circulate the blood. Be sure to continue doing this around the rest of the hand and then switch hands, making sure that you use the same amount of time on the opposite hand.
Clean and Polish the Nail
Before any color is applied to the nails, they first need to be cleaned. The easiest way to do this is to use an orange stick wrapped with cotton and dip it into nail polish remover before rubbing it over the surface of the nails.
Next use only a little color on the end of your brush, and paint one stroke down the centre of the nail. If done properly, the brush should have just had enough color to do this. Next brush the other two sides of the nail and you should be finished. It should never take more than three strokes to finish the nail. Now make sure that the polish has a few minutes to set before applying a second coat. After the second coat has dried, apply a top coat which will help to seal the color and keep it looking good for longer.
After you have finished, it is important to sanitize all of the equipment to minimize the risk of infection the next time you use them.
Overall a manicure really can help you to relax, as well as keeping your hands really clean and healthy. Anybody can give themselves one at home as long as they follow the above steps.
So it is no wonder that they can often cause problems. So what is it that we should be doing? Besides a little general hygiene, there is something else we can do to keep our hands and nails spotless, and that is to have a manicure.
Why Manicures Are Not Just For the Rich and Famous:
When you mention the word manicure, often we think of rich, famous, fake or spoilt women. However, a manicure can really help to keep our hands clean and healthy.
Techniques which are used vary from salon to salon and a manicure can either treat your nails, your hands, or both together. A standard manicure generally consists of the nails being filed, shaped and colored. A French manicure may also be offered, and if you choose to treat your hands they will usually be soaked in a softening substance, followed by an application of hand lotion.
You can even have more luxurious hand manicures known as Paraffin Treatments. This includes dipping your hand into either melted paraffin or wax. The heat is supposed to relax the skin and make it easier for hand lotion to absorb into the skin which is sometimes applied before the hand is dipped into the paraffin. Often the hand is dipped into the melted substance more than once in order to build up a thicker layer of wax which makes coating stay warmer for longer and less likely to tear or break. After the manicurist has finished dipping your hands into the melted substance, they will wrap your hand in either tin foil or plastic and then they are covered in cloth in order to keep the warmth in.
Manicures are not just for women either and many men get a hot oil manicure. This involves cleaning and neatening the cuticles, and softening them with oil.
Whilst manicures might be good for the hands, there is a chance that you could get an infection from the equipment used. This only usually happen if you have not had the treatment done at a professional salon by a qualified person. All manicurists have to be licensed as they are manipulating the hands and trimming them and the risk of infection is recognized.
So, in order to receive the best possible manicure, it is important that you choose a manicurist who is relevantly qualified.
How to Give Yourself a Home Manicure:
Giving yourself a manicure at home is fairly easy once you know how. However, you should ideally make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for one as the average manicure lasts around 45 minutes. If you have ensured that you have got enough time, here are some tips which will help you to give yourself the perfect home manicure:
First Prepare the Hands and Nails
It is essential that you prepare and clean the hands and nails before the manicure. To do this you should wash them thoroughly and then use a double sided emery board to file the nails down in gentle strokes. Try and avoid the corners of the nails as you could weaken them, and then once finished start on shaping them. The most common shape used is the oval but you should choose whichever shape suits your hands better. Once you have finished that, to see how effectively you have done it try and run your nail over something such as pantyhose, and see if the nail snags. If not, you have done a good job!
Now Move to The Cuticles
After preparing the hands, you should now be ready to make a start on the cuticles. First, apply some softener to the cuticles and allow it to absorb for a couple of minutes. Next, place your hands in a bowl of warm water and soak them for another few minutes. Now it is time to push back the cuticles.
When you are pushing back the cuticles it should not hurt. If it does, try and soak them for a little while longer. If there are any hangnails visible, be sure to clip them off. Next it is time to apply hand lotion and start to massage the palm of your hand with your thumb on your opposite hand. This really does help to circulate the blood. Be sure to continue doing this around the rest of the hand and then switch hands, making sure that you use the same amount of time on the opposite hand.
Clean and Polish the Nail
Before any color is applied to the nails, they first need to be cleaned. The easiest way to do this is to use an orange stick wrapped with cotton and dip it into nail polish remover before rubbing it over the surface of the nails.
Next use only a little color on the end of your brush, and paint one stroke down the centre of the nail. If done properly, the brush should have just had enough color to do this. Next brush the other two sides of the nail and you should be finished. It should never take more than three strokes to finish the nail. Now make sure that the polish has a few minutes to set before applying a second coat. After the second coat has dried, apply a top coat which will help to seal the color and keep it looking good for longer.
After you have finished, it is important to sanitize all of the equipment to minimize the risk of infection the next time you use them.
Overall a manicure really can help you to relax, as well as keeping your hands really clean and healthy. Anybody can give themselves one at home as long as they follow the above steps.
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