Definition

Noun: A painful condition where the edge or corner of a toenail, typically on the big toe, grows into the soft flesh surrounding it. This causes inflammation, swelling, pain, and sometimes infection.

Usage

This term is used to describe the specific medical condition. It is a compound noun, but its meaning is treated as a single concept. * Proper: "He is suffering from an ingrown toenail." * Proper: "The podiatrist treated the ingrown toenail."

Examples

• "Wearing tight shoes can often cause an ingrown toenail."
• "Soaking your foot in warm water can help relieve the discomfort of an ingrown toenail."
• "For a severe ingrown toenail, minor surgery might be necessary."

Advanced Usage

• The condition can be described using the adjective ingrown.
  • "She has an ingrown nail."
• The formal medical term for this condition is onychocryptosis.

Variants and Related Words

• Ingrown (adjective): Having grown or turned inward, especially into the flesh. Used to describe nails.
• Onychocryptosis (noun): The medical term for an ingrown toenail.
• Paronychia (noun): An infection of the skin around a nail, which can be a complication of an ingrown toenail.

Synonyms

• Unguis incarnatus (medical Latin)

Notes on Meaning

This term refers exclusively to the condition affecting a toenail. A similar condition affecting a fingernail is typically called an ingrown nail or ingrown fingernail, though the underlying process is the same.

Noun

1. toenail having its free tip or edges embedded in the surrounding flesh