Have you ever heard of ingrown toenails in a newborn? My first grandchild was just born with this problem. No one in our family has ever had ingrown toenails.

Ingrown toenails is a rare, but possible, problem in infants. When present at birth, the condition is considered to be congenital. Usually, but not always, there is a hereditary link.

A recent report from Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington described four cases of ingrown toenail in infants. In all children, the condition affected the big toe on both sides.

Conservative care was applied for months without success. Three of the four cases required surgery to take care of the problem. One child was treated successfully with warm soaks and antibiotics. Thin pieces of cotton packing were also put between the inflamed soft tissue and the nail plate.

For those children whose ingrown nails did not recover with this type of care, surgery was successful. The overgrowth of soft tissue, skin, and fat was removed with good results. No one had a recurrence of the problem.