A Painful Ingrown Nail Myth: Putting cotton under your ingrown toe nails will relieve the pain. BUSTED! Placing cotton under your toenails will actually cause more pressure to the nail bed. It is also dangerous because the cotton may be housing bacteria that can lead to infection and more complications.   Myth: The drug store sells topical over the counter medication that cures ingrown nails. BUSTED! Some over the counter medication may relieve the pain but they do not actually take care of and cure the problem. Because it masks the pain the ingrown nail may get worse over time which can lead to infection.   Real Life Treatments for Ingrown Nails   Preventative Care: 1. Soaking your feet with room temperature water and massaging the side of the nail to bring down swelling can help prevent ingrown nails. 2. When you perform your own nail care at home make sure to cut the nail straight and not too short. A way to check this out is that you should be able to get your fingernail under the sides and end of the nail. 3. Wearing well fitting shoes and socks. Do not wear shoes that are too tight and small or too big and loose. These kinds of shoes can rub and cause excess pressure.   Correctional Care: 1. Regular nail care done by a sterile professional can keep the ingrown nails at bay. The sterile professional will also keep the area clean so no infections will occur. 2. Another option for reoccurring ingrown nails is nail removal where the part of the nail is cut out after the area is numbed up. A solution is then added to the area so that that part of the nail will never grown back. 3. Yet another option for your ingrown nail pain is laser treatment. This method is highly effective when the ingrown nail is caused by a fungal infection.  This high tech approach is pain free and proven over and over again to be one of the best options.