Baby nail care is very important to prevent the baby from scratching himself, especially on the face and eyes.
Baby’s nails can be cut soon after birth and whenever they are long enough to hurt the baby. However, it is recommended to cut your baby’s nails at least once a week.
How to cut baby’s nails
The baby’s nails should be cut with round-tip scissors, as shown in image 1, and in a straight movement, holding the tip of the finger so that the nail stands out more and does not injure the baby’s finger, as shown in image 2.
Nails should not be cut too short because the risk of inflammation is greater. Once cut, the nails must be filed with a nail file to eliminate possible tips. Both round-tipped scissors and sandpaper should only be used for the baby.
To make it easier to cut your baby’s nails, one strategy is to wait for him to fall asleep and cut his nails while he sleeps or while he is breastfeeding.
Care for baby’s ingrown toenails
Care for a baby’s ingrown toenails should be done when the area around the ingrown toenail is red, inflamed and the baby feels pain.
When this happens, you can wet the baby’s fingers in warm soapy water twice a day and apply a healing cream, such as Cicalfate, from Avène or an anti-inflammatory with corticosteroids, as recommended by your pediatrician.
With a baby’s nail is inflamedIf there appears to be pus, the baby has a fever or the redness spreads beyond the finger, this means that there is an infection, so the baby should immediately go to the pediatrician or pediatric podiatrist for advice on the best treatment.
To prevent your baby’s nails from getting ingrown, you should cut the nails in a straight motion, not rounding the corners, and avoid putting tight socks and shoes on the baby.
