The Epson salt stuff just relieves the soreness and the swelling of the ingrown toenail.
Yes, there are ways to remove it without going to a doctor. Picking at the toenail and getting it out with your fingers will only temporarily get it out because you have to cut it a certain way to prevent it from growing diagonally.
From ehow.com:
1. Wipe your instruments off with alcohol or betadine. Be sure to get the undersides of your nail clippers, as that is the cutting surface that will be against your skin.
2. Put 2 capfuls of povidone-iodine (Betadine) solution, into 1/2 gal. warm water. Put your foot in the water and soak for 10 minutes.
3. Dry foot thoroughly and then insert nail clippers under the nail border.
4. Clip out the ingrown toenail at a slight angle. Try not to cut your skin - keep the bottom of the clipper as close to the bottom of the nail plate as possible.
5. Grasp the corner and gently pull it out, once the nail is cut.
6. Wipe the area gently with an alcohol or a betadine-soaked gauze pad or cotton swab.
7. Soak your toe for 20 minutes each day in the Betadine solution for three days, or until soreness is gone. After soaking, dry gently and apply an adhesive bandage and some antibiotic cream.
8. Insert a sliver of cotton between the nail and the skin, for a few days. This will keep pressure off the toe. Remove the cotton as soon as the nail begins to grow out and away from the toe.
9. Wear loose shoes or go barefoot as much as possible, while your toenail is healing. Your goal is to eliminate any pressure from pushing against your toe.
10. See your podiatrist for chronic ingrown toenails. He may manipulate and elevate the end of your nail to prevent pressure on soft toe tissue, or correct the problem surgically.
Going to your doctor will be a little more costly and painful, depending on how you look at it. Usually he'll give you three localized shots to numb the toe, he'll then take and instrument, jam it through your toenail, and and literally lift up and cut the edge of the toe that is givng you trouble. Not to mention the toe being sore for a day...but no more problems if you leave the toenail alone.
<< Amputate it. You will never have that problem again. >>
That reminds me of something that happened to me once. A toe that has had an ingrown toenail off and on again was pretty much ripped off (this happened somehow when I was sleeping...it was hanging at the one of the corners at the very end - still went to the ER though). Never had to worry about an ingrown toenail again...but it took about a year for the toenail to look normal again.
