Baby nail care is very important to prevent the baby from scratching, especially on the face and eyes.
The baby's nails can be cut short after birth and whenever they are large enough to hurt the baby. However, it is recommended to cut the baby's nails at least once a week.
How To Cut Your Baby's Nails
The baby 's nails should be cut with a pair of round pointed scissors, as shown in Figure 1, and in a straight motion, holding the tip of the finger to the nail to stand out and not hurt the baby' s finger, as shown in Figure 2.
Nails should not be cut too short because the risk of inflammation is greater. After cutting, the nails should be sanded with a nail file, to eliminate possible tips. Both round-tipped scissors, as well as sandpaper, should be used only for the baby.
To make it easier to cut the baby's nails, a strategy is to expect him to fall asleep and cut his nails while he sleeps or while he suckles.
Caring for baby's ingrown nails
Care of the baby's ingrown nails should be done when the area around the ingrown nail is red, inflamed, and the baby feels pain.
When this happens, the baby's fingers may be soaked in warm soapy water 2 times a day and apply a healing cream, such as Avène's Cicalfate or an anti-inflammatory with corticosteroids, as directed by the pediatrician.
If the baby's nail is inflamed, it looks like pus, the baby has a fever or the redness spread beyond the finger, it means there is an infection, so the baby should go immediately to the pediatrician or the child's podiatrist to indicate the best treatment .
To prevent baby's nails from getting caught, one should cut the nails in a straight motion, not rounding the corners and avoid putting tight stockings and shoes on the baby.
