How can I get Rid of an Ingrown Toenail?

I've repeatedly had two ingrown toenails -- one on the right side of my right foot and one on the left side of my left foot. When I get them, they hurt a lot, and they're in the corners, too.

So, my dad looks at them and takes the tweezers and manicure scissors, or whatever you call the tiny curved scissors, and digs around. It hurts a lot, but I just say, "Ow!" instead of jerking my foot away, in fear of ruining my beautiful big toes forever

I got another one on the right side of my right big toe, and I stupidly let it grow out. It is now red and tender and whenever I give it a light touch to see how its doing it burns and hurts a lot. My dad worked on it, but to no avail.

Seeing all of the more "experienced" people's comments made me scared. Does anyone have any hints for a DIY ingrown toenail removal kit? Please?

I was a skateboarder for five years and I was really good. I started having an ingrown toenail about 1.5 years ago. I didn't know it was because I didn't know. So I kept skating for about three months and than it got worse. And now it's on my other toe.

I've been putting my feet in warm water every day with white soap and it's kind of helping. It was infected -- that's what my doctor said -- but when I was going to have them removed, they canceled it because something happened with the surgery room. I haven't had a chance to go back.

I really want to get it fixed because I miss running and skateboarding. Whenever I skate now, I really stink. I can barely do anything. If you have an ingrown toenail, please go get it fixed before it gets worse.

Well, I went to get the side that was ingrown removed. It hurt like hell having it removed. After the surgery, the toe felt even worse than before but the pain lasted about only a few days.

It was fine until I ran out of gauze. Then it got all bloody and infected again, even though the nail was still gone. It is now bleeding from every corner and side. The stupid caregivers made me wear shoes when I wasn't supposed to and didn't supply me with the materials I needed. They kept canceling my doctor appointments. If anything serious happens because of this, I'll know who to blame.

I just had an ingrown toenail on my right foot removed last week. It had been ingrown almost a year and was very painful. It started off with me cutting my nail wrong. A little piece of the nail caught in my sock and I pulled a bit out of the nail down the side. It then grew into the side of my toe and was very sore and very red.

The doctor put me on course after course of antibiotics, but that did nothing for me. Last week, the entire nail was taken off by a surgeon. I got five needles into my toe to numb it and the nail was then pulled off. The anesthetic took 15 hours to wear off. While it was not too sore afterward, the worst part was the dressing that the nurse put on it the next day when I got it dressed. The dressing stuck to the part of my toe where the nail came off and it was very, very painful to get the dressing off.

It seems to be healing well now and I have the dressing off and am letting it heal naturally itself. The surgeon told me it will take three or four months for my nail to grow back. To anyone who has had this done before, how long did your toenail take to grow back?

Well, I let my toenails grow out (I have one on each large toe), and the nail now shows. The only real issue would be the fact that I still have the abscesses around the sides of the nails.

Any advice? My father says to just sanitize a needle and pop them, but that sounds risky.

Hey, I am a 17 year old girl on infection number 5. I thought I got it entirely out about two weeks ago, swelling went down color close to normal. Sadly last night I was looking at it and it was red again and swollen.

I can't go to a doctor since I will have to take off of work until my toe gets better and I have experience with having infections cured. Not exactly sure of what to do now since I have a little piece I can't get out and I can't sleep at night due to the pain it's bringing. Any suggestions?

I have an ingrown toenail from dropping a heavy weight and it grew back bad. It's about medium deep. What should I do?

I've had problems with my toenails for years, but never an ingrown toenail until now. About four years ago, I got some kind of fungal infection on my toenails and I was too embarrassed to tell anyone or go to a doctor because they looked horrible (yellow and flaky), so I've just left it.

A few weeks ago, my right toenail started hurting when I put pressure on it and when I looked at it, the skin all around the right side was red and hot so I was really worried it was ingrown and infected. I looked up home treatments and did the soaking in salt water thing and I used tweezers to pull the edge of the nail up and it seemed to work; it didn't hurt anymore. But every time I checked, a bit of pus was still coming out of the side.

Then a few days ago I checked it and there was a sort of brown scab over the side of the nail. I pulled it off and it was a lump of dried skin, deeper than I thought, so there was kind of a little hole in the flesh at the side of the toenail, but there was no blood or pus, so I just put a plaster on and left it. The next day, there was a lot of pus with a bit of blood leaking out so I cleaned it up, but I woke up in the night with my toenail really, really hurting.

I was wearing new shoes the last two days and they aren't any tighter than my old ones but my toe was in severe pain all day and I was walking with a limp. When I got home, I checked the nail and there was a lot of blood. When I cleaned it off I could see that there was a lump of red, raw-looking flesh sticking out between the side of the nail and the skin fold, I poked at it a bit and it really hurt. I googled it and granulomas came up, and people said that if one of these appears the nail is badly infected and you have to get it surgically removed.

I'm so worried because it was all right for a while and it seemed to be improving then it suddenly started hurting badly and this happened. I don't want to go to the doctor because I have severe anxiety and I wouldn't be able to face it even if my nails weren't yellow and flaky on top of having an ingrown nail and this painful fleshy lump.

I had an ingrown nail for almost two whole years. I pretty much just let it go until I could barely even walk without sharp pains. I was in a National Guard youth group during the summer at the time so the marching was only making it worse.

My toe was incredibly infected and when I finally went to get it taken care, it of took, like 10 shots of novocaine to finally numb my foot, all of which hurt like crazy because of the infection. I thought the nail being removed would hurt a million times more, but it didn't hurt at all. I didn't even realize it had been taken out. I even said, "go ahead take it out already" and the nurse said, "It's already out. Didn't you feel it?" I looked over on the paper towel to see the entire nail and infection all over the paper towel and some blood.

They asked me if I wanted them to use a nitroglycerin stick to keep the nail from growing back. At the time I considered since I didn't feel the nail being removed, I said, "Sure, if it will keep my nail from growing back." She came back with the stick and she started to rub the stick on my toe and I went ballistic because it gave me an intense stinging/burning sensation which pretty much lasted the entire day.

I was a limping rabbit for a few days and a week later I noticed my nail had started to grow back. I kind of freaked out a bit, but I noticed that it looked weird. It was rounding in on itself so it couldn't go ingrown. So yeah, ask for the nitroglycerin stick. It will most likely keep the nail from going ingrown again.

Reading all these comments I really did not want to go the doctor at all, but you know what? It's the best thing I ever did.

I got told by these comments and other people that I will be in pain for weeks and weeks not walking for a year but that's all crap, to be honest with you!

I went in and the doc gave me five injections to numb my toe. I felt a little prick then nothing.

After 15 minutes it was done, and there was hardly any blood so they dressed it, made me wait 10 minutes in case it did bleed (which it didn't) and then I went home.

After all this, once the anesthetic wore off I was in pain (not severe) for a few hours but I took ibuprofen every two hours and followed with paracetamol every two hours and then I was fine.

I only took tablets on the day I got it done for a few hours and it's been nearly two weeks and I haven't taken any more.

The bandage they put on after was really big but after three days, the docs changed it and with the smaller one, I could walk normally, wear what shoes I like and most of all, there's no pain at all.

It's been a week and a half, and although I still have the bandages it's healing very very well and normally takes three weeks to heal so I'm healing very well.

If I were you, I would get it done. It's the best thing I did and wish I had done it sooner.

I suffered with infected ingrown toenails for a long time, and it was made worse by the fact that I played softball (where my feet would constantly be moving) and had to walk around at school all the time. Eventually, I gave in and went to the doctor. I absolutely hate the doctor but couldn't bear the pain anymore. I was transferred over to a podiatrist, and the first time I went to see him he did the first procedure on my feet. I think what made this first one so bad was that I did not know he was going to actually do it that day. He had to numb my feet, and that is still the worst pain I have felt to this day (my piercings didn't even hurt as much).

I honestly did not watch a single thing he did to my feet, and feeling in my toes did not come back for about five hours. When it did come back, it was absolutely horrible! I could not sleep and had to miss school the next day because they were throbbing so badly. I had to soak my feet every day with epsom salts. This was actually very refreshing and really made my toes feel better. When I went back, the doctor did something again to my toes, and once again I did not look. Unfortunately, this time they had to numb one of my feet two times because the first time was not strong enough. Once again, I missed school the next day and sleeping was horrible. The thing was though, and I was just so happy to have it finally healed! After years of suffering and people looking at my toes and asking me what happened, and my feet smelling extremely bad (sometimes through my shoes), they were finally better!

There was one time that I was at my cousin's fourth birthday party and one of my uncles saw my disgusting toes. He made fun of them so much to everybody at the party, and after that always went out of his way to step on my feet. I was so happy to wear flip flops again and have him look at my feet and wonder how they were all of a sudden better. He is such a jerk, and I still to do this day remember the pain he caused when he made fun of me like that and stepped on my toes.

It sounds like a horrible treatment to go through, but it does not require surgery or anything like that. I am just so happy that I can finally stop worrying about people stepping on my toes or constantly being in pain. I wish I would have gone in sooner than I actually did.

So please do not try to do stuff on your own to your toes. In the end, a doctor is going to be the only one who can ultimately help you. I know that going to the doctor can be super hard, believe me I do, but in the end it is so worth it. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't gone to the doctor. I don't think I will ever be able to thank my doctor enough for helping me.

All these comments mostly are crap, to be honest with you all. I'm 20 and was worried about going to the doctors. I had an ingrown toenail and after reading this, it stopped me from going to the doctor and boy, how wrong I was. Salt water doesn't really help that much.

After two months of having an ingrown toenail, enough was enough. I went to the doctor and he gave me an antibiotic dressing the first time then after 48 hours, I took it off and went back, they looked at it and said there were different options they could try.

The first thing they are doing is using silver nitrate to burn the nail away (it's not as bad as it sounds). They put it on a little cotton bud and put it on and in it. It doesn't hurt. It's a slight prick like when you're having an injection. Then they re-bandage it.

They will be doing this three or four times, and if it doesn't work or work well, they will be cutting it out but it's not as bad as all these comments.

One of my friends went to get hers cut out and she said they give you something to numb the pain and then after they have cut it out it hurts for a few days only a little, but taking paracetamol every two hours then ibuprofen every two hours and so on gets rid of any pain.

I'm telling you now if you have one, go to the doctor. It will be worth it rather than having the pain of trying to do it yourself!

I have ingrown toenails on both my right and left big toes. Both sides of the toes are red and swollen, they bleed very little and there is very little pus.

Some days they hurt and other days they do not. One side has healed now and is the normal color and painless. I have not tried to remove them, but have been letting them grow out until they are really long then cutting them straight across. They are not gone and I've had them about three years now.

My fiance keeps asking to see my feet but I don't want to show him. I have had an ingrown toenail before and had it surgically removed. I'm afraid to have it done again because of the pain last time. I have no money to have the doctor cut it out and I really would like to be able to run around barefooted again soon. Any ideas?

@post #32: thanks for scaring me.

A few weeks ago I randomly pulled out a hangnail on my left big toe. It's been probably three or four weeks and it's still not healed, and I started using hydrogen peroxide in the second week, tea-tree and warm water and Epsom salts in the third week. The skin started to close, and the pain started to reduce, but as I got back into school (wearing shoes the whole day) the pain worsened.

The skin around the nail has darkened, and is slowly starting to spread. I really want to go to a doctor but my mom keeps holding it off. Any tips here? Hopefully seeing a doctor tomorrow.

Ingrowing nails really are evil. My experience - if you leave it you end up in A&E and a doctor has to inject your toes several times before removing the offending nail. The injections are almost unbearable (even the doctors in A&E said this!)

If you suffer, find a real foot doctor and get it seen to. All they know is 'feet' so they're the experts. I found my foot doctor several years ago and I would not be without her. It's a lot less painful than the A&E too.

I removed my ingorwn toenail myself, and it is still a little swollen on the side. Is there still pus in it? Can the pus be deep in your toe? If you have pus, is it visible?

Can you remove the pus with antibiotics?

I had pus and I squeezed it out about two months ago. What if there is still a little inside? Will that pus start an infection? How do I prevent more infection? Use a cream? Or soaking in water? Help needed. Thanks.

I removed my ingrown toenail about six months ago, and since then it hasn't hurt, it still hasn't hurt. I have trimmed off the side and often (once every one or two weeks) put cotton under it to prevent it from ingrowing again.

But on the side of my toe it is a very, very little swollen, I think. It doesn't hurt and it isn't red, but I am worried if it has pus in there, will it be all right? And can my toe still get infected?

Please tell me what you think. I am only 15 and I am a tiny bit worried.

I just came back from having two ingrown toenails removed. Do not try to take them out yourself unless you know how to use those plier shaped nail cutters because you can irritate the skin (like I did).

Please don't cut the flesh that comes out if you're dealing with an infected one, because my podiatrist told me that it would grow back- and bigger. I only had one, but then I tried to cut the uninfected one on the other big toe. It got worse and then my mom stepped on me accidentally. So instead of going to a hospital/salon, go to a place where they only take care of feet. Wear sandals. If you go to that place it won't hurt (I went and I don't tolerate any pain, not even a small cut) and they'll also get you anesthesia. I would do it without it.

I didn't get a needle (they sprayed the area with anesthesia) and they just used a plier shaped nail clipper and I think a small scapel like object (mine was infected). It was very fast and there was little pain. Then they'll give you bandage for a couple of days and then they're going to check on you. Don't wear tight fitting shoes.

I hope this helps you guys, and I was also afraid to go to the doctor (I'm 11!). My dad used to have them, and he said when they start growing back, try get the nail cutter and make the point of the nail smoother, I guess, and then try to take it out. He said if you don't, the part will stay in.

He doesn't have them anymore. Hope this helps, good luck. Oh and after the surgery it hurts 0.0 percent and I did just only get the ingrown part cut not the whole nail.

I've had an ingrown in my left big toe twice now. The first time, it started to have this brown hard infection looking stuff on it so I got the doctor to cut it out, but this time it doesn’t and I'm trying to play doctor and do it myself.

Nothing's working. I've tried soaking it and cutting it in an angle and draining it, I've tried soaking it and taking a knife and try to get under the thing and mess with it until I can get it out. I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?

anon185839: you need to get it permanently removed either by burning it with phenol or surgically removing it. The nail root is what I'm talking about; it needs to get chemically burned off.

I’m 19 and I’ve been having toenail trouble since i was 15. At first, the pain came and went. i would have a few days of slightly red and swollen nail beds and it would hurt like hell whenever i stubbed my toe or someone stepped on me. but if i let it be, it would go away sooner or later. but since last year, the problem was getting worse, the swelling came a lot more frequently, until one time, it got really infected, like really infected.

i went to my university clinic, and the doctor there was actually shocked when i took my plaster off to show him. he suggested i get it removed straight away, or else it would get really serious. watch out for red lines that begin showing and stretching up your leg - it's the lymph nodes getting really worked up, and that is a serious problem.

Anyway, i had surgery. i actually got general anesthesia because my doctor, basically, thought i looked like a sissy and couldn't handle the pain of the numbing needles. anyhow, I’m not complaining. it's been 10 months, and guess what, it's back! All i can say is, ingrown toenails are frustrating and really get me down.

So I'm a fourteen year old girl and I have an ingrown toe nail on my left big toe. I've had it ever since I started wearing these tight shoes, it's red, swollen and has yellowish liquid coming out of it. I'm to scared to go to the doctors, and my dad said it will only get worse, what should I do? It hurts like hell, and looks terrible. It's actually quiet embarrassing.

post 134: Don't touch it! go to the doctor.

I see there are a lot of young people here with ingrown toenail problems. I can lay your worries to rest: ingrown nails are a common and honestly perfectly normal condition. There's no shame in having one, and it's definitely a treatable condition. I'm going to try and provide the best advice possible because at the age of 30, I've had to deal with these things for over 20 years. I can relate to all the situations, involving skipping your favorite school activities because of a painful ingrown toenail.

This is the best advice I can give. They make these special nail trimmers that are shaped like pliers. They come in different sizes, but please try to find the small ones -- the big ones most likely won't fit. These nail trimmers are designed to trim all the way down your toenail to the source of the ingrown nail, which is most likely buried in the skin.

After using these special nail trimmers, this next bit of advice might seem frightening at first, but it's no big deal, I promise. Take a pin (or anything small and pointy) and scrape alongside the skin that's now exposed as a result of the trimming. You're doing this because you're trying to search for the area where the ingrown nail is located. Once you find the nail (you'll know when you do because you will feel something hard) you take the special nail trimmers shaped like pliers, push down into the area where the ingrown nail is growing, and repeatedly squeeze the pliers until you eventually snip it.

My advice is intended for those of you who are dealing with the incredibly deep ingrown nails. You know, the ones where there's lots of blood, dark purple skin, hard to walk with every footstep, etc. Just make sure your toe is wet and soft before using the special nail trimmers. A wet toe reduces the pain drastically.

I've been in this position lots of times during my school years, so I can relate to how frustrating and concerning it is to have an ingrown nail. The truth is, it's honestly just a tiny nail sticking through the skin that doesn't belong there. That's the entire source of the problem: one tiny nail. Your body is begging you to remove it, which is why there's little to no pain while trimming your toenail to the source of the ingrown nail, and that's probably the scariest: trimming your regular nail all the way to the very bottom, but it's honestly not a big deal and you'll be surprised how little pain you feel doing this. In fact, just trimming your nail all the way down so the ingrown nail has room to breathe and reveal itself means you're 50 percent better. The other 50 percent comes by way of using the special nail trimmers to snip it out of your toe.

You don't have to skip out on life because of a toenail.

An ingrown nail is like a splinter. You either find it and cut it or you push it back into place using forward motion so it doesn't dig into your flesh.

Ibuprofen and saltwater foot bath reduce swelling.

post 101 and 122 those are the dumbest things you could ever possibly do, especially if its oozing or has pus in it. If you let those people remove it for you, I guarantee you will get osteomyelitis, infection in the bone.

Do not remove your toenail yourself as it will just come back later in life. My suggestion for everyone is get it done by a podiatrist. Ask him to chemically treat it so it will never come back.

so I'm the stressed 13 year old from like two weeks ago. i feel way better. the only part that hurt was the numbing. it just hurt a little and i found my retainer. my fishing trip was great, project is almost done, and camping is canceled so I'm all stress free.

I'm 13 and i cut my ingrowing toenail off down the side, but now it's all weird and looks infected. what should i do?

Also, your only option is to get it removed by a doctor or yourself. Or you can try things like soaking your feet in salt water!

At the age of 12, i had my first ingrown toenail! It was actually quite bad and I was too scared to get it removed! But i had it for a couple of months now and it was getting really painful, so i had to get it removed.

Only the first minute hurt as it was the needles and after that it was numb and i couldn't feel a thing! it grew back but slowly. Then, two months later, I had another one but on my left foot big toe and had it removed straight away because i did not regret having my other one done!

now i am 13 and i have another ingrowing toenail on my right foot (the one i had at first). I'm fed up with going to the doctors so i am going to try and do it myself! i have done it before it was painful but it went for a few months but then came back, which was my own fault! if it works, i am going to make sure i get my mother to cut my toenails for me.

people, it's not that bad going to the doctor. being afraid is more painful. go to the doctor.

I am 15 and I am ending my freshman year in high school. I first got my second ingrown toenail in the seventh grade. I was so scared to get it taken out cause I knew that the first hurt so bad to get it taken out. Now it seems to have spread and I have four ingrown toenails, one on each side of my big toe. I know that I should have told my parents about it and gotten it removed but I was too much of a wuss and scared of the pain. Now it hurts severely just to walk. I'm walking almost with a limp now and I keep hiding the toenails around my parents.

My mom found out one day and tried to help me but I just can't do what she suggests. I know that I should go to the doctor but I'm scared of what will happen. I should also mention that I am in marching band and for the record, it hurt like crap.

What should I do? I feel so much pain and stress. I can't even do things that I used to love to do anymore, like swimming or going to the waterpark. I can't do anything and I'm just scared and stressed right now.

I am 12 going on 13 and I have an ingrown toenail. I hadn't noticed it since I was climbing in a huge play house/gym and I hit my foot and said ow i took my sock off and saw swelling on my right foot big toe, I am terrified of blood, needles, ripping out nails. Who isn't? is there a non-painful way to get rid of the toenail?

I'm the stressed 13 year old. i had the surgery done yesterday and it was awful! but i feel better. just get it done people. it will stink the first two days, but after that you will be glad you did it.

I'm 13, and i had an ingrown toenail. My mom removed it with a nail cutter. It was so painful. I screamed so hard that my neighbors heard me! I cried, too.

I'm 11 years old and i have a ingrown toenail. my dad won't take me to the doctor and my mom won't take to the doctor. she says if she takes me to the doctor they will laugh their butts off. sometimes i think she hates me, but back to the point. it hurts. i have to wear tennis shoes to P.E. and the coach said i can't sit out anymore or i will get an "F" because i don't have a doctor's note. how do i get it out?

so I'm 13 and I'm super freaking scared of getting surgery! i have a lot of things to worry about right now: my end of the year project, a camping trip, a fishing trip, i lost my retainer, and i am just stressed.

i do believe a child of my age is not supposed to have this much stress. my ingrown toenail is one of them. it hurts all the time, and i always cry just talking about the surgery. it is infected and I'm scared the numbing won't work. please help calm my nerves. Anyone? Everyone!

I agree with Post# 101, go to your local nail salon - like those you see all over town. They can remove the ingrown toenail.

It will not cost you an arm and a leg like at doctors office. Think about your individual lifestyle and if you don't wear tight fitting shoes around the toe, ingrown toenails should not come back.

I had one ingrown toenail once in my life, back in August 2010 and that was how I was told to remove it.

Ask them who is the best and most meticulous person there that can remove an ingrown toenail. They will soak your feet for awhile then remove it for you.

I'm now 18 and have had ingrown toenails for the last four years. not once have i ever had a needle in my toe when my podiatrist has cut it out. it's been infected a few times and has been pretty bad, but for some reason i never got a needle? in my opinion, getting the nail cut out without a needle hurts quite a bit but it's all done and removed within like 30 seconds. So, 30 seconds of pain compared to a few minutes of prodding around with a needle is better in my opinion. lately I've been trying to remove my ingrowns myself at home and it worked for a while as a temporary solution. however, it always comes back.

The best advice I have for any who are new to ingrowns or are encountering them is to go to a podiatrist or doctor ASAP! Do not put it off. It will only get worse and hurt way more! There is no going about it. Go see a doctor. It will be far less painful. Also, do not try to remove it yourself. i don't care how many times you've had one or how many times you've got it removed and it's come back. Don't try and get rid of it yourself. you will screw yourself over seriously.

I've had the worst of all. i got one on my big toe six years ago then on the other side and eventually both my big toes had four ingrown toenails. It's the most painful thing Ive ever had to deal with. I've had surgery on them at least ten times and the best advice i can give is as soon as you get one, don't wear shoes or socks. try taking a nail file and just lifting the little bit of nail grown in up above the skin. it hurts but will be gone in a few days.

If you ever have one longer than two weeks go to the Doctor and get it removed immediately. It really screws up your whole life and to answer some of the other questions, the major surgery procedures the used three needles on me and that's for only one side of the toe. It was so painful i was biting my hand the whole time and it was bleeding more than my foot. Also it's very difficult to walk for about a month after. hope i could help someone not get trapped in this hell hole.

So I'm 16, and i have had my ingrown nail for three years. Anyway, I have learned from experience that you shouldn't put any pressure on it, such as shoes, even if the shoes feel loose. I tried walking in sandals for two days straight and there was absolutely no pain. Someone could stamp on my toe and i wouldn't feel a thing. But if i wear shoes, socks etc. the toe gets 'numb' and painful. I stopped playing soccer because of this for one or two years now.

By the way, at first the ingrown nail came unexpectedly one day then immediately started to swell massively, with pus and blood. I think i even got blood poisoning. I could see red lines all the way up to my knee, and just touching the lines hurt, just as much as the ingrown nail itself. Lucky i got it cleaned soaked, and used betadine (red liquid that kills bacteria) and kept it dry! eventually it went away, except now (three years later) i still can't play soccer. The toe gets numb and painful even though it isn't ingrown, and my nail looks normal, it is placed above my toe as it should, and none of the nail is actually digging in my toe.

Yet it still numbs up, but it doesn't swell up. I notice that i have 'extra' skin above my toe. it is like a 1x3 mm (triangular shaped) excessive skin (a bit hard) folding / curving around my nail until to the side-top of my nail. I can also see when i left it up that the skin under that is red and looks like it isn't dry. What do i do? cut it off?

This may seem weird but, getting acrylic put on your toenails well make them grow better. Trust me -- both of my big toes always used to be ingrown until I started putting acrylic on them. Now you can go to salons and they put acrylic on them just like they would to your fingernails. Try it, it might really help you!

p.s. Mine haven't been ingrown for a long time!

I have had surgery three times to remove both of my big toenails. I was told each time they would not grow back. Well, they did each time worse than before, now with a fungus underneath. It is horrible. The shots they gave me were pretty painful as well,but worth it,or so I thought at the time.

Each surgery was $160.00 and did no good.The last time they were removed was when I went to the ER with my husband,while there I showed the doctor my nails and he said, "Oh,those need to come off again" and he removed them right there in the ER.

Then he said, "They won't come back now" yeah, OK then. i just don't know why they say that.

Anyway, here I am again in a lot of pain and now with disgusting looking toenails to boot. i refuse to waste the money and go through the pain again just to have it happen all over again. Any advice would be wonderful. Sorry about the complaining.

I'm 14 and I'm terrified of needles and scalpels and all that but i have a severely ingrown toenail on my right big toe. it is so bad that this little black scab is on it between the skin on the side of the nail and the actual nail.

It's really red and swollen and i try not to scream when i so much as tap it on something by accident, and i want to know where they actually insert the needle? is it in the area that is way past swollen or in the bottom of the toe?

About every six months I get an ingrown toenail and within days it is swollen and infected. It hurts like hell and I always end up getting it cut out by the doctor. The shot is even worse pain than the nail itself but after it feels a lot better. But even with the acid, they always come back. It stinks, but the best thing to do is just get it cut out.

Having an ingrown toenail is literally the bane of my existence. I have two of them. One on my second biggest toe on my left foot, and another little bugger on my right big toe. They both hurt a ridiculous amount.

I shall try the remedy of the antiseptic bath and the cotton ball, and I am hoping it it will work. Have had the things for about a year and a half now; and I can most definitely say that if you start to see granulomas (the infected areas on the side of toe filled with blood and pus) you should do something immediately. If you don't, the infection can spread to your bone and you may have to have your toe cut off.

I am 11 years old and in horrible pain. I can hardly walk. it hurts so bad. my mom makes me soak it in epsom salts and a couple seconds ago i tried to stick a piece of cotton in it.

I'm virtually crying now. my advice is don't try to put cotton in it unless you want to scream your head off!

I'm having my first ingrown toenail. It's not so bad, but if you push it at the right angle my left big toe starts to hurt. I really hope that the cotton ball method works.

I had a really bad ingrown toenail. I just left it go and it got worse. I ended up getting it removed and then it came back. And again i just left it grow, and grow and grow. It ended up getting infected and it got really infected.

I really didn't like the pain of getting it removed but i knew i had to do something. I got it removed and it's getting way better. I actually was getting a fever because i left it go. They burned the roots so it won't grow back. The worst part is the numbing and after that you hardly feel a thing.

All right, I'm 16 now, and I've had it for about two years now. I was walking in to my house from my backyard, and Bam! Stubbed my toe like never before. It seemed fine hours later, but just sore. After a few months, I saw that it was starting to swell, and here I am now, in agonizing pain.

I do plan to go see a doctor about it, but of course I have to wait to see one, as money is an issue. But i do have questions. If they were to remove it, about how many needles would they use, and how long are they? Secondly, after a while of having this, when they remove it, what will I expect to see? And finally, when will the pain set in after they remove it? Thanks.

I have an ingrown toenail. It hurts so bad if I poke it softly. Right now at this moment I am soaking it right now. I am 11 by the way. All I did was go outside to play in the snow, I have tight boots. And it was small when I first got it but when my little cousin sat on my swollen toe, I screamed so loud in the house then it got worse!

On my toe, my toe nails are so ingrown, that my grandma tried to cut my toenails but then when she did, I screamed so loud again then went in pain then I cried really hard cause it was so painful. What should I do?

I just got an ingrown toenail for the first time. It hurts like heck! I didn't cut it out when I first noticed it, so now its all infected, red, pus-filled, oozy, and swollen. It hurts too bad to cut out, so I have to go to the doctors. How bad does the shot hurt? Is it that bad? And are there any treatments I can do like soaking it so I won't have to go to the doctors? Help! Help! Help!

I have two in the same toe right now. failed getting them out because my toenail was short. oh well, no pain, no gain. I'm going to push through the pain until my nail grows back and then try cutting them out with toenail clippers again.

Good luck everyone else, but after you get them for a while, you sort of get used to the pain as if you seriously don't give a fudge.

86.. what was the cream? i have had two ingrown toenails on my two big toes and they hurt like hell! I am so embarrassed by them and I am scared to go to the doctors so any creams or anything that anyone can recommend would be appreciated.

My big toe is always going on and off. Sometimes i can have one and other days i don't feel it.

but when i do i get really annoyed and want to yank the whole toenail off. but there's no way I'm going to a doctor to have my nail removed.

I'm 12 and I've had the surgery done twice before and have another one on my left middle toe. It really hurts. Does anyone know what i should do?

call your local salon, a pedicure is maybe what you need, the people there can tell you who works best on ingrown nails. good luck and hope this helps.

Listen to me. It's worth getting the surgery. it hurts, but it will feel better. the shot doesn't hurt as bad as people say. the worst part is after for the first day after the numbing wears off, you feel pain, not as bad as before, though. then it's gone and you just dress it every day after a shower or bath for a while.

I am 15 and I've had surgery on my toes three times and i can't take the pain. i play soccer a lot and now it's getting hard to play my favorite sport. Sometimes my toes are bloody and ooze pus, and other times hurt. i want to painlessly remove the toenail, but i can't take surgery. Isn't there some cream or something that can shrink the nail and make it easier to cut? I need something!

I am fourteen and i have had a lot of troubles with ingrown toenails I have had surgery on them about four times, each toe, over a three year period and they have all been different. i have had the sides of my toes chopped out skin and toenail and it still got ingrown and i got the whole nail removed recently and after a couple of months, it is back again. this stinks.

I had ingrown toenails, too. I took the end of a tweezer and dug the toenail out with it, and I also soaked it in warm water before that. The warm water makes your toenail more likely to come out. It hurt sometimes to take steps but now I'm not afraid to wear flip flops.

I lost both of my big toenails when I was 7 by dropping a box on my feet. they have always been ingrown ever since. I usually just cut the sides and tear the corners off every second month and no big deal but then I get really tired of having eight nice toenails and then my two tiny nails on my big toes.

It's been 28 years so I didn't think there was anything I could do but I let them grow as much as I could then dug a pick under the sides and levered it over the skin and it was really uncomfortable every time I took a step but I was determined to wait it out and after a few weeks they kept growing farther over the skin and it hurt less.

At the end of three months they are way past the skin and don't hurt at all so patience may be better than surgery.

Just had ingrown toenails removed from my left and right foot. I was scared to have it done but it was well worth it.

The worst part was the needles to numb the toes but once that was done I felt nothing. This coming from a girl who is extremely afraid of needles and has no tolerance for pain.

I suggest scheduling with a foot doctor to get them taken care of right away. It does not pay to mess with them yourselves. Good luck!

If its a new ingrown and not infected or anything you can just put cotton and it's fine. I waited too long and it hurts so bad. i play soccer and my friend on my team came at me with the ball during practice, my job was to stop her and we kicked toes. that hurt -- a lot.

I am fourteen and I have three ingrown toenails right now. One of them is really bad and swollen, blood and pus comes out of it a lot, and I have had an ingrown toenail on that same toe before.

It really hurts, and I don't have my surgery for a month, and I am so afraid of needles, but I don't know what else to do. I've had it for several months and I want to be comfortable in all of my shoes. Man, this stinks.

I'm getting surgery on monday, and i have to have 10 shots in each toe. what happened with my ingrown is it grew back in the middle of the toe. Ow! good luck everyone.

Same as 71, I had a double dose of anesthesia and it still didn't work. I still had the toenail removed but now its back. Have another appointment for surgery but if the anesthesia doesn't work again, not sure I can go through with it!

i got an ingrown removed today. my mom told me she would remove it but it wasn't that simple. the doctor used freeze spray and then numbed my big toe with two shots of numbing stuff. it pinched a whole lot but for some reason i laughed through it.

he had to remove the corned side part of my nail from the root. he said if you don't remove it from the root it will come back and I'd have to get it removed again. my foot is still kind of numb but it already feels a lot better. i go back next week to get it checked. i might have my other big toe done because he said it already looks like it will be a problem.

i suggest anyone with an ingrown go to a foot doctor and get it taken care of asap! i was so embarrassed to go but I'm glad i did or else it could have gotten infected.

I have had an ingrown toenail for six or seven years, and I am a girl. The pain is harsh but nobody even knows about it. I have had to quit sports like football, basketball and also athletics.

I am avoiding doctors for some reason. Maybe because the appearance looks bad. I advise everyone to go see a doctor because the pain is really not worth it.

And as for me, I'll figure something out.

i literally went in to get my ingrown nails removed this afternoon. i had them on both big toes. it was painful, but worth it. the worst part is the anesthesia shots they give you, but after that, you don't feel a thing. believe me, if you have ingrown toenails, get them removed ASAP because they will get worse!

I have commented before (78) I went to see my local doctor and now I am waiting to go to hospital to have it removed, so now that's what I would recommended.

I'm 14 years old and a girl, I've had about three ingrown toenails. Well my first ingrown toenail hurt really bad but my dad was able to get it out with nail clippers. It hurt a little but it was totally worth it. My toe cured up after that.

But the second one was different. It was on the other toe and it got infected. The infection was pretty bad but my mom put this cream on it and it cured up in two days! It was amazing. But then the ingrown toenail came back but I got rid of it too.

It's weird. I think it's only a slight infection but my toe doesn't hurt at all -- only when I hit it really hard by accident. I don't know what's wrong with it. Anyway, you don't always need to go to the doctors if you have awesome parents. But sometimes it's a good thing to even though it may hurt. Well at least you're not getting shot.

I had an ingrown toe nail a while ago -- around two years ago. I went to the doctor and he numbed my toe with general anesthetic. He put the needle in three times and the last time hurt a little more than the last.

I felt a little tugging or pulling but no pain whatsoever.

The toe healed up almost immediately and there was no pain running, walking, jumping etc.

I have just got another ingrown on the same foot as two years ago. I put antibiotic cream on it and wrapped it with a bandaid for two nights and one day. It has almost gone away but still looks red. I am thinking I may try lifting the nail with cotton and putting the cream under it.

I am going to Melbourne tomorrow for a holiday and seriously do not want to have a sore toe by lifting it.

Hope this helped someone, in some way. Good luck.

I had an ingrown on my right foot's big toe for almost three years on and off. I had it surgically removed twice already and each time my nail grows back, it always grows as an ingrown.

I've had an ingrown toe nail for about a month now. One I guess is infected and the other one is just starting. I'm on a antibiotic but its not helping.

I have six ingrown toenails and they bleed when i walk, so please help me.

I'm 11 and have two really bad ingrown toenails.

how do i get rid of them?

Don't cut it yourself. that encourages it to grow in even more.

I have an ingrown toenail on my big toe on my left foot. I have had it for about six months now, I have been cutting at it bit by bit and now I can't even wear trainers. My foot bleeds now and again but the pain is constant. Any ideas?

I tried doing what a lot of people are doing by trying to do it myself but you're just going to make it worse yourself, so get a doctor to do it for you. It's their job.

I'm 15 and i had an ingrown toenail (still do) but just do what I'm doing: just go to the doctor and get it done with so you don't feel any pain. my dad had it done and he's fine with it, so just get it done peeps.

I have had four ingrown toe nails all on the same toe. every time i have gone to the doctors they removed it bit by bit. half of my nail is still on but it is very red and raw and i can't deal with surgery again. someone please help me.

i have an ingrown toenail and i don't like doctors. they make things hurt so I'm just going to pull it out bit by bit.

I am 13 and i have and ingrown toenail. It hurts really bad and i won't go to the doctor for it. I am so afraid of needles and had the surgery done before on my other ingrown toenail. It hasn't come back but now i have one on the other side of my toe. I just told my mom and she said i should soak it. Any other painless remedies, please tell me!

Personally, I had two ingrown toenails: both big toes. They were really bad and I got them operated on, however it came back. I had it done a second time and that time I really gave them excellent aftercare and it worked out great! no problems since.

I strongly advise you go and have the side removed as I did by a practitioner. I was dreading it but it really isn't that bad. The worst bit is the needle anticipation and that's over straight away. Such a relief to be able to walk without pain!

I currently have a bit of a minor ingrown thumbnail which I'm using the advice posted at the top to deal with!

I've had recurrent ingrown nails, and I have another one now. It's not as bad as the last, so I'm trying to stop it from getting worse. Last time I went to a doctor, where they decided to stick eight shots of anesthesia.

Before the operation, they asked how my toe was, and I answered that it didn't feel numb at all. It turns out that I am one of those people who are immune to it, but of course we had to go on with the operation anyway. I'm shaking right now just thinking about it.

I'm 12 and i usually get them, well, a lot. And i have never gone to the doctor for one and don't ever want to unless i really, really have to! I have one on my right toe right now. It doesn't hurt until i go to mess around with it and I've been trying to numb it but that's not working too well. I guess i have had it for about two or maybe three weeks now. Can someone please help me?

I'm getting surgery in five days, and I'm thinking it won't be bad at all. I think the only bad thing will be the shot. Oh well, I'm 11 years old and I'm a girl. I hope it will work!

I'm 13, and I have had an ingrown toenail before. I went to the doctors and they had to numb it with six shots in my big toe! It hurt like hell and I'm deathly afraid to go back. It takes a lot for me to cry and trust me, I did.

They didn't even do it right because it grew right back in three times so I had to get six shots in one toe four times. It finally went away, but now it's back on the same toe but on the other side. I'm sure it is infected but I don't know how to get the infection gone.

I have been cleaning it out too. It's kind of red and it hurts a lot. It's probably from the infection so I was going to get that to go away and then try and get it out by myself. If i can't, i have no choice but to tell my mom and go to the doctor and have it done all over again.

i have had ingrown nails on both feet on and off, and one day i took it out with these nail cutting looking things but now it's back and i have found the nail but i lost my supplies to cut nails! what do i do now!

I have an ingrown toenail on both of my big toes. I'm 11 and i have had them three times on my left foot and twice on my right.

i saw the doctor three times and his advice didn't work so i went to a podiatrist, who cut the corner of my nail of only on my left foot because my right wasn't ingrown yet so that helped heaps on my left but then my right got ingrown and infected like the other times.

it kills me and i can't wear my school shoes with my school skirt but my advice is to go to the podiatrist.

The surgery does not hurt at all. unless, of course, the toe is still infected because the infection fights off the novocaine (my mistake the last time i had mine. it was the second time i had it done) it hurt bad.

right now i have another bad bad one and a little one on my other foot. I'm soaking it three times a day with epsom salt and peroxide, and taking medicine to get the infection out. then i will go to get my third and fourth one lol. but the major bad thing about ingrown toenails is that when you have them, no matter how careful you are about not hitting them on something, it will happen, lol. i accidentally ran mine over with a shopping cart and it hurt so bad.

I am thirteen and i have had an ingrown toenail for three years and it hurts like hell. i don't like it at all.

Anyway, i have them on both big toes and i went to the doctors and they removed the sides that had the ingrown. but now on my right side it's coming back but on the other side of the nail, what do i do? i don't want to go back to the doctor.

I get them all the time, it is beginning to get annoying now. I'm only 15 and don't have the confidence to wear open toe sandals! Most of my friends keep on commenting and being right witches towards me. i really want to get rid of it. does anyone have any advice, please?

I have ingrown toenails on both of my big toes. I'm 15 and had them about a year now. Sometimes, they hurt like mad but other times they're manageable. My dad had them and they took his off years ago and now his toenails have grown back weird, so i don't want to go to the doctors to get them taken off in case that happens to me!

if you're going to get it removed, make sure your doctor is using the Vandenbos procedure. It clears things up and leaves you with a normal looking nail rather than something from a horror movie.

I have had an ingrown toenail before and i play soccer. And i hate going to the docs because they stick a needle and it hurts really bad. please help.

You must help me. I had an ingrown toenail, like, for three years and I don't want them to pull my whole nail out or put me to sleep. So what can I do and please give me a solution.

I've got a ingrown toenail right now it kills me like hell. it has got bigger and I'm only 13 and i have no idea what to do. help.

My name is Rose and I am only 13 and have an ingrown toenail and i always get mine out by using tweezers and a nail clipper, which hurts but is better than the shot and scissors at the doc's!

I know that it looks as if it really really hurts but it doesn't hurt that much. It only hurts like a open cut, but make sure to clean the tools first and put something like a rag in your mouth just in case you need to bite down really hard.

OK, so here is the problem for me right now. I have an ingrown toenail again but i tried the way i always do with the tweezers and nail clipper, but the little ingrown toenail is out of my reach and hurts like hell! So, i just want to get it out but i can't go to the doc's if they use a needle because i am seriously deathly scared of needles!

Please anyone help me! Help me, please!

i had an ingrown toenail last year and i had surgery to remove it. It didn't hurt and I'm just 12. All they do is numb your toe and then they stick some scissors in between the skin and the nail.

I've had ingrown toenails for about three years on and off on both sides of one toe. It doesn't hurt to run anymore but to stop or to kick anything it kills me. I've had the surgery three times, but they grow back into an ingrown toenail. Any help?

Well I've had an ingrown toenail before. The last time i had it for several weeks before i started treating it so about three months later i had to get the "surgery." It's really not that big of a deal.

With mine, the worst part was the numbing shot. After that you can't feel anything, but i would recommend that you ask your doc for a pain killer for when the numbness wears off, depending on how much was cut off.

Mine was bad so i had to get the painkiller. I just noticed it's starting again so I'm trying to get rid of it while it's not bad. thanks for the tips. i hope they work. i hate the docs.

I've had an ingrown toenail come and go for about three years now. I managed to get rid of it with your tips first time, but I haven't been able to make the toenail grow out since.

To the two people below me. #1) if your ingrown toenail has gotten to that point, you have no choice but to go to a podiatrist and get surgery on it.

#2) after the surgery, there will be remotely zero pain, though running might not be recommended immediately afterward to allow healing. Walking is okay though.

my toe has been ingrown for quite a while now and i just can't do anything with it. The flesh around it is a light purple and whenever i take off my sock there's dried pus and blood, and i can't even get the cuticle cutter in without major pain. If you can please help!

I really need some help, I've gotten one of those dreaded ingrown toenails. I tried to get it out but just ended up cutting my foot open and it just got worse.

Here's the thing: I'm very active and I'm always on the go. If I were to get surgery would it heal fast? and would it hurt? thanks guy

I've had an ingrown toe nail for over eight months now and it hurts a lot. i can still run and play my sports and everything. It's just when i try to fix it i end up playing around with it too much and it gets all infected again.

i don't want to get surgery, because I'm terrified of needles, and I've heard it hurts like hell.

i tried to cut it out myself but yeah i just stuffed it up again. i don't know what to do anymore.

Sometimes i just feel like cutting my toe off! Any ideas?

i had one on my left foot and i hid it and not to long ago i went to the medicentre and they gave me five needles and oh, did that ever hurt but now it's good. But yet the nail is starting to grow all the way but it's still a bit bloody every now and then but i don't mind it.

The only thing is when i run i can't run like i used to but who gives a crap, right?

Get a nail file and sand the nail in the middle or the whole thing until the nail is thin. It's painless. It takes away it strength.

after reading this i removed my hangnail. what i did was put a rubber band around my toe to somewhat numb the feeling and stop blood flow. while it was bound i soaked it in a foot spa for 20 minutes. then i let my dad have at it, using the tweezers and clippers to cut and remove it.

The rubber band keeps the toe from bleeding in the process. It does still hurt like hell but I just take it because it's all worth it in the end. By the way -- i put epsom salts and alcohol in the water while soaking.

I have ingrown toenails on all of my toes. is there any way that i can cure all of them?

I have suffered with ingrowing toenails for about four or five years now, i have found that nothing works at all (like the v-shape cut in nail, etc., etc.)

i always get my dad to file the nail down the side to get rid of the ingrown part, and i have found this to be the only option. Recently i have had a very bad one that i thought i would have to go to a podiatrist, but i persevered and after a lot of pain my dad decided to give up because the toe started to bleed, so after applying savlon for a week i let him have another go but before i let him loose with his destructive tools, i soaked my feet in a foot spa for approx 30 minutes, with plenty of salt in hot water, after letting him try and remove the ingrown nail they literally filed out with no pain or problems!

So i would recommend letting someone file the edge of the nail or do it yourself, but before soak your feet in a foot-spa with hot water and plenty of salt, afterward for at least a week apply savlon (or any antiseptic cream).

if you do not own a foot spa and suffer with this problem i would strongly recommend buying one.

I hope my pain and experience helps someone.

i have had horrible ingrown toe nails for about four years and been on about five rounds of antibiotics -- they didn't work. i also had a "wedge resection" or whatever, and they've just come back again!

It's so painful and i can't even put a sock on without getting teary! I've also tried soaking a huge band aid in moisturizer and putting it on my toe overnight. That didn't work so i tried betadine, and that just stained my toe brown for about three weeks!

It's so painful and my school has about a million stairs. i even had to have a day off because my toes hurt so much! my sock was soaked in blood and pus, and going *squidge* *squidge* *squidge* all the way to my bus stop!

i had an ingrown toenail about a year now and i tell my dad all the time to fix it for me but he always forgets and next time i mention it he always gets mad and always forgets.

I'm trying to fix it myself without anything to buy like all those big medical ointments. How can i do that?

i have had the same situation for almost a year now, and got my right toe nail surgically removed. After two days of healing, trust me, you won't regret the surgery, but now just this month the ingrown toenail came back and now the meat isn't just on the side of my toe. Now it's over it, and i'm worried because I had to skip football season this year and I don't want to skip next year. Any advice?

I've got extremely bad ingrown toenails on both of my big toes. they are so bad i am embarrassed to show my doctor. It's also interfering with me walking. any suggestions? Please help!

i have one that hurts so bad, and I can't get to the doc.

I have dealt with ingrown toenails since I was like nine years old and once a doctor prescribed Bactroban to me, an ointment to put on my toe. Since I started using that I have not had one ingrown toenail until now and I am 21!

I am planning on looking for somewhere to buy the ointment again. Bactroban is used to kill bacteria which is what is in your toe. Try it -- trust me, it works! Not like the temporary remedy of removing the nail but killing the bacteria.

I have this problem for years. And I've used this soaking thing because doctor said I should. At first I went to hospital and the nurse put the cotton between the flesh and the nail. I've finished the school with it, though it hurt when someone stepped on it.

i would go to the doctor about the previous time and the other doctor pulled out my nail, without any anesthetics, so I screamed like never before in my life. This works. Only instead of salt I use an antiseptic and I had it on both sides, and the left is cured, but the right is awful.

It doesn't hurt when i walk, it bleeds a little only when i hit it.

I've had an ingrown toenail for one to two years. the first one I got I had removed, and I think surgery is kind of the best way to go. The only parts that hurt is the needle and when your foot goes numb you can still feel some pain but that's pressure. I've got one on my left foot now and I'm going to try these steps before surgery.

I had ingrown toenails on both sides of both of my big toes all at the same time. Whenever I kicked something or even put on my shoes it would kill me. After a shower, I just took the toenail clippers to them, cut at an angle and pulled the nail out. This, however might not work for everyone. I can't afford to have surgery and caught it before they got really infected.

OK i had a ingrown toenail for two years. it's bad. it comes and goes. it used to be big, yellow and brown but now it's just red and bleeding and hurts. i skateboard and your toe is your balance. i need help.

i like the idea of poster number 17. if you don't have insurance, expect paying at least $50 to get it removed surgically. if you can tolerate the pain, clinch your teeth and yank your nail out. just make sure you go down far enough or it will be impossible to get the rest (get ready for excruciating pain and blood, and be ready with some peroxide, neosporin, some gauze and bandages too.)

for people say it don't hurt, that's crap. It's the worst pain I've ever been in! the surgery don't hurt, but the needle does. the needle is suppose to numb it and they like play with the needle in your big toe where your hair grows and the needle is in your toe for like five minutes. It's horrible burning.

Like I'm not trying to scare anybody but it's the truth. i had two, one on each toe, and now I've got two of them on each toe again! I'm so pissed. It stinks. i really don't want to go through the pain again but i guess it's worth it. and your toes are numb for like an hour are two so you walk funny.

Good luck with whatever you try!

I've had one for about four months now. It healed just before christmas but it's now the end of Jan and it's back and worse than ever. I'm going to try the soaking thing and if that doesn't work i'm going to go to my doctor. x

i have ingrown toenails on each foot. Go to the doctor and get some medication prescribed by your doctor. it will stop the growth of the nail bed. then place your infected toe in steaming epsom salted water three times a day.

if your toe makes no progress then seek medical attention to get it removed surgically. this procedure is often quick with mild pain. Make sure you wear shoes that prevent the toe from cutting deeper into the flesh. Thanks and hope i helped. good luck! :)

I had ingrowing toenails as a child and i always went to the doctor to get them out then he advised surgery.

i was keen to do it because i'd had it so many times.

i had one of my toenails removed and had the side of another removed and they put something in my toe to stop the nails growing back.

i have an ingrown nail in both feet and it just recently started to bleed. I had some pus come out before but now there is just blood. I don't know what to do. please help.

I have recently got an ingrown toenail over a seven day period. i went camping with the army and every day for seven days we were wearing Army boots.

When i got home i took of my boots and i had the biggest swelling on my toe. i started using betadine and that helped for a while. so i went to the doctor and had surgery. It was the best thing I've ever done. They numb your toe (you don't feel a thing) and in five minutes, it's done. You get home and it feels normal, like there's nothing wrong with your toe.

The doc says there a very small chance i'll get one again.

when i was little i had an ingrown toenail but i didn't even know it until my sister got one. hers was really bad. but by then i already got rid of it by just ripping it off with the toenail connected. it felt good for a couple of days then it came back.

it's been two years now and it really swollen and i really hurt. and i can't get rid of it like the way i did before. i tried cutting it off but that really hurts. my mom says to just let it grow out but it just keeps getting worse. I'm going to try the soaking thing.

If you haven't had one before, it just means you're active. I'm 14 and I've had one for three years. These steps work, and follow them correctly and you're sure to get yours gone. The key is that it's an infection. Take this seriously. In the second year of mine, it was bleeding. Yeah, that's how bad it can get.

dude! i have had these many times! the best thing to do is to get surgery! it doesn't even hurt. you can walk and be on your feet 2 seconds after the surgery! no pain they numb you up and you don't feel crap! trust me it's for the best of all of you!! i waited way too long to get mine done! and it was so infected the numbing process didn't work i had to deal with the pain.

my toe has been hurting me a lot for the past year. i don't know what to do about it, though i am only 15 and i don't know how to get rid of it and it doesn't just come and stay. mine actually comes for a while goes aways and does the same thing repeatedly. What should i do?

Hey, I am a Dancer I take ballet tap jazz clogging and modern and I have an ingrown toenail and I am only 11. I am going to follow these steps but I have never had one of these ever before.

i am a ballet dancer so i dance on my toes a lot! i get ingrowns so much but i can usually just clip them myself. i soak my feet in epsom salts. that usually helps. i should try a cuticle cutter. i don't have the time to get surgery. i have to rehearse for nutcracker.

I feel your pain -- literally-- don't want to have surgery. I wait until I can't stand the pain anymore and cut the nail myself. It's a hard thing to do because my nail can get imbedded in the skin. The comments are right --the ingrown nail can creep up on you, so keep the nail clean and keep your nail cutter very clean as well.

how is an ingrown toenail supposed to feel after it is removed???

I use the tip of a cotton swab its just the right size and fits nicely under the inflamed skin. I've had them for 15+ years now and surgery is a quick fix. Was told that the doctor can cut the nail so it stops growing and no more ingrown toenail. Well now the toe nail grows up half way and the spreads out an extra 1/4 inch into the skin until it reaches the top and kills my foot. I just do the surgery myself when I feel it right away, if I wait a day I'm screwed.

i remove my ingrown toe nails by myself. all i do is get a pair of toe nail clippers, then cut slanted on the toe nail then rip the cut piece towards where the ingrown toenail is at then rip it out i get it every time i have an ingrown toenail, but it's veryyy painful.

my friend had an ingrown toe nail as do I, he went to his doctor and he gave him a shot that popped a nerve in his brain and paralyzed the entire right half of his body, for about a week. he is all right right now and is no longer in the hospital, but be careful so that the same doesn't happen to you.

To all the people who are having trouble putting the cloth under their nail because the nail is deeply ingrown and the pain is unbearable.

Step 1: Soak your nail like the article say's and the the skin all soft.

Step 2: To get rid of the pain, numb your foot.

(To numb your foot, i suggest sitting on a couch cross legged with the foot with the ingrown nail on top folded as much as possible with something heavy placed on top of your knee until it gets numb.)

Step 3:once your foot is really numb, you won't feel most of the pain from lifting the ingrown nail and placing the cloth.

I have had surgery twice to remove an ingrown toenail, once was a removal of the full nail and the second time was just the side of the nail. The surgery is not bad as long as you have a good doctor that knows how to give a shot. Having the full nail removed is a pain and takes forever to grow back but it's all good, surgery does not mean you will never have it again though, I still get ingrown toenails a few times a year and remove them myself.

my ingrown toenails are really far into the flesh and being able to put cotton under it is just plain impossible. for one i can't get that far and number two is that y it hurts just too much? i did at one point have an infection in one of them but that is treated now. any advice?

well i have had one for about 4-6 months and i play rough at school. i am accident prone and i get hit on my toe with basketballs on a daily basis. when i get home, it is like dried up blood there where the ingrown part is. what do i do?pleasehelp me.

i've had a ingrown toenail for about 6-7 years. will it go away or not? i'm only 16 and i can't play football coz it really hurts. any advice?

I have had my ingrown toenail 4 like a year. I have 1 on each toe. I started 2 soak it then I stopped. Then it got worse, lol, but I am soaking it now so it's getting better.

my toenail is growing backward on its self and i am unsure what to do about this! any suggestions? because i have a terrible fear of surgery. any other ways? regards j.

I just had surgery today on my ingrown toenail (Big toe on my left foot). It's healing very well and the process isn't painful at all. The only part that caused pain was the numbing shot. Which didn't hurt but a little more than a regular shot. After that, my toe was completely numb and it was fun to watch!

I've had it for almost a year, and it only took 5 minutes to cure in a hospital clinic! I soaked my toe most everyday in epson salt and water, and it helped, but only for a short period of time. I'm in my younger teen years, and it didn't hurt hardly at all! So your best option is to just tell a doctor and get it taken care of! I guarantee you won't regret it!

I got back to my house a few hours ago, and I will admit, once the numbing wears off, it will hurt for a little while, but it's a small price to pay when it'll never happen again! My doctor said that there is a 90%-95% chance it will work the first time, and if it doesn't, the second time is just fine, and will cure your toe once and for all.

Right now I have a red cast around just my toe, and it looks kind of funny, but I can still comfortably wear my socks and shoes over it. Once again, you won't regret it!

I have had ingrown toenails on every toe for years and years. Thanks to my mother cutting them so short they curl and they are really painful. I was wanting to try the soaking thing, but when it came to putting the cotton thing in my nails they were just too curly. Is my only option surgery?

If you do have an ingrown toenail, I would definitely have it surgically removed. I had an ingrown toenail for a few years and I had been always putting it off b/c I hate the idea of surgery. It felt so much better once they had it removed.

By "putting the cotton under the ingrown toenail" the author means that a small wad of cotton (just enough to lift the toenail away from the skin) should be placed between the nail and the skin. The idea is to relieve the pressure of the nail pushing into the skin. Be sure to change it at least daily.

I need help on how to do this cause i just recently noticed that i had one and it only started to hurt yesterday. I am soaking my feet and i need to know what you mean by putting the cotton under the ingrown toenail. Do you mean like by placing it under the toe or the toenail?

pixiedust you hit the nail right on the head... getting them early makes ingrown toenails a nonissue for me. if i am lazy and let them grow in while they are barely noticeable, they end up creeping up on you - and then they can really hurt.

so, all i do, is pay attention to my toes - whenever i feel even the slightest hint of an ingrowner i snip it out. as long as i keep up with it, ingrown toenails (which were once big problems for me), are now trivial.

The key for me has been to _not_ wear tight-fitting shoes. But if that can't be avoided, I's use a cuticle cutter to cut the nail along the side where it's pushing into the flesh of the toe. The key is making the cut at the earliest signs that the toenail may be growing in. If it's too hard to make a cut, I'll make the cut after a hot shower -- the hot water loosens the nail, flesh and cuticles.