Hi Belindarella,

owch - ingrown toenails are the worst! In my experience, one of the best tips for preventing them is to make sure you aren't cutting your toenails too short - so maybe watch out for this next time you get a pedicure!

Here's an article you may find useful as well:

http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/feet/feet-care-foot-treatments/how-to-get-rid-of-ingrown-toenails-7877

I hope this helps!

bh's Beth x

I like to keep my toenails short, so I've had the problem (mildly) on occasion. Usually the nail simply grows out, past the painful spot.

Once I had this problem & the nail cut into the skin & became infected. I had to have the toenail completely cut out under local anaesthetic at the doctors. This was relatively simple, but I make sure not to cut my toenails too short at the sides now. Trimming them too close has always been the problem for me. I haven't even come close to having this problem since I stopped cutting them SOOO short.

I've struggled with them for years, particularly on my big toes. It is one of my big fears to have to have them removed surgically, so I'm trying to not let it get that bad! I've learned that I need to keep them a bit longer than I used to cut them in the past, whatever length you can have where it is just slightly longer than the toe itself. I cut mine as straight across as I can, even though it is mighty tempting to cut them round to get rid of large side areas. I've been having a bit of trouble with my smaller toes lately, unfortunately I think it's the shoes I now wear to work, but I'm forcing myself not to buy new ones until I find a new job (but that's unrelated, haha!)

I had my big left toe nail operated on under general anaesthetic 14 years ago and they cut 1 cm above my nail bed, scrubbed it so it was damaged it so then it doesn't grow back. That night it felt like my toe was on fire so that's why I haven't rushed back. My doctor cut it out numerous times in the chair but it got infected and never, ever got better so I did the knocked out in hospital.

So now my right foot is ingrown. I have been dealing with this ingrown toenail for a couple of years now. It has fully grown out but the nail now digs in because that is what it has been doing for the last 2 years so it doesn't know any better.

So I found this forum and I now have an emla patch on and I am getting ready to trim the side down. I'm going to pray or what I think that will work that it helps. I have no infection present so fingers crossed!

My son (now 22) had an ingrown toe nail problem on his left foot - he was always wearing school shoes or sports shoes - hates thongs so his feet would never breathe.

After many infections his GP referred us to a general surgeon who was wonderful. An elderly gent who'd had the problem himself and said it needed to be fixed and best to do the other later on.

All went well with the left big toe (he was 15) but a year later the right big toe flared up - so back we went.

Had no problems since - worth it.

So it has been approximately 4 weeks since I started lifting the ingrown toe nail up with cotton wool. My nail was long but because it was ingrown for so long it was making the side of my toe bleed. So I was attempting to flatten it out with the cotton wool.

I worked out that the best cotton to use was a cut off cotton bud minus the plastic tip inside. I used toenail clippers to cut it off and then pulled to cotton off the end, rolling it back into a little ball. Pulled the corner of my nail up and pushed it up as far as I could but I also made sure it went under the side of my nail to stop the nail cutting in.

I am pleased to say it has fixed the problem!!! Well worth a try ladies, I have had this problem for a couple of years so I am over the moon!

Yay M8 for reminding me!