Ingrown toenail

I finally got my ingrown toenail out!

It's indeed GREAT relief to have it out after more than a month of torment. In fact, the word 'GREAT' or 'relief' is inadequate to describe how I feel about having the dagger out of my skin and flesh.

I was half-cutting and half-pulling the toenail out when it broke, and part of it remained 'intact' as a toenail, on the inner side of the nail. The nail had a sharp end then.

I waited for the toenail to grow so that I could cut it and remove the sharp end.

No. The second time I cut it, it broke again!

It became longer and sharper. When I accidentally hit my toe against a table leg or wall, it hurt like mad as the sharp nail dug into my skin.

Recently, it was starting to split the surface skin as it cut into the skin. That part of the toe was beginning to swell and redden. I shuddered at the thought of going to the doc to take it out. A colleague told me the doc would have to inject anaesthesia at the toe joint to numb the toe. And I knew just how painful it could be. I really didn't want to go.

Then for the past few days, it started to feel painful even when I didn't do anything to it. When I woke up from my sleep, I would feel slight pain on the toe. I knew it was because the nail was digging into my flesh.

Then I bought a small pair of scissors meant for trimming the cuticles.

I decided to try, with some amount of determination, to cut the toenail again.

I told myself,"I should bear with the pain with as much forbearance as if I were to visit a doc."

I cut the toenail with a pair of small metal scissors to create a wedge first, then I use the cuticle scissors to cut in. Surprisingly, it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. It was bearable. Then I dug the sharp end out.

What a relief!

The culprit

Not the cleanest toe in the world. Coco asked,"Why is there a hole in the toe?"