Ingrowing toenails happen when the sides of your toenail grow into the surrounding skin. They occur usually for four main reasons – cutting your nails too short, rounding the edges of your nails by cutting in a curve rather than straight across, by wearing shoes that are too small or tight forcing your toes to press against the inside and finally trauma caused by dropping a heavy object onto your nails or stubbing your toes. If an ingrowing toenail is left untreated then it can lead to an infection developing, causing swelling around the infected area, redness and in the most serious cases bone damage and nerve sensitivity issues. In these more serious cases nail surgery can treat the issue. Nail surgery is a routine minor procedure whereby a local anaesthetic is given to avoid any pain or discomfort to the patient. The offending section or the entire toenail can then be removed and a nail root treatment given to prevent nail regrowth occurring. We have done many thousands of these procedures with our expert clinicians at the ‘Bexley Foot Clinic’ and can deal with such issues for both adults and children alike.