An ingrowing toe nail can be a very painful condition. It usually starts out as slight redness on the side of the nail but can quickly deteriorate.
If it is left to develop with proper treatment the body will attempt to get rid of the offending nail by creating an inflammotory response. A build ip of yellow tissue fluid may be evident. This will be observed as a build up of yellow liquid (pus) under the skin.
The next stage is the build up of hypergranulation tissue at the site of the ingrown toenail. This is a red puffy tissue and is an acute response by the body’s immune system to ‘eject’ the offending nail spike
Finally this hypergranulation tissue can build up quite alarmingly with associated discharge of fluid which can be quite foul smelling. Once it has reached this point the ingrown toenail will be extremely painful particularly when walking or doing any activity that involves wieghtbearing.
If the ingrown toe nail is left without proper treatment it can become infected. This is a potentially serious problem and can lead to systemic illness and a feeling of being generally unwell.