VHI’s Dr Bernadette Carr answers your questions

Recently, the toenails on my two big toes have been really painful and the skin beside the nail is red. I have a habit of cutting my toenails very short, could this be an ingrown toenail?

Pain in the toenails can be very uncomfortable as I am sure you have found. Ingrown toenails (onchyocryptosis) are very common, particularly in the big toe and may affect one or both sides of the nail. They occur when the side of the nail cuts into the skin bedside the nail and sometimes this skin can get infected and it becomes red and swollen. Females and males are affected equally.

Cutting the toenails very short is a common cause of ingrown toenails as is wearing tight-fitting shoes or socks. Other causes include an injury to the toenail or a fungal nail infection such athlete’s foot.