Dr Bernadette Carr answers your questions on ingrown toenails and sleep disturbances

Dr Bernadette Carr answers your questions on how to deal with an ingrown toenail and how to get a good night’s sleep.

Q. I’m in my late 30s and the toenails on my two big toes have been really painful of late. Also the skin beside the nail is red and inflamed. I have a habit of cutting my toenails very short, could this be an ingrown toenail?

A. Pain in the toenails can be very uncomfortable as you have found. Ingrown toenails (onchyocryptosis) are very common, particularly in the big toe and may affect one or both sides of the nail. Females and males are affected equally.