Ingrown toenail

About 10 years ago I developed an ingrown toenail on the inner side of my big toenail. The initial treatment was an antibiotic which I had an allergic reaction to. I never did anything else with it and it has never healed. It generally only hurts when my big toe makes direct contact with something...and then it hurts really bad. Otherwise it is hardly noticeable. The skin around the nail has always been red and inflamed. A few times when clipping around the nail, some pus emerges from between the nail and skin like it is still infected. Are there any long-term side effects possible from allowing this condition to persist like I have?

[FootDoc]

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As you report pain, redness, inflammation and pus, I think that it's a reasonable guess that you have an infection, and untreated and unresolved infections are potentially very dangerous, not only from the less likely possibility that they will cause a generalized septicemia, but also because they are more likely to extend up the foot and possibly the limb, causing all sorts of problems which could even wind up necessitating amputation and even loss of life.

Infections caused by ingrown nails should first be resolved professionally by drainage and soaks, perhaps along with a systemic antibiotic, especially if the patient is at risk from certain other diseases such as peripheral vascular disease and diabetes. Then the ingrowing nail problem should be addressed, generally surgically in the appropriately selected patient.

You are playing with fire to let this situation go untreated by a professional. See a podiatrist at once.