Ingrown toenails are very painful: I know; I have experienced the discomfort.
Several years ago I awoke in the middle of the night with a very red and swollen large toe. For me, this is a congenital problem in which the sides of my toenails have a tendency to grow into the tissue. Ingrown toenails can be caused by improper cutting of toenails, tight shoes or, for many of us, it is simply an inherited problem.
I tried to get more sleep but just rolling over on that toe woke me up. Now, you know what they say about a lawyer who is his own client... so I did not attempt to operate on myself.
However, I am very fortunate to have a friend, a fellow podiatrist, who jogs at 6 am every morning and is in his office by 7 am. At 7:00 I called him and at 7:20 I was in his office. At 7:30 the ingrown toenail had been taken out permanently (the nail root had been treated to prevent regrowth). In most podiatry offices this is the treatment of choice for ingrown toenails unless there is an overriding health problem such as diabetes or poor circulation.
After the procedure, I went directly to my office without missing any work time. The minor pain that usually follows, generally doesn’t even require a pain pill.
So do not neglect this problem: see your podiatrist (or be referred to one by your family physician), as I did, immediately.