My daughter needed to have both of her big toe nails removed due to them being ingrown. Since she needed some one to drive her I took her. And being a nurse I wanted to see how it was done. I was amazed at how easy this podiatrist took those tings off. If her recovery goes easy I know what I am making an appointment for. Mine aren't ingrown just huge from fungus growth.

How can they do that without pain or discomfort and how does that affect the growth plate? I can't even imagine doing something like that.

I have a problem with my toe nails coming off just from trying to cut them with toe nail clippers. I don't even feel it, they bleed like crazy, and it grosses out my wife.

I had a toenail removed a couple of years ago. The left "index" toenail. Had a nail fungus.

The foot doctor numbed up my toe, which hurt REALLY REALLY BAD to do. I now understand the whole bamboo-shoots-under-your-nails torture. I'd be confessing to everything including the Lincoln assassination if I ever have to have another foot procedure like that again.

Once he got everything numbed up, it was pretty easy and painless...finally.

My nail is starting to grow back, so he didnt get the entire nail bed. Hoping he got all the fungus tho. I dont want that back again. (mostly because I dont want to have to remove the nail again!)

I was pretty happy with the results once the nail was gone. I could go barefoot again without making people scream and run the other direction when they see my toes.

I have lost toenails multiple times from climbing injuries (feet hitting ends of boots while downclimbing steep trails) and there is nothing quite as "enjoyable" as losing a nail. Ugh! I spent all last summer growing a nail back that got bruised wearing shoes in which I could not feel that my toe rubbed. They do grow back . . . but they are ugly in the process. I covered mine up with Hello Kitty band-aids when I wore sandals!

And that bamboo shoots feeling, Erin -- I get that regularly. It is one of many foot pain sensations I live with. And I ain't talking . . .

If your nails are really thick/tough.... there is a way to trim them to prevent snapping them off the growth plate.

This slide show illustrates how to safely trim them in little bits, so the nail bed is not injured:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/HA00052

Okay, now I have a medical reason for getting pedicures! I look at it as a necessity and the toenail polish is just a bonus!

11 years ago I was having a new hot tub delivered to my home. The idiot's that delivered it sent ONE GUY to unload the 2,000 lb. tub from the truck and place it on my patio. I volunteered to help. DUMB!!! The idiot that was sent to drop the tub off did just that, on my right big toe. SMASH! That resulted in me having to remove the nail by my Dr.

The procedure was simple, the digital block numbing (yeah, that hurt like #@$@#). Then he simply used a tweezer to lift the nail off. Pack it up with gauze and there it is. It took about 7 months to grow back (if I remember right) and that's where it went bad. Instead of my nail growing back in the gentile crescent shape it grew back in sharp upside-down V. Ever since it's hard to trim, in grows constantly. Really hell. if I wasn't so vain I would have it removed again and have them kill the nail bed so one wouldn't grow back. I HATE feet anyway, (seriously have an anti-foot fetish) but in AZ, sandals are kinda mandatory. I would take a pic of both of my toe nails if you wanted to see how dramatically my nail is an upside-down V if you want, but won't do it unless asked.

Oh, by the way, I DID sue the store I got the hot tub from and my attorney cracked me up when he told me each body part has a value in court. Value of a toe was $2,000. We used that to take a cruise. A friend of mine bought a tub from the same store a year later, the delivery included 4 men to unload the tub.

I had my left big toe done over 15 years ago. It didn't really hurt until the numbing meds wore off. Then it throbbed so bad. It bled for a while as well. The best advice is keep the toe elevated for hours when is starts to throb. I had this procedure done because of chronic ingrown toenail. Even though it was painful for a weekend, and sore until it healed, I had no more ingrown toenails after that. It was and still is great!

or you can rip your thumbnail off on the veggie slicer like I did to impress the MIL. its feeling soooo much better!

My toe ended up getting a little infected after having the nail removed. It was ever so fun (not!) to have to soak my foot in Epsom salts to clean out the infection every day for a week or so.

That hurt just about as much as having the anesthetic injected into my toe.