Swollen toe? Possible ingrown toenail?

I am sure this question is asked all the time.

the big toe on my left foot has a purplish color to it(the skin) like it is bruised. i keep getting told it could be an ingrown toenail but i havent gone to the doctor yet. i had the same problem on my right toe but it went away. the problem is, i cleaned it out and everything and there was alil bit of nail in the skin so i pulled it out. the problem is that the border skin around the toe. on the right side if it, it looks like a cut. but its too high up to have been the nail. its tender to the touch but no pain unless i touch it. i put some hydrogen peroxide on the cut. and put a band-aid on the back of my toe, to pull the skin away from my nail...

any help? is it a ingrown toe nail? could it be worse then that? etc. any help? if it is an ingrown or something, anything i can do without going to the doctor? such as salt water? or neosporin? etc.

thanks

It is probably just the nail, but it could be gout, which is caused by dietary factors and can be completely successfully treated. Gout usually develops in the joint of the first toe (i.e., the big toe, or hallux). It also can affect the ankle or knee. Common symptoms include the following:

Inflammation
Pain
Redness
Stiffness
Swelling
Touching or moving the toe may be intensely painful and patients often say that having as much as a bed sheet over the toe increases the pain. Symptoms of gout develop quickly (sometimes in 1 day) and typically occur in only one joint at a time. Rarely, symptoms develop in two or three joints simultaneously. If widespread symptoms occur, the condition is probably not gout. If left untreated, gout can damage joints and cause disability.

could be ingrown. if it's warm and red, it is definitely infected. put a hot, moist, clean washcloth on it, (or soak in warm water with epsom salts), then bandage with antibiotic ointment (neosporin). Ingrown nails are why they advise us not to clip the nail off at the corners but to cut straight across -- keeps the nail from growing into the fleshy sides.

The toe before this was ingrown but they would easily go away. But because this one is red and swallon it is ingrown and needs treating ASAP. Bathing it in salt does not work! See your doctor to get it removed, it does not hurt.