Page:Why the Shoe Pinches.djvu/34

 being rolled up on itself. This pressure, moreover, acts on the whole inner margin of the nail, which must therefore also be rolled up on itself. The whole inner margin is in this way bent downwards, and in consequence of such distortion the skin, in standing and walking, is continually pressing against the sharp edge of the nail, and is thus kept in a state of constant irritation. As the evil proceeds, the margin of the nail passes more and more round, and presses more sharply into the skin, until it reaches that state in which it becomes painful whenever a shoe is put on, because not only is the nail now driven into the skin by the pressure from under, in walking and standing, but precisely the same effect is brought about by the pressure of the upper leather, even when the foot is hanging quite free.



In this manner the skin which is contiguous to the bent-up margin of the nail is always irritated and painful, especially after prolonged walking; by degrees it gets into a state of chronic inflammation, and may eventually become ulcerated, producing what is popularly known as "proud flesh." We have here the figure of a "growing-in nail," an ailment which not only interferes