Sound like a long and painful thing to consider but how does that compare to living in pain for the rest of one's life? My mom suffered with a bunion so understand your challenge. Sounds as tho you have recieved some good medical advice. EP

I have a huge bunion on my right foot, none on the left, so far anyway. I have scheduled the surgery at least twice and then chickened out.....the recovery period sounds like it would last forever and you are unable to drive for quite a while. I find some relief from wearing bunion pads (get them at Walmart), sort of a felt pad type thing with sticky on the bottom. My best bet, tho, is to live in flip flops and since I live in a warm climate I can get away with it (I'm way over the age when I worry about what others may think of my ugly foot!)and when it gets chilly I wear Uggs. A tough thing for someone who used to have a shoe fetish! When I do buy closed toed shoes I buy the wide width, of course, and you can have them stretched. One of these days I'll get the guts for the surgery.......

Starting several years ago, I had an ingrown toenail on my right big toe. GP did the side cut thing, and that ended that problem. Then some time later the same big toe began to have cramping pains, and got so bad I saw the orthopedic. doctor, who performed a surgery called 'Keller bunionectomy" though I have never had a bunion. It is similar to a replacement, but not really. He noticed the toe next to the big toe was leaning in on the big toe and he removed that nail. That fixed that problem. Next I had my left knee replaced, and while I was recuperating, I was walking across the tiled floor in the bathroom, not wearing that shoe I was supposed to wear, and I tripped and broke the "little piggy toe" on my right foot. Doc said you can't "set" that tiny bone. Later had my right knee replaced. My spine, according to my Rheumatologist, is a "mess." I refuse to have any surgery on my spine. So over time, my feet and legs have become very arthritic, making it hard for me to trim my toenails. A couple years ago I had my ortho-doc to remove the toenails from both big toes. That has worked out fine. So as of now I have ten toes, but only seven toenails. My big toes now look like two little pink sausages! I have just recently decided to give up trying to twist around to trim those 7 nails myself, and I have located a shop near me where I can get my hair cuts, and the peddies. BTW, next month I start the steroid injections, again, to alleviate some of the spinal problems, which are currently preventing me from driving. That old saying that when your feet hurt, you hurt all over, .is for sure right. Good luck to all with similar problems. Sue

A lot of safety gardening issues are double-edged swords. There can be no doubt that excessive sunlight exposure can cause melanomas, but sunlight is also something that all living creatures need. I'm guessing I am not getting the requisite amount of rays, due to the fact that I wear long sleeves and long pants as armor against insects and because I am often too cold but never too warm. Because my eyes are sensitive to light, I also wear hats with brims, just so I can see, but it also limits my sunlight exposure, for good or bad. I will never wear gloves while gardening, simply because I cannot stand them! And also there is a known benefit to skin contact with the soil, and nature in general, that out-weighs the concerns of parasites or other evils lurking in the soil. http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9099/the-surprising-health-benefits-of-going-barefoot.html http://modernfarmer.com/2014/08/dirt-make-us-happy-getting-hands-ground-better-prozac/ I probably shouldn't say this, but I treat myself every year or so for possible parasitic infection using equine worming products. Worms live in the soil, and I don't want them living in me! Once, long ago, I went through the appropriate human medical channel to treat roundworms and was subjected to lengthy humiliation and charged 10 times what the same drug in the agricultural community costs, and I said never again. When I get barbed wire or thorn cuts or insect bites/stings, I immediately pour hydrogen peroxide into the wounds. It introduces oxygen into puncture wounds and prevents or stops infections in their tracks. It is far more effective than anti-bacterial soaps (which carry their own health hazards, so much so that I have banished them from my home). Peroxide is always the best first medicine for puncture wounds, and soaking in hot water, especially with Epsom salts which will draw out foreign objects, is a great follow-up. Tetanus shots at 5 year intervals are a must for any gardener, especially for those of us who have pastured horses on their property at any point in time. We have only to mention that we are former horse owners to dissuade any reluctance on the part of physicians to give us out 5 year "jabs." Tetanus lives in moist damp earth so it is always a concern. The tick danger is perhaps the most serious of all, as well described by Dee.