Swollen under the toenail?

I am used to ingrown nails/toenails because I get them all the time, so I know how to take care of them. But this time I had my middle toe nail getting very swollen. I cut the part that seemed to be bothering the skin but it wasn't going away. Next day it was swollen all around the nail and I even could see white collor underneath it, which I never had before. I cut it again and eventually it went away. Only the problem was the swollen under my nail eventually disattached my nail from the skin and now I am hoping my nail will get back. I heard that you are supposed to get your nail drilled to release the swollen but since I didn't have much pain and it was so quick, I didn't go to see the doctor. My toe looks healthy and fine and I keep a bandage on it. Did anyone have a similar experience? Anything I can do to prevent from swollening underneath again? Dont get me wrong. I didn't wait for days to go away. The swollen happened overnight and now I have to wait months to get a nail back.Swollen under the toenail?
I've lost fingernails before and they grew back. I think the swelling was probably a one time thing. Maybe an ingrown nail that got infected.