Thursday, March 11, 2010

Ouchy Toe

Warning: You may find this post gross. Because, well, it is gross. It is about runner toe ailments. Toenails. Maybe even fungus. If too much for you to stomach, please move on.

With that said - Seriously. Ouch. I have dealt with many a black toe nail. And to my family's great dismay (and frankly disgust), I have no problem yankin' em off and waiting for them to grow back. I have actually found it is a great relief to do so. But alas, Mizuno decided to take all cushioning out of the forefoot in their Alchemys in their last "upgrade" so I have switched to the Nike Nucleus this season. Better cushioning (although takes a while to break the shoes in b/c so much cushioning causes numb feet for me). And they provide the support I need. Down side? Narrowish toe box*. And I say that with an asterisk b/c my right foot is technically a half size bigger than my left (yeah, I'm freaky like that). But if I go wide, or a half size up, my poor little left foot is swimming. So it is what it is.

Getting to the point (thank you, Mindi), one of my toes on my R foot (4th man down, aka pinky's neighbor to the left) has been increasingly bugging me lately. Not a black toe, but getting thicker (yeah, ick). After my long run last week, it started turning black. So, per normal, I started picking at it and drained it. Cool. No longer black. But it is still "thick" and hurts like crazy (didn't help I went to court today so had on heels). I Googled toe fungus, etc. and it doesn't look like that, but it hurts and I don't want it to turn into a chronic problem.

Anyone have any experience / suggestions?

Thanks, and sorry again for TMI.

6 comments:

Maria said...

Oh man can I relate. First off my right foot is bigger than the left and big guy on that foot seems to always fall off in a training cycle or at least every other cycle. He got all crazy black mid year '09 but didn't fall off. In retrospect I should have encouraged it a bit more to come off b/c a new guy grew in underneath in that "thick mode" and I had to do some work to get the old guy off but that's been awhile now. And... (god this is gross) the new guy still isn't coming in right.

I don't think it's a fungus situation for either of us b/c I've done some research too but I think the new growths were impeded and might take longer (I hope! - man I need that big guy if I ever hope to wear flip flops again)

Jen Jones said...

Ha, my right foot is bigger, too!

My toes are a disaster, total disaster. I grew up on a farm riding my horses and did that until a few years ago, my feet have been mushed, stitched and broken with a ton of nails lost well before I even started running, they had no chance! My right big toenail wasn't even supposes to ever grow back after a bad incident and major damage to the nail bed about 10 years ago, it's here but it's not pretty and my right big toe nail isn't right from when I was like 9 and at a horse show down in OK (first ever trip to a trauma center, yikes!). It's there but it's super thin.

Mindi, I do the same thing. I'll drain a swollen toe and yank off a nail if I know it coming off anyway. I'd rather have a few seconds of pain over a super sore nail for weeks.

My theory is that the runner's body is worth the runners feet :)

Mindi said...

Haha. And Ew. :) Glad I am not alone and am in fact in quite good company.

I agree it is worth it for the feet to take one for the team. My backside certainly thanks them. :D

Greg said...

My family is so repulsed by my feet, they make me wear sock.

My advise: ditch the Nikes. I have fairly wide feet and Mizunos are perfect. Nike's seem ridiculously narrow. If you don't eliminate the cause, you're going to have problems. If you can't find a good Mizuno model, I've heard (from an Asics sales guy at an expo strangely enough) that Brooks are a good option.

Mindi said...

I am really hoping the next version of Mizunos that come are are better. I am so bummed at their last "upgrade."

Quinto Sol said...

You already know that it is a fungal infection. Get a prescription from your Doc and be done with it.

You can prevent them by thoroughly drying your feet after showering. Hope this helps.