RunningAHEAD - Topic: blister/callous question!

littlem

posted: 6/22/2007 at 2:59 PM

ok, so an old blister on the bottom of my right pinkie toe (which i lanced at the time, covered for a day and then ignored) eventually became a hard callous which i occasionally shave back with a razor blade (pretty image, i know). i check it out a couple of times a week, and normally it just looks like a regular callous-- a hard lump of translucent skin. today i noticed that inside the callous is a streak of red-- top half looks like old blood, bottom half is still bright red. first thing i think of when i see a streak of red in the skin is "oh no! infection!" but... there's no swelling or any other discoloration, there's no feeling of heat, and most importantly, there is no pain when i walk or push on it or pick at it. which makes me think, "oh, it probably just started to bleed under the callous during my intervals the other day. it's nothing." i'm inclined to "it's nothing" it, but only if you all agree that if there was an infection, i would definitely feel something, too. what do you think? also sorry for the gross topic! Tongue

jlynnbob

You'll ruin your knees!

posted: 6/25/2007 at 3:58 PM

I'd watch it closely. Chances are if there is no swelling, you have likely rubbed a blister UNDER the callous. I get these sometimes and they are not as bad as a regular blister, as the fluid will be absorbed in your tissue within a couple of days. If I am right about it, you can try using an emory board to reduce the size of the callous (less risk than razor!) and hopefully keep the bilster from growing/reforming. I use an emory board every few days on my feet to knock down the growing callous material on a couple of my toes and on my heel. Good luck, Lynn B Oh, and if I'm wrong, it could be a spider bite from a brown recluse...good luck keeping the foot! (kidding!)

""...the truth that someday, you will go for your last run. But not today—today you got to run." - Matt Crownover (after Western States)

littlem

posted: 7/22/2007 at 11:51 PM

update-- followed your suggestion and just kept filing it down-- was looking much better in general (i think most of it got reabsorbed, leaving just some dried blood in a callous under a callous... sooo sexy, i know), and then earlier today i was reading something and absently picking at my foot ( again, so, so sexy) and a whole chunk of dead skin just ...chunked off. my toe looks normal for the first time since i was 15! let's see how long it lasts!

BadDawg

posted: 7/25/2007 at 1:14 PM

For blister/callous problems on my soles, I've been using KeraSal with good results. It's the human OTC version of a keratolytic ointment prescribed for my greyhound's dry/cracked pads. Keratolytic: Pertaining to keratolysis, the softening and shedding of the horny outer layer of the skin. A keratolytic agent is a peeling agent. I think you can get it at most drugstores, I found it at Walgreens.

E.J.
Greater Lowell Road Runners
Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

blister/callous question! (Read 2328 times)