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Black toe nails...! (Read 1310 times)

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

    Interesting...I never knew what that was called to have a second toe longer than the big toe--everyone in my family has it, including my hubby and child. All these years my dad has claimed it's a sign of intelligence (and I have to agree--everyone I know with longer second toes is more than a little on the nerdy side, LOL). Now that I know that, I will watch for black toes, too...though since I have wide feet I tend to have shoes with wider-than-average toe-boxes, so maybe black toenails won't be anything I will ever have to worry about. k

    Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

    remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

         ~ Sarah Kay

      Tom, If you can get Morton to take his foot back from you, he can have mine too, and some inflamed tendons, sore nipples and miscellaneous chafing sores. i wonder what he would like to give us back in exchange? Smile Charlie
        Well, hello all. I just thought I would chime in on the black toe nail topic since I was about to do some googling on the subject anyway. Glad to see I am not the only one with this particular affliction ( not that I wish poor toe health to anyone...lol) I just started running on the 7th of August for the first time since High School back in 1992. Things have been going relatively well ( meaning injury free ) for the most part. This past weekend I went on a 9.3 mile run and came back with all kinds of things going on. Raw nipples (learned my lesson on that one...wow...ouch) The top of my left foot feels like his has a bruise or something even though nothing is visible. It is wierd and actually rather painfull...but that is another post I suppose. The middle toe on BOTH of my feet is black to the point that I do not expect them to stay on. My toes are all the correct length (no wierd long middle toes...I teast the wife because she and all of my kids DO have long middle toes...so maybe it is me that is wierd......but I digress). The Nike Huarache shoes I am running with feel great to walk in and to run in for the most part. I dont even have to lace them up because of the neoprene they have all around the entrance to the shoe (I know I know that is probably my problem...lacing) I am the kind of person who will notice a rub right away most times. These shoes never seemt o rub me the wrong way...but I dont see any other culprit. I dont really have other shoes to try. I did another 5.4 miles today and the toes are sore again. I guess I might just have to build up so strong feet. My wife says I have sissy feet because I pretty much always have them covered and they are soft as a baby's behiind...lol. sorry about the long post. Since it was my first one I figured you all would probably indulge me. hehe Adam ps. Im more worried about the top of my left foot than my black middle toes. There is no discoloration or swelling that I can see but wow it sore to the touch and it was really starting to bother me at the end of my run...ok thats all. Smile
        2008 Goals --Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon --At least 2 Marathons (not including Canyon)
        vicentefrijole


          Raw nipples (learned my lesson on that one...wow...ouch) The top of my left foot feels like his has a bruise or something even though nothing is visible. It is wierd and actually rather painfull...but that is another post I suppose. The middle toe on BOTH of my feet is black to the point that I do not expect them to stay on.
          Don't worry about the length of your post, stormcrowe... there's plenty of us who are a little long winded (myself included) and it still all seems to get read! Wink I can't solve all your problems, though, so I'll try to keep this short so that maybe someone else can. Raw nipples: For most chafing type problems, I use either Vaseline (cheap but doesn't stay on as well) or Body Glide (Expensive, but lasts a long time). However, nipples are a special case where I use athletic tape to cover em' up (looks pretty scary!). However, if you're a hairy-chested sort, I've heard there are special round-bandaid things that can be removed with a little less pain. Top of foot: I don't know if this is helpful, but I had a similar experience when I laced my shoes too tight once before a long run. When I got home, my foot was sore on top, swollen, and I think I had some minor bruising. It wasn't chafing, though... all the inflammation was internal... basically the tendons on the top had been pushed against each other too tight. With ice and keeping my shoelaces loose, I recovered in about a week. However, you say you never lace your shoes ( a problem?) so this might not be the same for you, unless the neoprene stuff is really tight or something? Black toes: Though this isn't bothering you as much, it seems like you might want to figure out what's wrong... toenails shouldn't fall off, ideally. Big grin I can't figure it out, but I suspect that running without your shoes laced completely might be involved. Do you think your foot is sliding around in there? In that case, your toes might be jamming into the toebox (even just a little) with every step. Alternately (since your injured toe isn't your longest) maybe the top of your toebox is creasing and rubbing the top of those toes? That happens to me a bit, but I've never lost nails over it... Hopefully someone else will have some better ideas for you. Tongue Happy Trails!
            THanks for the reply. I wonder if there are any decent running sandals out there that I might try. If I can take the "toe box" out of the equation I might figure something out. These shoes are probably too loose. I keep them that way because for everyday use ( my running shoes are my everyday shoes) my feet hurt at the end of the day if they are even a little tight...sissy feet. I agree with you on the toenail thing. I should probably make it a goal to KEEP them...lol. There is still not pain involved with them right now...they are just discolored. THe top of the foot thing is a pain in the...well...foot. I dont think I can even run today and I am worried about tomorrow. I am off to such a good start and I dont want to stop. I suppose I could get the bike out and cross train...(not as much fun since I am in running mode right now) Anyway, thanks again. Adam
            2008 Goals --Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon --At least 2 Marathons (not including Canyon)
              I've been doing a little research on the black toe thing since I've about decided to do a marathon next spring. One thing that I hadn't heard before was that your shoes might be fitted properly but your socks might be too thick and causing your toes to be crowded. I've not had any problems with black toes while training for my half marathons. Luckily apparently, because I always though thick socks would be a *good* thing.


              You'll ruin your knees!

                Reading through this post, I was thinking socks might be the problem, but tbarton? made the point already. I also made this point to Laura, who posted about numb toes...it is easy to overlook the socks...EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT and then try some new things! The top of foot thing is likely too tight shoes (lacing)...it will pass, it is painful, I don't think running on it will hurt it (not a doc, so you get what you pay for). Finally, the black toe thing...I believe that shoes, sox, feet can be perfect and you can still get black toe-nails. I think it is a long-run thing and maybe aggravated by the runner "clawing" the bottom of his/her shoe. I sometimes catch myself "gripping" the road a bit, resulting in a clawing motion on the bottom of my shoes with my toes, particularly my second toe (which is not longer than it should be...but I'm still quite smart KirstenTongue). I have to first recognize the habit and conciously stop doing it! Still, I have two black toenails as I type this. My wife won't let me go anywhere with open-toed sandals cause my toes are so bad (I don't think they're all that bad). BTW, I have heard a couple of cases where runners have had offending toenails REMOVED to avoid the constant battle with nails coming/nails going...guess that's always an option. Lynn B

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

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