Forums >Health and Nutrition>Losing toenails are not like losing teeth
I have never had a problem with toe nails. I sometimes wonder whether people are just used to shoes that are a little too small and that is a contributing factor?
Never loose them when wearing Vibrams but ALWAYS loose them wearing shoe's and it has nothing to do with shoe's being small it's all the fact that I run on my forefoot and when I'm running down hill more on my toes
Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson
Interval Junkie --Nobby
I lost 2 toe-nails on my first marathon. The course was flat. The shoes were actually 1/2 size larger than normal -- which actually just might be a sizing issue and not a length/volume of shoe issue. Hadn't lost any toes before that and it was quite a surprise. Basically, a blister formed at the eponychium (sometimes called cuticle) and under the nail causing it to detach and float. It wasn't until the nail underneath grew-out that the top nail fell off.
Now the topology of the under-nail is all weird with dips because of forming under the floating nail. I'm sure it will fix itself by the time my next marathon comes around.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
Too bad there isn't a Toenail Fairy. I'd be able to buy Switzerland.
Took my socks off at a bar a few weeks ago to show a friend my toes. (I have that Morton's toe thing, and those toes look like something out of an H.P. Lovecraft novel. Hail Cthulu!)
I immediately had a small crowd of onlookers staring, asking whether they hurt (no), whether that black stuff piled up underneath was dried blood (maybe?) and how often it happened (constantly). I should have charged admission.
As runners, though, does anyone really see this as a "problem"? Along with having to pee at mile 15 when there is no place for you to do your business in a discrete place. Or being caked with salt when you're done. Or puking after doing a killer hill. Or countless other thing that happen when you run. Or running through mud and muck because you think it's "fun". Bloody nipples (for the guys), body glide, bleeding blisters...Or going on an 18 miler at 3 AM because it's in your schedule and that's the only time you can do it.
It's part of the deal.
BTW, my shoes were 1/2 size larger, and I always had/have plenty of room. I used to work in a running store/sell running shoes, so I know what is a "proper" fit. (YMMV on that one)
But when you get into the full marathon range, and you're running faster than you're used to, and other things, etc., etc., etc, your feet swell more than with normal running.
It's not like you can/want to train for a marathon in shoes that are so large that it would be uncomfortable to run in them for the first 20 miles.
You just have to deal with it.
I guess you could stop after 20 and put on different shoes, but that brings in a whole different other set of problems.
Jeff
As runners, though, does anyone really see this as a "problem"?
I don't know. As I say, I've been spared this particular side-effect. I guess if it's painful or inconvenient then it is a problem to some extent. It might be one you can live with, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a problem.
I have broken my little toe and never missed a run ~ Still is purple most the time 4+ year later ... I would say the 1-3 days of pain when I cause the stress on my big toe and 0-1 days of pain on the other toes is minimal. The big toe nail usually takes 4-8 months to fall off ~ it finally pops off because a 1/2 to 3/4 toe nail has grown underneath.
Compared to any little tweak (achillies, calf, hamstring) this is truly nothing - not as bad a a bottom of the foot blister.
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
I can see that as a point. One man's (or woman's) problem can be something insignificant to someone else.
l
So I have a pretty bad pain in my second toe nail (next to the the big toe). It's not black or anything yet but if I go downhill and my feet shift forward in the toe box it hurts like none other. Should I go to the doc and see if he should remove it or should try something like icing it?
Losing a toenail is like getting a badge of honor they are your trophies!
I guess I'd have to be careful how I put this together otherwise I'd get criticized by some people how rude I am but...
THe only badge of honor you will wear by losing toe nails is how LITTLE you know about running shoes and you have NO idea how to pick the right shoes for yourself; to show you you only do whatever other people would tell you are good for you and have NO idea who to think for yourself.
Macho comments like this only create more myth that it's "normal" to suffer; that suffering is good; no pain, no gain...all that kind of BS.
yeah it's a problem, you can't go get a pedicure. I had forgotten until I watched the lady pause for a few seconds with her nail polish in hand, confused that there was nothing to paint. I have only ever had one hurt and I've only ever had two pedicures, so I guess life ain't bad. Mine don't seem to fall off anymore, even when I wear the same old old old shoes (x2) that caused the first couple to come off. It wasn't poorly fitting shoes for me, I just needed to man up.
Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.
My running shoes are always one full size larger than my regular shoes and I have tried multiple brands (New Balance, Brooks, Saucony) and have always had black toenails on 2-3 toes. I stopped running for 3 months due to a stress fracture of my foot and they all grew back only to go black again when I started running again.
Myth #2 just on this page alone. One full size bigger won't do the trick at all ("Size don't matter!!"); in fact, because your foot now moves around too much, it may even increase the chance of getting blisters or black toe nails as, I'm sorry, you have just effectively demonstrated. All the tricks people try to do--get one or even sometimes two size bigger shoes, tie it too tight, buy expensive socks (though this may help for other things), vaseline and all that... Those are nothing but a "filler". Just a surface treatment, placing a bucket(s) where water drops are falling inside the house. Unless you fix the roof, you'll only have to keep doing it. THE SHOE WOULD HAVE TO BE BALANCED AND FIT YOUR FOOT. My shoes almost touches the end of the shoe. I can count how many toe nails I've lost with one hand over 40 years of running. Being proud to have all those blisters and black toe nails are like being proud of a huge scar on your forehead because you can withstand the banging of your head against the brick wall. It's only badge of honor for withstanding the UNNECESSARY pain.
Joggaholic
I had 1 black toenail before, I got it because I had no idea what I was doing when I started running. I left it alone and it didn't seem to want to come off after almost a year later. It was thick and gross looking and when I finally decided to really look into it, I found out that the new nail actually grew OVER the old one. A pair of tweezers and a cutter and some careful cutting and scrapping fixed it...
Interesting article:
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/injury_archives/black_toe.html