after my first race in 2 years on sunday, i gained two black toenails (one on each foot, the toe next to my big toe.) a bit tender but not bad. went to attend to my feet and toenails last night and caught underneath the toe and a fair bit of blood came out (I suppose the black toenails were a blood blister.) I have since cleaned and put a plaster on but am wearing open toe sandals at work today to give them a bit of air. they are however a bit tender/sore.
my questions are
1 - is there anything i can do/put on them to relieve this soreness? i want to train this evening and i am taking part in a 3k on sunday and don't want to temporarily cripple myself.
2 - what can i do to prevent this happening in the future? is it possible i need to replace my shoes as it is 2 years since i did a fair bit of running and i have gained 3 - 4 stone in that time. would this have a bearing on my toe problem?
Sorry for going on a bit. And thanks in advance for any pearls of wisdom you may have.
Comments
I had a similar problem with both my big toe nails on a long run. The nails went black, they were raised and very sore. I had to go to work in flip flops in the middle of winter. I applied pressure on the nails so the blisters underneath burst, squelched the fluid out then bathed them in surgical spirit. They were clean and dry within a couple of hours and i was able to run again the next day. The nails eventually fell off, but never bothered me anymore after that.
Yes, if you're going to start running again i would advise a fitting for proper shoes.
Good luck with the 3k
I second LWJ - get fitted for new shoes.
Not much you can do about the toes now, but they will heal and grow out - eventually.
Keeping the nails short helps.