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Monday, August 02, 2010

Toe Woe

Saturday evening, before I headed out for a 5 miler, I noticed that my right big toe was a little red and swollen and was a bit tender to the touch. I shrugged it off, put on my socks and shoes and ran my 5 miles. Then, on Sunday, I noted that the toe still felt tender and was a bit uncomfortable. Still, I ran 3 miles last night and it didn't cause me any pain, so I thought nothing of it. But, before going to sleep last night, it seemed to throb a little more than it had before, and then at 2 am, I awoke and it was truly painful.

So, this morning, I gave it a good inspection, and had Jerry take a look. I even went so far as to take off the polish (my last resort) to see if there was something wedged beneath my nail. Nothing. Neither Jerry nor I could spot a sliver or scrape of any kind, yet my toe looked like it was irritated and possibly infected:When Jerry left for work, I was almost certain I would be headed to a doctor soon after to have it examined. But then I thought about it, and my best guess is this: Saturday I walked into our newly destroyed bathroom barefoot and there were certainly shards of broken tile in there. Tile is like glass, so a small sliver may have pierced my toe and while it may not have been enough to cause me any pain, it may have been enough to let a little bacteria get in and the skin is inflamed because of a minor infection. Now, what's a doctor gonna do? There's no visible shard or sliver to remove, so an MD would probably just administer a prescription for a general anitbiotic, like amoxycillin.

I'm not anti-antibiotic, but I think sometimes the body can fight things off on its own, so I decided to take a "let's see what happens" approach. I took 2 Advil, and it felt better, and I figure I'll just monitor it in the next few days. Trust me, if it gets gross, and if my toe looks as though it's threatening to fester and rott off, then I'll go to the doctor.

In the meantime, yes, I still went running this morning. I only did 2 miles because I figured it wouldn't hurt to be conservative and not irritate the toe too much, but I wanted to do something -- thus, Viva La Streak! 44 days now. I can't let a little toe infection impede me now, can I?
Truthfully, I am ashamed to admit such a superficial truth to my "pain" here, but I think I may be more bothered by the fact that I now have 9 pretty painted toes and 1 naked one than I am by the tenderness and slight swelling. Like my flip flop tan line?

*If you missed yesterday's post on the giveaway, go check it out and leave a comment if you'd like a chance to be entered to win.

23 comments:

Charbelle said...

I'm amazed you have such great toe nails!! Hopefully it's what you think and this heals quickly on it's own! Fingers crossed!!

Krissy said...

you very brave girl showing your toes like that! hahaha...my feet are not nearly that nice looking!

SavvyFitChica said...

I would google a natural remedy- like pure aloe or something like that. I'm not exactly anti-antibiotic either but I agree that sometimes we just need to let our bodies do what they do best.

Good luck... don't let it go too long without getting it checked out though.

Jess said...

I hope your toe issue is nothing more than just a minor infection too!

Resisting Perfection said...

I hate to tell you this but my toenail did the exact same thing after I ran a full marathon from my toe consistently hitting the front of my shoes. A week or two later, the whole thing fell off. If it starts getting black, that's probably what's wrong.

lifestudent said...

Take it easy on the toe ... at least wrap it if you want to keep running. Don't want to make something that is a small problem into something bigger :)

Perhaps you need a nice foot soak! And massage....

Katie A. said...

I'm with you, I'm no anti-antibiotics, but sometimes letting the body heal itself is the way to go. Love the flip-flop tan line :)

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

You have great looking toes. Runner or not.

I hope that it's not but it could be damage from the slight sliding forward your foot does in your shoes. Streaking amps that up. Is your nail slightly red across it? You could have a bruise under the nailbed. Hopefully it can work it's way out without killing the nail growth. Otherwise, bye bye toe nail.

Unknown said...

try triple antibiotic ointment. or honey.

Anonymous said...

Whenever I have issues with my toenails (usually an ingrown toenail or infected hang nail), I soak it in some epsom salt mixed with water. It's cheap and you can usually find it at any store with first aid/pharmacy supplies. Hope it gets better soon!

JojaJogger said...

Ouch, that looks painful, hope it heals fast. Congratulations on the continued streak, 44 days is amazing.

Anonymous said...

You have nice feet! I've given up on covering my feet from the public, but I will not take a picture of mine. If the toe starts to feel hot to touch or the redness spreads, don't hesitate to get it checked out. But hopefully it'll resolve on its own!

Carly said...

OUCH! That looks painful.

Bloomington, huh? I would LOVE to meet up for a run...that is if you don't mind running slow : )

Agate Lake Girl said...

I had two toe issues this summer. I even had to wear one of Rylee's Hello Kitty bandaids on my pinkie toe for a while. That's an intersting flip flop look too! Hope yours fixes itself soon. And see you soon too! :)

lee said...

Maybe it's from your shoes? I've had toenails get all hurty and fall off. Hope your foot feels better.

Marlene said...

Ouch! I hope your toe feels better soon.

Sarah said...

Looks like mild cellulitis just like you guessed. Warm epsom salt soaks may help. P.S. just had to comment because I have flip flop lines just like yours because I live in coastal Alabama and live in my flops more of the year than not:)

~ Jill said...

A few months ago my big toe started to look like that as well. It was swollen and gross and I thought maybe ingrown toenail but it didn't look like it. I soaked it in hot water and salt a few times and while it took a bit the swelling went down. Since then the top of the nail turned a strange golden color (not bruised) and I still think it might fall off but it doesn't hurt and I ran with it like that! Hope it feels better soon.

Nicole @ Haute Runner said...

Losing a toenail is my biggest fear about running! I hope your toe gets better!

That's so funny that your student asked you why you didn't have polish on the one toe!

zbsports said...

poor toe nail...but you are a very brave girl...I admire you much..:D

Anonymous said...

all i can say is that you have VERY pretty toes- take care of them

Coocachoo said...

I don't know if you still update (I didn't check) and I know this is quite old but did you end up getting this checked out? I have this now on 4 toes and my doctor shrugged me off with barely looking and gave me a script for heavy duty anti inflammatory meds. I've stopped running until it clears up.
Any insight on your experience would be great xx

ToeWoe2 said...

If it’s cellulitis it won’t clear up on its own. I’m going on two months and two rounds of antibiotics. Get it checked out by a dermatologist.