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Thread: Toenail gone

  1. #11
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Yep.

    Best bet if you have the time and money is to regularly visit a chiropodist. They can properly cut off any likely-looking nails, keep them trim, and will tidy/file any loose skin or blisters.

    I had all the things you mention... Loose toenails, thickened nails, and fungal infection. Loose toenails are best off gone and if it's possible they'll cut them down, otherwise you need to wait for nature to take its course. I don't think the raw skin underneath is that sensitive or painful to be honest, and it's only a week or two before it seems to get a tougher film, which I guess is the beginnings of a new nail. They'll use a file to thin down the thick nails, and your new tidy feet will make it easier to attack the fungus, but they'll likely advise you to apply Tea Tree Oil to the infected area.

    I see the chiropodist every 8-10 weeks and it's £30 a pop. It does sometimes seem a waste of time as now that my feet/toes are in better shape, it only takes 15 minutes for him to trim them down and thin the nails, but I think it's worth it if you are running seriously.

    Incidentally I apply surgical sprit to my feet at least 4 times a week, and still apply tea tree oil to the previously fungussed nails, prevention better than reaction. I now can get through endless hours of running without blisters, even on a hot day or if my feet get soaked 10 minutes in. Whether it's the effect of the surgical spirit, the natural toughening of my feet, or a combination of both, I'm not sure.

    But to actually answer your specific question, my chiropodist commented that if you go running in the mountains you've got to expect some "wear and tear" to your feet and nails, and unless painful, then it's nothing to really worry about.
    Last edited by Travs; 25-04-2017 at 08:10 AM.

  2. #12
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Travs View Post
    Yep.

    Best bet if you have the time and money is to regularly visit a chiropodist. They can properly cut off any likely-looking nails, keep them trim, and will tidy/file any loose skin or blisters.

    I had all the things you mention... Loose toenails, thickened nails, and fungal infection. Loose toenails are best off gone and if it's possible they'll cut them down, otherwise you need to wait for nature to take its course. I don't think the raw skin underneath is that sensitive or painful to be honest, and it's only a week or two before it seems to get a tougher film, which I guess is the beginnings of a new nail. They'll use a file to thin down the thick nails, and your new tidy feet will make it easier to attack the fungus, but they'll likely advise you to apply Tea Tree Oil to the infected area.

    I see the chiropodist every 8-10 weeks and it's £30 a pop. It does sometimes seem a waste of time as now that my feet/toes are in better shape, it only takes 15 minutes for him to trim them down and thin the nails, but I think it's worth it if you are running seriously.

    Incidentally I apply surgical sprit to my feet at least 4 times a week, and still apply tea tree oil to the previously fungussed nails, prevention better than reaction. I now can get through endless hours of running without blisters, even on a hot day or if my feet get soaked 10 minutes in. Whether it's the effect of the surgical spirit, the natural toughening of my feet, or a combination of both, I'm not sure.

    But to actually answer your specific question, my chiropodist commented that if you go running in the mountains you've got to expect some "wear and tear" to your feet and nails, and unless painful, then it's nothing to really worry about.
    Surgical spirit - so the "tough skin" approach - vs the soft skin approach - shea butter containing creams are recommended if you go for the latter. Blisters under tough/thickened skin are no fun. As to vaseline, I have never tried it, but it is said to go hard/dry and to attract/retain grit which then causes its own problems.

  3. #13
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    Thanks Travs, it's good to know that it may be possible for even my toenails to recover from their current condition. I have tended to assume that there is nothing I can do about the inevitable "wear and tear" of running up and down hills, and none of the broken toenails etc that I have had in the past have been particularly painful; but this one is different, so maybe I really ought to take more care of my feet in the future.

  4. #14
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    Bashed nails are just part and parcel. Lost count of how many I have lost. Mother nature treats em best. If you have a partially detached nail and you want to run, just bind it with zinc oxide tape. In fact, zinc oxide tape is a must have in any fell runners kit bag. It has almost mystical properties.
    I got a mahoosive blister on my heel last weekend. went right into the instep. The treatment is just to put zinc oxide tape over it. It makes walking painfree and when it falls off after a week or so, more often than one not, the blistered skin has magically blended back in. I swear by the stuff. If you are blister prone just stick it on before you race.
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  5. #15
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    Toe nails! what are they?
    It`s years since I have had a full perfect set can`t say I have missed any of them as to paying a chiropodist 30 quid to tell me what I already know and do I should coco.
    Blisters! I just make sure that whatever shoes I wear fit well and couple them with Injinji base layer socks and mono skin top layer sock, seems to work for me probably because the Injinji socks prevent skin to skin friction, even with wet feet this is a combination that works for me on distances of a 160km + I even use the same combination when multi day backpacking.

    Still we are all different and we all need to find what works for us
    The older I get the Faster I was

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeze View Post
    Bashed nails are just part and parcel. Lost count of how many I have lost. Mother nature treats em best. If you have a partially detached nail and you want to run, just bind it with zinc oxide tape. In fact, zinc oxide tape is a must have in any fell runners kit bag. It has almost mystical properties.
    I got a mahoosive blister on my heel last weekend. went right into the instep. The treatment is just to put zinc oxide tape over it. It makes walking painfree and when it falls off after a week or so, more often than one not, the blistered skin has magically blended back in. I swear by the stuff. If you are blister prone just stick it on before you race.
    Looking on the internet, there is plenty of stuff about using zinc oxide tape for joint injuries, and some on blisters, but nothing about broken toenails. Would I just wrap the tape around the toe to hold the nail on (and then take the tape off after the run)?

  7. #17
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    Thank you for your suggestion, Wheeze. I put some zinc oxide tape round my toe and went for a run today (34 minutes). I was aware of a feeling of pressure on the toe, but no pain. And I was running fast (by my present standards): all that pent-up energy from having only 1 run in the last 19 days.

  8. #18
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    Glad you were able to run mate!
    If I could be ar3ed I would post pictures of the state of my heel 10 days after putting on the zinc oxide patch which fell off yesterday...beautiful! (well, in a gnarly way - it is a fell runners foot after all!!). I have both narrow and wide tape in my kit bag at all times.
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  9. #19
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    What's more annoying than a toenail breaking off? Half a toenail breaking off. If I don't manage to get the other half off, the regrowth underneath will make a horrible mess.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

  10. #20
    Master PeteS's Avatar
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    One of the unexpected consequences of a hip injury and rehab is that I now have a full complement of toe nails for the first time in a long time! 😁

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