I did a quick scan of the last three pages of posts and didn't see anything about this, but please forgive me if this has been answered already.

I've been running for the past year. I worked up to five miles at a time about six months ago and have been doing that two or three times a week since then. Recently I thought it would be fun to work up to a 10K, and then quickly realized that I could do that with no problem, so I decided to make my next goal to be able to run ten miles at a stretch (by February).

Monday I went out and did a six mile outdoor run, pretty level, on asphalt. I was wearing shoes that had been broken in but that I hadn't worn in a couple months, and honestly I don't know if I *ever* wore them for running (maybe the elliptical or doing an aerobic video or something). When I got home, my right foot's big toe's nail was hurting a little so I took my shoe and sock off and it was black and blue under the toenail!

I did a little research on line and read that I could have formed a blister under the toenail and that my nail might fall off! Ack! Have any of you ever dealt with this, and do you have any advice for me? I really don't want to stop running - even a week off will sap my endurance and I'm really motivated to work up to the ten mile mark right now.

Thanks for any tips!

Kara

Either the nail falls off or it doesn't. Nothing you can do to prevent it now.

If the nail hurts google to see how to drain the blood from underneath it.

This happened to both of my second toenails. Only one has fallen off so far, and I was fortunate that it didn't hurt or anything. The bruise happened back in May and it just fell off a couple of weeks ago, so it was ready to go! As Maria said, you can drain the blood from it if it's causing you pain, but I didn't do that because mine just caused a bit of discomfort when I ran here and there but otherwise didn't bother me. It was more about the fear of it falling off! But when it did, it just popped right off and didn't hurt a bit.

Oh my goodness, this made me remember a time about 7 yrs ago when I was helping my DH move a big heavy desk. He was walking backwards and I was on the other side. Desk was super heavy so I was taking quick baby steps to keep up w/him. As he was walking back he saw a power cord on the floor and nearly stumbled on it so he had to stop quickly. Well, he quit walking I DIDN'T! I rammed my big toe right into the desk full force. The pain was so bad that I dropped my end of the desk and started hopping around the living room like a lunatic! My toe was bleeding and raised up from the nailbed. Since toenails grow slowly it took about 3-4 months and the toenail started growing in black (think the damage and bruising must of occured way under the nailbed and had to "grow out"). I've never felt pain like that in my life and toenail grew in fully black but never fell off. It just grew so slow that it took a year for it to look semi normal again. After that I told him he could move his own desk!

Hi! This also happens to me from time to time, although I usually bleed from under my toenail for a few days or a week before it turns blue and then ultimately falls off (blech! sounds worse than it is). Try this: purchase some gel-like plastic tubing made by Dr. Scholl's or a similar company. You'll find it in the footcare aisle, and it looks like a little clear "sock" for your toes. You can trim the tubing to fit the afflicted toe, then slip your socks on. The tubing is quite pliable, and comforms to your foot so it doesn't feel too annoying in your shoe (maybe just a slight sense of fullness in the shoe's toebox). I simply slip one over the toe that is looking kinda injured and it helps to reduce any friction that has caused the injury in the first place. The other members are correct -- once the toenail has reached a certain point, there's nothing you can do to prevent it from falling off -- but nipping the problem in the bud A.S.A.P. can sometimes work to ward that off.
Happy running! Your efforts are inspiring!

Congrats! You are a runner! The black toenails happen for most of us from time to time. Some people are more prone than others, but it does seem to go with the territory. The best way to minimize the issue is to make sure you are running in the best fitting running shoes you can get, which are usually 1 to 1 1/2 sizes larger than your street shoes.

Here's a couple relevant links from Runner's World:

http://runningdoctor.runnersworld.co...-i-get-bl.html
http://galloway.runnersworld.com/200...toenailsh.html

Good luck!

Anne

Thanks for all the help! You guys are quick!!!

Kara

OK, I just googled the whole draining-the-blood deal and I don't know what to do. Have you all just left the toe be or have you drained it? It is rather uncomfortable to have shoes on after two days still but at the same time I so don't think I can stick a hot paperclip through my toenail.

Advice?

Kara

I leave mine alone and wear comfortable shoes for a few days.

Anne

You won't feel the hot paperclip. There's the mental hurdle to make yourself do it, but physically it's nothing and it makes the nail stop hurting.

In the meantime, protect it while you run. You can get little toe protectors at the pharmacy. I've gotten them at Wal*Mart before. They are cushioned gel slip covers with a an outter cloth lining that fit over toes.