Losing toenails

[Booshay]

I stubbed my toe a few months ago

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

I stubbed my toe a few months ago

That is a whole lot more than just stubbing your toe. I take it you have seen a doctor and have healed since?

[BuckeyeBill]

Knock on wood, only showed bruising on right big toe a few times but never lost any yet. I do keep them trimmed using a large pair of clippers. I use the small clippers for my finger nails. I had a foot doc once tell me I do a better job than he does. I learned in scouting how to take care of my feet and never forgot it.

[Booshay]

More than a stub I joke. Calcaneous fracture, cuboid f., talus f., 3 4 metatarsal f., lisfranc f. I've hiked over 2800 miles since 2010, I sure hope I can get back at some point.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I stubbed my toe a few months ago

Walk it off!

If you don't mind me asking, how did those fractures occur? I'm guessing from the photos that you had surgery?

[Booshay]

Fella in a truck didn't see me he said, I was on my motorcycle. Foot was crushed between. I have 4 large screws in my mid foot now.

[rocketsocks]

I stubbed my toe a few months ago

That is thee worst stubbed toes I've ever seen in my life, I hope you got a lolly pop with that.

[rocketsocks]

Fella in a truck didn't see me he said, I was on my motorcycle. Foot was crushed between. I have 4 large screws in my mid foot now.

oooh, dat ain't good.

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

Fella in a truck didn't see me he said, I was on my motorcycle. Foot was crushed between. I have 4 large screws in my mid foot now.

Wow Booshay. To say that sucks is an understatement. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[Booshay]

Thanks, I may give kayaking a try, lol

[ChuckT]

I cannot believe anyone would think losing a toenail doesn't mean bad fitting boots or shoes.
I only got the 2 feet, no spares. Mean to take care of them.

[Theosus]

the nice thing about toenails is they grow back. I lost one after the foothills trail. It grew back. Sort of my fault for not trimming it before hiking. Ive never lost a toenail after hiking before, and I normally keep my nails trimmed to where there's no "white" shooing at the tip.

[jefals]

I've lost the one on my big toe twice. Once when I used to jog on a treadmill, but that was a long time ago. Last year I lost one hiking down a steep trail with shoes that were too small. New hiking shoes, I bought at REI. The clerk told me, "TRY EM OUT BEFORE YOU GO HIKING IN EM"...Did I listen....NOPE! I was coming down from 2500 feet, and seemed like with just about every other step, my right toe was slamming into the front of the shoe causing a lot of pain. When we finally got down, my hikin buddy told me she didn't think I was going to make it down.

I think my problem is commonplace -- one foot larger than the other. Ideally, I'd be wearing an 11 on my left foot and 11 1/2 on the right. On that hike, I had 11s, but now I have 11 1/2s. I bet there'd be a market for somebody selling hiking shoes where the left and right were different by 1/2 size....

[kidchill]

Just some thoughts on some of these posts. If you're planning on doing long term hiking, yes, you should bring clippers and keep your nails trimmed! I brought a small pair of clippers with me for my thru-hike and they served me well. At most they weigh 2ozs. You can gram weenie all day long, but I think 2oz to help keep feet your healthy is a no-brainer! I never lost any toenails while I thru-hiked; however, I did smash the hell outta my big toes by stubbing them. One time I broke about half the nail off, the other time I smashed the outer quarter off. And, of course it was the same damn toe, the quarter coming off right after the half had just healed back up. In terms of shoe sizing, I would be careful going up a size. If your shoes are too long, I would think that extra motion in the shoe would cause trauma as your foot slides forward, especially on the downhill. One poster recommended really sinking your heel back when you lace up, this seems like a smart thing to do. Also, you may wanna try and just find a shoe that fits properly, but has a larger toe box. I'm not sure of the exact physiology of losing your nail, but I would imagine it's repeated trauma, and possibly poor perfusion due to restricted flow from your shoes. I can't comment on the toe boxes of different shoes, but Salomon's seem (IMO) to have a relatively small toe box. Generally speaking they are more of a low-volume shoe, which is why I wear them. If you're looking for a quick read regarding foot care, I'd recommend "Fixing Your Feet" by John Vonhof. It's on Amazon and available on Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Fixing-Your-Fe...xing+you+rfeet

[birdy524]

I've never lost a toe nail....because my footwear always fits properly. I've been in the outdoor footwear industry for 12 yeas now. Some things to keep in mind when shopping for boots/trail shoes
1) There is no standard for US sizing...pays to learn your EU size but never assume that a size 9 in one brand is a size 9 in another or even model to model within a brand unless the models are built on the same last.
2)Your foot never actually stops growing...its just slows down so get measured on occasion. A good salesman will take 4 measurements (A)with (B)heal to toe sitting (C)heal to toe standing (D) heal to ball ... doing both B and C will tell them how "stable" your foot is D is important because shoes are design to bend in a certain spot if you have short toes sometimes it helps to go up a .5 size so that your foot bend matches the "break point" on the boot.
3)Long hikes/hikes with a backpack/long trips the foot muscles will fatigue and your foot will lengthen(muscles in the arch don't pull the foot back to its normal shape) in addition to swelling so size up accordingly
4)Consider some sort of arch support like Superfeet (no I don't work for superfeet) the support your arch and reduce foot fatigue

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

I cannot believe anyone would think losing a toenail doesn't mean bad fitting boots or shoes.
I only got the 2 feet, no spares. Mean to take care of them.

As a former ICU and OR nurse who has spent many a 16-20 hour working on her feet I value comfortable, well-fitted shoes above brand name any day of the week and have always been amazed by nurses who would tolerate ill-fitting shoes because of price. I felt that being able to still walk at the end of a double shift was worth $80-$100 or more.

The trail runner's I'm currently trialling were professionally fitted. I made certain my toenails were trimmed before heading out and was trialling using a liner sock to help avoid the hot-spots I had been plagued by. I suffered no ill-effects the 1st 2 days of hiking, both of which I wore the same pair of darn tough socks - trying to get use to the trail way of life it wasn't until the 3rd day I had the issue with the toes arise. I had switched to a different style of darn tough's and to be honest I even recall thinking they felt tight on my toes before I slipped my shoes on and even tighter afterward. I thought about pulling my shoes off and adjusting them but then figured that they would loosen up as I walked. They did not. Mea cuppa. I made certain they were loose the next day on the hike out and that seemed to help but the damage was already done. I could be wrong thinking the problem is the socks and intend to test the theory out the next time I go out. Will let you know if it is a proven or disproved.

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

I cannot believe anyone would think losing a toenail doesn't mean bad fitting boots or shoes.
I only got the 2 feet, no spares. Mean to take care of them.

As a former ICU and OR nurse who has spent many a 16-20 hour working on her feet I value comfortable, well-fitted shoes above brand name any day of the week and have always been amazed by nurses who would tolerate ill-fitting shoes because of price. I felt that being able to still walk at the end of a double shift was worth $80-$100 or more.

The trail runner's I'm currently trialling were professionally fitted. I made certain my toenails were trimmed before heading out and was trialling using a liner sock to help avoid the hot-spots I had been plagued by. I suffered no ill-effects the 1st 2 days of hiking, both of which I wore the same pair of darn tough socks - trying to get use to the trail way of life it wasn't until the 3rd day I had the issue with the toes arise. I had switched to a different style of darn tough's and to be honest I even recall thinking they felt tight on my toes before I slipped my shoes on and even tighter afterward. I thought about pulling my shoes off and adjusting them but then figured that they would loosen up as I walked. They did not. Mea cuppa. I made certain they were loose the next day on the hike out and that seemed to help but the damage was already done. I could be wrong thinking the problem is the socks and intend to test the theory out the next time I go out. Will let you know if it is a proven or disproved.

[birdy524]

to be honest I even recall thinking they felt tight on my toes before I slipped my shoes on and even tighter afterward. I thought about pulling my shoes off and adjusting them but then figured that they would loosen up as I walked. They did not. Mea cuppa. I made certain they were loose the next day on the hike out and that seemed to help but the damage was already done. I could be wrong thinking the problem is the socks and intend to test the theory out the next time I go out. Will let you know if it is a proven or disproved.

The problem was that after 2 days of hiking with a backpack your foot expanded. You should size up. Socks do take up some volume but I promise that your foot on that 3rd day would have measured at least a half size larger than the day you bought your shoes

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

The problem was that after 2 days of hiking with a backpack your foot expanded. You should size up. Socks do take up some volume but I promise that your foot on that 3rd day would have measured at least a half size larger than the day you bought your shoes

Thank for laying out like that birdy. Didn't think about it like that. When I go shoe shopping for shoes that I know will be on my feet for long periods of time, I wait and go in the evening after I have been on my feet all day because I know they will expandse during the day. But then I am not walking around with an extra 30 pounds on my back either. Will definitely go back to where I got my shoes and have them size me up a additional 1/2 size as we had already sized me up a full size to begin with. Any larger and I will have to worry about heel slippage.

[Demeter]

My hiking shoes are 1.5 size bigger than my running shoes, which are also a little loose. My feet swell up something terrible when I hike. OTOH, when I go downhill, my foot slides forward in my shoe and "catches" the seam on the front of the shoes, which lift the nail and causes it to die. It hurts something awful when it happens, which has been three times over the last few years. I could prevent it by tightening up the laces a little, but I'm too lazy to stop unless its a really big downhill

I just lost another big toenail, but it was from an injury 6 months ago. If you don't mess with the nail and it stays partially attached, the new one grows underneath. My new one looks rough and its half the length of a normal nail.