Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with toes

Save my feet from blisters

Tomorrowful — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:24:49 -0800

[GrossFootStuffFilter] I just started walking (a lot more than I used to) and I'm constantly developing blisters all over my toes. Help! Just switched from a Suburban, drive-everywhere lifestyle to an urban, walk-with-occasional-subways one. My (New Balance 811) shoes never bothered me before... but now that I'm walking 2-4 miles a day, I'm getting painful blisters - nearly all of them where skin rubs against skin, not against sock/shoe.

It's even stranger because with shoes that fit pretty much the same, (also NB, different model) back when I was in college, I walked just as much (or more!) with no ill effects. I can wiggle my toes around in the shoes; they've got a breathable mesh and are meant for running (though I never run, just walk.)

I've never had to pay attention to my feet before, so this is both weird and frustrating - please help me stop getting blisters, both in the short-term and long. What might be different about my current shoes compared to my old ones?

Dogs with missing toes, with this be a problem in the future?

jkl345 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:56:02 -0800

I'm considering adopting a greyhound dog missing a toe on it's front foot (the one on the right side, so it's 'pinkie' in human terms). It doesn't seem to hobble or act weird about it, it does sometimes tend to lean on the other three toes (so they kind of curve a bit more than they probably should), as if the fourth one was there. I actually didn't even notice it until someone told me the first time I met the dog. Anyone have experience with dogs with missing toes? Will this cause problems in the future, like arthritis or the loss of ability to walk? What should I look out for? The greyhound agency had the dog checked out at a vet for all the shots and everything and they tell me it's ok. I'm a little apprehensive though. Thanks for your help!

Numb big toes

holympus — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:16:40 -0800

The tips and the outer sides of both my friend's big toes are numb. It started about a week ago, maybe more. What could the cause be? She is training for a marathon, and she wears high heels to work most days of the week. Could her shoes be making the tips of her toes numb by pinching a nerve? I googled around but nothing seems promising...has anyone else had experience with this?

Chances our child would inherit husband's deformed toes?

Enroute — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 12:45:04 -0800

My husband has deformed toes. What are the chances that this will be passed on to our child if we have one? My husband's toes vary wildly in length--in particular, his 4th toe is longer than all the rest, and all of his toenails are kind of squashed and distorted. Apparently the rest of his family all have normal toes. What could have caused this, and what are the chances (yes, I'm looking for numbers here, if possible) that this deformity would be passed on to our child?

I promise never to walk for miles in flip-flos again if this pain goes away.

mwachs — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 05:12:05 -0800

I walked around in flip-flops all day, and now my big toes really, really hurt. So I´m doing one of those "backpack-for-awhile" trips, and while in Barcelona I ran out of socks. "Easy enough, " I thought, "I´ll just walk around in my flip-flops and do laundry tonight." So I walk all day (Thursday)--with a bit of mild hiking up to the big park there--and my toes really started to hurt. I took it easy that night and pretty much stayed in, walked in shoes the next day and the same thing happened. I guess, technically, the pain never went away.

It hurts most when I try to rub my big toe on top of the toe next to it. I´m not sure if that´s a common thing to do, so I understand I could be freakish for that, but the same movement/bendability is also needed for walking. So basically it hurts to walk. This morning when I tried to flex my big toes it really felt like my tendons running up the to of my feet were dry rubberbands. It was painful (and mildly nauseating).

My questions are:
A) What did I do?
B) If I spend a couple of days off my feet will it go away?
C) Can I rub out the pain/put leeches on my feet/etc. to get out the pain while I´m travelling?
D) If I can't do anything to solve it, will I do any pemanent damage by continuing to walk without treatment?

I 'm travelling until May 2nd, so this will be quite the bummer, potentially.

I also realize someone might have asked a similar question a few months ago, but perhaps are problems are different/maybe there's some new toe-pain specialist to the scene.

Kids: never walk all day in flip-flops,
Mike

My feet stick out. Help me fix them.

soulbarn — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:26:26 -0800

I need to fix my feet. For as long I can remember, my feet have stuck out (supination.) I have super-high arches - you can barely see the inside portion of my feet on a foot print. I find it nearly impossible to hold my feet together parallel and flat (inner heel to inner heel, big toe to big toe) - they rotate upward and outward, instead. If I manage to get my feet in something close to that position, my toes get goofy, pointing in multiple directions. I want to learn how to straighten my (bare) feet when walking and hold them together, flat, the way I described...

Why can induce muscle cramps in my feet so easily?

tomble — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:25:18 -0800

I can induce foot cramps really easily - why? I've always been able to induce foot cramps very easily.

All I have to do is either curl my big toe down - more like I'm trying to point the second joint down than curl it, and the big muscle in the arch locks up tight and hurts. If I sort of point my toes together as if they were going into a narrow toe shoe and hold them there, more muscles across my feet lock up.

It also can happen when I am kneeling down, because of the angle my toes are pushed into.

Now, this doesn't worry me. It can be stopped pretty easily, and I even find myself doing it consciously while lying in bed (the tendons kind of creak back into relaxation as it ends, and it feels cool!). It's also not a terrible pain, and though I'm not a masochist I kind of enjoy the experience.

I just wonder why this should be. My feet have done it for as long as I can remember, I have a balanced diet, walk a fair bit and don't have any real health issues. Unwanted cramps are pretty rare, and not very severe.

Does anyone else share this weird foot cramp problem, or have an explanation for it? I've looked around and not seen much information other than about general muscle cramps

What's up with my toes?

rikhei — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 01:06:51 -0800

What's up with my toe/foot? I often experience pain in my right foot, specifically the area around my big toe. The toe itself often hurts, and feels like I've stepped on it or stubbed it. I also experience pain in what feels like the muscle connecting that toe to my ankle. The pain seems isolated to the "top" of my toe and foot.

This pain seems to appear most often when I'm putting a lot of pressure on it. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the way I drive; I tend to manipulate the pedals with the top part of my foot because I feel I have more control that way. The angle of my foot is such that most of the pressure seems to be on the big toe and the toe next to it. The pain also appears when I walk too much.

The other possible explanation I'm considering is that it's related to plantar fasciitis (which I have been diagnosed with). The only explanation thus ruled out is gout (according to a doctor).

I've recently changed jobs and am still waiting for my new insurance to come through, but when it does, I do plan on following up on this problem with a doctor. In the meantime, two questions:

1. Does my "the pain is caused by driving or similar pressure" explanation sound plausible? If not, any thoughts on what could be causing the pain?

2. Any recommendations on what I can do to prevent or relieve this kind of stress on my toes? Stretches? Suggestions on learning how to manipulate the pedals of my car in a different way?

Why are my toes so cold (only some of the time)?

kimota — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:44:40 -0800

How do my toes know how cold it is--outside? My family keeps our house pretty close to the same temperature year 'round (about 66 in the cold of winter up to 73 in summer, but usually closer to 70-72), and there are times when it's 66 at night in the summer, and I freakin' love it.

But why do my feet (especially my toes) get so darn cold when I go to bed on nights when it's especially cold outside but my idea of perfectly comfortable inside?

TLC, my friend, and her toes.

nitsuj — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:04:57 -0800

Apparently an old friend of mine was on some TLC show, but I'm not sure which one, or when. Can you help? Her name is Rachel (6' blonde girl) and she was (at some point) talking about her toe(s) being chopped off by a door. Strange, eh? I would guess that it aired in the passed 6 months. That's all the info I have... sorry! Anyone out there happen to see this?