Toenails...or lack thereof

No, I don't have any more pictures of hanging toenails to post. Don't worry, I'll spare you this time. After losing my right middle toenail a while back, the left middle toenail came off a few days later. Each time these nails came off, there was very little tissue still holding the nail to the nail bed, so they were easy to 'peel away'. (I was down 2 toenails)

Last week, I noticed that my right second toenail was separated from it's bed, and when I went to inspect it further, I had to cut almost half of it off. It was getting snagged on the sheets and socks, so it had to go. (2 1/2 toenails off)

Well, on Wednesday night the left second toe nail was completely coming off, too. It pulled off and was attached on the left by more tissue than you would normally want. It was a tough call whether to cut it off (with possibly some sharp parts of the nail left over) or just peel it off for a cleaner result (with a little pain involved). I chose to peel and suffer with a little temporary pain. The pain was similar to a nagging hangnail. (3 1/2 toenails off)

Peeling = bad idea for a runner

I went out for my 7 mile run yesterday, and noticed that it was a little tender every time my left foot struck the ground. Multiply that times the number of foot strikes in 7 miles of running, and by the end of the run my left second toe was swollen so much that it would not bend and the corner of the nail bed was oozing through my sock. I cleaned it up and tried to go to bed.

At 2:45 this morning, my toe was throbbing and so painful that it woke me up. I could hardly walk to the bathroom to try to clean it up again. I put some antibacterial gel on it and wrapped it in a band-aid. I also took 3 Advil to try to reduce the pain. Seriously, I thought about going to the hospital it hurt so bad. I thought that it was infected to the point that it would enter my bloodstream and that I was going to die. I tend to overreact just a little and become a hypochondriac.

Band-aids on a throbbing toe are not a good idea when you are trying to go back to sleep. It intensifies the throbbing sensation and makes you want to focus on your pulse instead of relieving any pain. I thought over and over about going to the hospital...it was excruciating. Eventually I had to remove the band-aid because it was so bad. For people suffering with nerve pain, I get what you go through. It is tough to focus on anything else. Thank goodness the Advil kicked in and I was able to wake up this morning semi pain-free. I will probably have to take more Advil today.

I wonder if any more of my toenails are going to come off...there aren't any more that were bruised at the marathon. I look hot with 3 1/2 missing toenails, by the way. :)