Got home from work last night and realized as I was winding down that my right foot was hurting more than usual. I put in amywhere from 8-12 miles at my job every day so I’m used to some soreness after a long day, but this wasn’t coming from the usual places. I took off my sock to inspect my foot and I found it - on the bottom of my second little toe there’s a clean tear about half an inch across, right along the skin fold where the knuckle is. It’s bright red, moist but not bleeding, and doesn’t look more than a day old.
And it hurts like HELL - not as bad as gout or an abscessed tooth, and I can still walk on it without limping, but it’s painful. I don’t think it needs medical attention right now because I don’t see any signs of infection, but I can’t just skip work for however long it’ll take for it to heal, so for now all I can think of to do is smear some Neosporin on it, apply a band-aid, and power through.
Anyone got any experience with these kinds of wounds or home remedies for speeding up the healing process, aside from the obvious keeping it clean and covered and watching for any sign of infection?
Get a toe cot. For shoe wearing. Put on over a well placed band-aide. One that won’t come loose and shift around.
There are brands of tough strips that stay really good. Curad, I believe.
Get the pain-free bacitricin ointment. Little bit of lidocaine in it. I like it.
No you can’t call in for a sore toe, but take care of it.
There’s liquid bandage but I’ve had no luck with it.
ETA…don’t wanna scare you but there’s a thing called a split corn. It’s a corn that has opened up and germs and junk get in there deep and it gets infected. Surgery required.
A +1 to this. I’m prone to hurting myself in my sleep from poor sleeping posture or poorly planned half-awake stretch, so I appreciate waking up with strange aches and pains. But figuring out how and why it happened and preventing it from happening again is key.
Not explicit in your statement is what you’ve already done to treat it. Neosporin or the equivalent is fine, but make sure (and I’m pretty sure you have, just as I said, not explicit) is to very thoroughly cleaning the wound and affected area, and then your hands, before putting on the ointment and putting on a clean bandage with the freshly cleaned hands.
Obvious stuff, I know, but just in case. I’d also probably clean it twice a day, because my feet get funky fast, and if you’re walking 8-12 miles a day, I think it’s likely the same for you. I have had more luck than @Beckdawrek with liquid bandage, but given the placement on a seam/crease on the foot of all places, it’s likely to be less successful than a traditional bandage.
That’s got me buffaloed. I never go anywhere barefoot (I don’t even like taking my socks off at home) and I can’t imagine how I could’ve cut myself there. Perhaps my skin is too dry and that caused it to tear.
I’m a diabetic, so taking care of my feet is a serious priority. And, dry skin in the winter definitely can and has led to cracked skin, including one spot under the second toe on my left foot that sounds exactly like where you have a wound right now.
The liquid bandage stuff never worked well for me, but super glue gel does – and, yes, my understanding is that it’s reasonably safe to use like that; ERs use a formulation of it for putting minor wounds back together.
During the dry winter months, I put Healthy Feet (a serious dry-skin lotion) on the bottoms of my feet, and in between the toes, every day after I shower. It helps a lot.
I stubbed my toes and ripped the nail right off my second toe the night before a skiing holiday. Probably not as bad as your injury since you don’t need to move your feet so much skiing, but I bought some gauze and surgical tape, slathered the nail bed with antiseptic cream, put a gauze pad on it held with tape, then more layers of gauze wrapped around the toe and taped so it would be padded and protected from rubbing.
Could you have athlete’s foot? That’s caused my skin to crack before, though nothing like the tear you described.
…I did stay in a hotel from Friday night until Monday morning and used the shower every morning. I’ve never had it before, but you may be right. I just looked up some Google images and see things that look similar to what I’ve got going on.
Toe skin fissures can have several causes. Understanding them can help with treatment and prevention:
Dry skin – The constant bending and movement of toe joints with dry skin can lead to cracks. A good moisturizer, especially one with urea, can keep the skin hydrated and prevent fissures.
Excess moisture (maceration) – Too much sweat combined with friction can weaken and split the skin. To prevent this, dry your feet thoroughly after washing and use a quality foot powder to absorb excess moisture.
Athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis) – A fungal infection that often causes itching, scaling, and cracked skin. An OTC antifungal cream should help clear it up. If it persists, see your doc.
Contact dermatitis – Skin irritation from an allergen or irritant, like a new soap or detergent. If this is the cause, switch to a fragrance-free soap and detergent to avoid further irritation.
Mechanical issues – Conditions like hammer toes or misaligned joints can put excessive pressure on certain areas, leading to skin tears. Protective padding can help, and in some cases, surgery may be an option.
Other skin conditions – Psoriasis, eczema, and other dermatological issues can also contribute to skin fissures. If symptoms persist, it’s best to see your doc.
Until the skin fully heals, keep the area clean, apply an over-the-counter topical antibiotic, and protect it with a bandage as needed, like others mentioned above.
IANAD, but having once had an infection that needed hospital treatment with IV antibiotics (in my hand, not my foot) I’m super-conscious about the risk of infection and its potential consequences. Putting Neosporin/Polysporin on it and protecting the wound with a bandaid or wrapped gauze is the right thing to do and probably all that’s necessary. My point here is in these sorts of things always keep an eye out for the possibility of infection, indicated either by continuing pain and/or spreading redness.
I’m especially conscious of this when you mention “moist but not bleeding” because a couple of weeks ago I got some really bad abrasions on my lower leg. I looked at them and thought, meh, no blood, no broken skin, just an abrasion, no problem. Boy, was I wrong! By the next day it was really painful, the actual abrasions looked like wounds, and the whole area had turned red. I actually considered going to the ER but figured it would probably be given low priority so I just kept an eye on it day to day and would definitely have gone if the redness had started to spread as I wasn’t keen on (for example) having my leg amputated.
But the body’s immune system is a pretty powerful thing and it seems to have settled down. I would not, however, be a prime candidate right now for a beauty pageant {of the male canine variety} in which legs were featured! It’s healing, but there will probably be some scarring.
Our immune system is remarkably powerful, and in most cases, a minor skin tear on a toe without signs of infection can be easily treated at home. However, if you’re immunocompromised or have a metabolic disorder like diabetes, don’t take any risks—consult your doctor first. What seems like a small issue can blow up quickly into a serious complication.
As for leg beauty pageants, you oughta get a load of my gams—meow!
Yeah, yeah, that’s what my cat says as she stretches her lovely limbs toward me on a frequent basis, and yet she’s simultaneously flexing all of her extended deathblades while doing so. Fool me once…
While we’re brainstorming on causation, I did not that this seasons I’ve had more dried, aching and chafed skin on my ankle. I traced it down to the lovely new wool blend socks I’d gotten at the beginning of the winter season. They’re warm, but they make my existing dry skin issues worse. So I had to change the rotation of socks so that I wasn’t wearing the pairs (clean ones) multiple days in a row and add more moisturizer. So, little things. Silly things. Look for changes (such as your analysis of possible athlete’s foot possibilities).
I absolutely love it for places that a Band-Aid may not stick, like a bendable joint or where the rubbing may be uncomfortable like the next toe over. From the smell I’d swear it’s clear nail polish.
Shoulda stayed in a Holiday Inn Express!
I prefer shaved legs, & those hairless cats are just…::shudder::
Band-Aid used to sell a liquid bandage product that was super glue, applied through a little sponge applicator (picture a Q-Tip with a sponge tip). It worked very well, but it must not have sold well, because it appears to have been discontinued some years ago, and now all of the “liquid bandage” items are just nail polish.
I’ll second the recommendation of cleaning your feetsies twice a day. Go overboard and soak them guys, plus add Betadine to the soak water.
Toes kind of curl up, and it’s hard to get the underside really dry. Prop up your nakey foot in the evening to let everything dry out, then bandage with triple antibiotic ointment.
Get some new socks. Don’t bother with wool blend with Teflon fibers, or whatever it is. When you have foot problems, the best is a white sock. Even the freakin’ dye can be an irritant. Carry extra socks to work and change often.
If you continue to have problems, get your primary doc to check your Hb A1c.
No new signs of athlete’s foot but I’m using an antifungal just in case. I thought it was starting to scab over the other day but I’m not sure. Messaged my doctor and she wants me to go to urgent care on Monday to have it checked out.
Duck/duct tape. I’m a little of a survivalist and willing to take some pain, so take this advice with however much salt you can manage. (Don’t however, put salt on the wound.)
Place some cotton wool or similar on the wound, tape it to your other toes.
So this seems like a stupid idea… but what it does is limit the flexing of your toe, because it is now connected to your other toes, it is not independant. This will help reduce movement of the skin in that area (they are feet… there’s going to be a bunch of movement. You want to minimise that)
I sprained my big toe several years ago just before a big hike. I duct-taped it to my second toe, took a bunch of painkillers and was fine on a 700m climb and 600m descent, with 6 days hike.
I mean, as you can tell from the above, I am not a doctor. But… duct tape. Not just for ducts.
There’s hydrogel pads that dancers use now-adays.
When I danced we used duct tape, mole skin, athletic tape, whatever worked.
Dr. Scholls was our favorite person.
It’s healing, but there will probably be some scarring.
