Heather Fell: You've clicked on this video, and that means the title hasn't put you off,
so that's great because we're going to be pretty open in this video. Sadly, as a result of running,
our toenails can suffer. There are many causes of black toenails, and thankfully,
the majority of those can be prevented. We're going to be doing our best today
to help you keep all of your ten toes and their respective nails
looking wonderful. [music]
Black toenails are usually a result of repeated force or pressure on your nails, either in a
direction from in front, above or to the side. It's basically like a bruise. It is dried blood,
so to speak, underneath your nail. Sorry, I said this video wasn't going to be pretty. If it is at
the next level, it can actually be a blood blister under your nail, and that will start to force the
nails to come up and can be incredibly painful, and also lead to the nail falling off. Sometimes,
for the mild version, you might not even notice it at the time, or even afterwards, and it's only
a few days up to a week afterwards when you'll start to see the discoloration in your nail.
There can be complications, though, and this is where, if you're squeamish,
cover your ears. Yes, I'm afraid we are going into detail here. If you've got that blister
under your nail, the pressure can really build up, and it can become excruciatingly painful to
touch. As a result, you might get to the stage where you want to relieve that pressure. Now,
you have to resist doing that yourself because it can become infected. You need to see a GP
or chiropodist who will do it professionally. Keep an eye on the area around the nail. The
rest of your toe, if it looks red or swollen, or starts to get hot,
that is a sign of an infection. Even if your nail is still intact, infections can occur. I'm afraid,
yes, I have been there sorry. That's probably an overshare, but just please be aware. There
is one other occasion when your nails can turn black, which isn't from a repeated force. That's
actually due to a fungal infection, where you'll need to have a different type of medication.
We've established that it's repeated force or pressure onto the nail or the nail bed
that is giving these issues, but why is that happening in the first place? By answering this,
we'll be able to start to work out how to prevent black toenails.
The first and most probably obvious issue is shoe fit. Now, if you are having issues with your shoes
and your nails rubbing on your shoe, then I'd suggest, as your first port of call, heading to
a specialist running shoe shop and getting to try on several pairs of shoes and speak to the
experts there. It's usually the fact that your shoe is too tight and it's going to be putting
that pressure on your toes. Make sure you've got the adequate space. I usually say a thumbs width,
but it will vary from shoe to shoe, so just make sure you try lots, and also try with the
same socks that you're going to be running in. It's worth bearing in mind, if you're buying
a pair of shoes ready for a race or something, you're going to be doing where it's much hotter,
then your feet will naturally swell a little bit, so take that into account as well. The slightly
less obvious cause is actually having shoes that are too big. You might think, "Oh, loads of space
for your toenails, it's great," but it means that your foot can actually be moving around loads,
and on every step, in theory, your toenails can be shunting to the front of your shoe,
so getting that extra pressure. You want to look at the width as well,
because if they are too narrow, they're going to squish your toes and maybe cause them to be on top
of each other, so they'll be putting pressure that way. There's quite a lot of aspects with the fit,
and talking about keeping your foot securely in the shoe leads me on to shoe laces and how you tie
your shoes up. You really want to make sure you've got an even pressure through your laces the whole
way up, so it's going to hold your foot nice and firmly. Obviously, not so tight that you're going
to lose circulation, but you just don't want your foot to be moving around inside the shoe,
allowing for any pressure or rub points. Do them up fully, and even you can use a
runner's lock at the top of your shoe or the top of the laces to hold it in place that much more.
As triathletes, you might be used to using elastic laces, and a lot of athletes will leave those in
for their training as well. These are super easy, obviously, for putting your shoes on, but it does
mean that your foot's not held so securely. Have a think about time saved over toenail comfort.
Then, you've got the type of run. Now, I know there's not that much you can do about the
typical running you have or what you've got planned, but you can consider the footwear
that you're using for it. Say you're doing some serious off-road, then you're going to make sure
that you need a shoe that's going to support your foot securely and give you that protection that
you need. When it comes to running downhill, it's really, really important to make sure
your shoes are held securely. Elastic laces won't do the job there. You want to have your
shoes done up properly, because every time your foot lands as you're going downhill,
it's going to be slamming to the front and just really putting that pressure onto those toenails.
Moisture can make the issue worse, too. If your feet get wet from rain or sweat, then
the skin becomes softer, as do the nails, and then they become more susceptible to being damaged.
Invest in some sweat wicking socks if you're prone to sweaty feet, and if you know it's going
to be a wet run, then you could even consider waterproof shoes. Your running style can also
play a part here. I know there's not very much you can do about it, but if you imagine, say, you're a
four-foot runner, you're going to be running obviously closer to the front of your foot,
so your toes are going to be taking a lot more pressure, but it isn't really something you can do
that much about. It's just worth being aware of. You might notice that some of your shoes wear out
around the big toe area on the top. That's a sign that you really extend your big toe
during the toe-off phase and the ground contact time of your run. That is something that if
you're wearing a shoe that's got a harder upper, that can cause trauma to your nail in that way.
Third on the list, we've got foot care. Let's look at the nails themselves to start with, and
you want to keep them adequately trimmed, because the more nail there is, so sticking out the end of
your toe, then the more area there is to get that unnecessary pressure. However, don't take it too
far because you don't want to add having ingrown toenails into the list of problems. A great
what seems solution on the outside could be nail varnish, and this is a trap that I've fallen into
before, because, as I've mentioned, my toenails don't look that pretty, so just cover them up
with some nice nail varnish in the summer. That needs to come with a warning because
nail varnish is apparently stopping the nail from breathing and can actually stop it from healing
and even cause a slightly faulty nail that wasn't too bad to end up falling off. It's best avoided,
although if you do have a special occasion you want to paint your nails, it's a good
idea to remove the nail varnish afterwards. The final option is silicon toe pads. Now, if
you're getting to this stage where you're having loads of problems and you've still not managed to
find a solution, I would suggest first speaking to an expert and ideally going to a chiropodist, but
they might prescribe having toe pads that can go underneath your toes or sometimes even in between
your toes just to reduce the chance of that added pressure on your nails. Apparently, some endurance
runners opt for socks that go over the individual toes as they can apparently be more comfortable.
Like I said, I've been there and I've got the black toenail badge. However, if you follow
most of the steps we've followed, hopefully you guys won't have the same problems and you've
got tougher toes than I have. If there's any methods or tricks that you know that will help
prevent or even help heal black toenails that I've not covered, please do share them as much
for my benefit as yours. You can do that in the comment section below. Give us a "Like" if you've
managed to enjoy the video on black toenails. Remember, you can follow us on our social media,
and you can subscribe on YouTube here. [00:07:21] [END OF AUDIO]