My big Toe

[percious]

My big toe has been kind of numb ever since Marcy. Anybody ever have this happen to them? I'm not sure what could be going on. Will it go away?

-percious

 

[Jay H]

How long ago was Marcy? I've stubbed my big toe before and it's gone numb but it's always gone back to normal within a few hours.

Perhaps a pinched nerve? (see the thread below on Morton's Neuroma perhaps?)

Jay

 

[DougPaul]

Extreme chilling (close to, but not actually freezing) can cause nerve damage. Of course, freezing can too...

Doug

 

[Paul_Bear]

Boots that are too tight can cause this also. I had this happen years ago when we did some climbing in the Cascades and used our plastic boots for the approach hikes. My big toes were numb for several months afterward but eventually recovered. I believe the pressure point wasn't so much on the toes but on the inside of the foot at the base of the big toe near the ball of the foot. Using the same boots on snow has never caused me any problems, but I've avoided using them on snow free trails since.

I've read somewhere that this isn't uncommon.

 

[Rick]

Percious - Could you have bruised it inside you boot and now have fluid build up inder the toenail? This has happened to me before and It might not always change color when this happens.
The pressure uinder the nail could cause your toe to feel numb. If this is the case, you could always try piercing the nail with a needle to see if it releives pressure (and fluid) or go see your PCP.
Good luck

 

[jfb]

I've had it happen several years ago and it took about a month to get better. In my case, it seemed to happen as I was hiking downhill in cold weather and as my feet would slide forward slightly inside my boots the toes would jam into the inside of the boot. This caused the bold flow to decrease and the toes got cold and numb. I may have some minor nerve damage, but nothing significant.

 

[percious]

Ok, well I may have jammed it, who knows. I bought my winter boots with some room for extra socks, and there is some room in there, but maybe the straps from my snowshoes put too much pressure on my little guys. I will wait a week and see if it gets better. Thanks for the help guys.

-percious

 

[Neil]

The differential diagnosis for a numb toe mainly includes neurological and vascular causes. Things such as diabetes should be ruled out however (unlikely in your case). Is the toe white? Did you freeze it? You may be experiencing vasospasm which is a tightening up of the blood vessels so no blood gets through. I've had numb and white big toes for months at a time on several occasions in my life with no ill effects BTW. Has anybody in your family ever said they had Raynaud's disease?

 

[percious]

My toe looks perfectly normal, no swelling, no coloration, no nothing. Just feels weird... Diabetes does not run in my family as I know, but I swear I can feel when my blood suger gets low.

-percious

 

[Paul Skelly]

I get slightly numb big toes on occasion. It usually happens when I've been walking downhill for a few hours. When I take my boots off, the bottom of my big toes will be slightly white and numb. My toes aren't hitting the front of the boots or anything; I think the big toes just aren't used to the cyclic walking pressures, since I don't walk 15 miles every day. It always gets better in a few hours.

I've actually been able to prevent this from happening by putting moleskin on the bottom of my big toes. But keeping moleskin on the bottom of toes is harder then it sounds, and numb-toes is more of a curiosity to me then a nuisance (at least when frostbite isn't a concern).

I've also gotten numb-toes while cycling in the winter. When I would get home after doing that, I would have excruciating pain when the toes regained feeling. Fortunately, no toes ever turned black. So, if my toes go numb in the winter, I am more attentive to them now.

 

[weatherman]

frostbite?

I've had this happen downhill skiing on a real cold day- big toe got mild frostbite but the nerve must have died because after it stopped hurting the next day,there was no sensation. Took 6 weeks to come back- which makes sense because damaged nerves regrow about a mm a day and my toe is about an inch and three quarters long. Still gets cold easier than my other toes, 10 years later. Be patient- if it looks normal, it probably will eventually feel normal.

 

[1ADAM12]

Just ask Alpine Summit He has a bad toe!!!!! He reinjured his on the way to Nippletop this past fall I think

 

[percious]

Still a little numb today, but getting better. I switched shoes for work from my steel toed ones, seems to be helping. I am just glad its not spreading up my foot/leg. I would hate to have gangreen or something. Anyone ever read Hemmingway?

-percious

 

[Neil]

Sounds like some sort of repetitive, low grade trauma to one or more of the four nerves of the big toe, most likely on the outer aspect of the toe. Using a pin or even the end of an unfolded paperclip, gently and systematically poke around and see if the entire toe has decreased sensation or if only the outer (towards the mid-line of the body) half of it does. If that's the case then you may have compressed it over and over again it against your boot.