Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
I'm trying to work extra long hours these days because i want to buy a horse. Unfortunately, my efforts are often thwarted by foot pain. Specifically, my baby toes get blistered and swollen when they pinch in the shoes. I have several different shoes, but they all do this to my toes. It's been happening since I started dancing. Socks don't help, and boots give me pain on the front of all my toes, somehow...I have weird, monkey toes. They weren't made for heels.
I've tried bandaids too, but these just come off. Is there anything I can do to help? Recently I've been shaving the skin off the toes to make them smaller...they're all callusing because of all the friction, so I thought trying to minimize the size might help?
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
Not sure this will be of any help, but here goes: I developed a similar problem when I started wearing the Sky High platforms. As soon as I switched to shorter platforms (I now wear 6 1/2"ers) the problem ceased. Good luck.
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
I have that problem too. I will be watching this thread for some advice.
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
Do you have wide feet and perhaps need a wider shoe? What material is rubbing against your toe to cause blisters? Is it the clear plastic stripper standard? I always found the clear plastic would become softer once it warmed to my body heat.
When you walk in your heels, where do you put your weight?
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
No, my feet aren't wide really...When I was in ballet, I was told I have very narrow feet. It's just that my toes curl in a funny way, and that takes up more space. They chafe less in the plastic shoes (versus the vinyl ones), but after six hours they will start to burn.
I also wear 5 and a half inch platforms...they're pretty low. I used to wear sevens, but stupid pissy short guys complain when I'm 'too tall'.
Hmm...I'll keep trying to figure out what it is. I know from running that I pronate (put weight on the insides of my feet). I'm slightly pigeon-toed. Maybe I'll just have to take off the shoes every couple hours and massage the toes. I don't know.
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
I do know a trick to help heal/callous blisters up real quick. Learned it from an ER nurse friend. Pop the blister with a sterile needle, squeeze out the fluid. Squish the blistered skin back down to your toe. Put a drop of superglue on it. Superglue is almost the exact same chemical compound as the Liquid Skin they use in the hospital.
If you can get that toe to build up a decent thick skin, it won't blister nearly as much. The superglue will help by putting a protective barrier around the sensitive skin, keep it fused to your toe to prevent further blistering, and help it callous up a bit.
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
^^It seems to me that the calluses are making it worse though? Because they take so much space?
But last night I tried slipping my feet half out of the heels whenever I was sitting (with a customer, in the changeroom, etc). I had to wear strapless heels, but that's ok. It helped.
Re: Baby toe pain & stripper shoes
Okay, figure I should be of some use to you gals. I am a foot and ankle surgeon who happens to have a long term SO who is an ex dancer. So here is what to do.
The superglue idea is okay, but will eventually get you into trouble. Be careful about using it. We use it every day but Krazy Glue is not that good. Find a high end hobby shop that deals in remote control stuff. They have a product known as either ZAP, JET, HOT STUFF or some local brand. This is hobby grade super glue and is far superior to the drug store stuff. Buy the medium grade, not the thin stuff and a thin layer applied sparingly can help create a little bandage. It probably won't stop any friction though, but if you have a cracked heel or something it works great and we even use it in operating rooms after surgery.
Don't ever use corn removers. I guarantee at some time you will find yourself in an emergency room or office with a ripping infection.
Here are the three best solutions
Go to the drugstore and find some adhesive moleskin and something called COBAN tape. A lot of people know this as VET tape. It is usually available in drugstores under several different names but in essence it is a brown self adhesive wrap. Put a small piece of moleskin on your baby toe, and then wrap a small piece of COBAN around it (not too tight). It will stay on for days, and you can even shower with it. It usually matches most peoples skin tones and you will never notice it.
You might be able to find pure lambswool, and if you can, fluff out about 3 inches or so and gently do the same thing. I remember an old time foot doc who did this and secured it with a little rubber cement. His patients loved it and it also stayed in place for weeks.
Finally, you might have a rotated or curly toe, and if you do there are some minor surgical options which can be performed in only a few minutes, so the problem will never come back. I personally have treated a lot of dancers for this and the results have always been positive surgically. It is the LAST option since you will have to be off work for a while, but if all else fails....