- Joined
- Jul 23, 2013
- Messages
- 1,665
A little over a month ago, I noticed a spot under my right big toenail, within the week after a hike up Provo Peak. When I first noticed it, I immediately wondered if it could be cancer, specifically a type of skin cancer that can appear under a nail called subungual melanoma. Yes, I can be paranoid that way at times! However, as I thought about it more, I thought about how I had just recently hiked Provo Peak and was wearing some old trail runners that may have turned out to be a bit too tight around my toes, such that the steep descent down the mountain may have caused my toes to be repetitively smashed into the front tips and tops of the shoes with my right big toe potentially taking more of a beating than the others. I also helped someone move a couch out of their apartment that same week and I think one my kids stepped on my toe at one point around that same time frame, so I became confident that between one of those three incidents lies the cause of the spot.
I've since looked up more info and pics of the serious and scary form of skin cancer that can appear under a nail and I don't think that's what I've got, since that more typically starts out as a streak that runs all the way from the bottom of the nail bed to the top edge. That, and that type of skin cancer is so rare, especially among caucasians and I don't have any of the other risk factors for it. That then lead me to something much more common and much less serious called subungual hematoma, or "Runner's toe". In my case, I may be able to call it "hiker's toe". I'm also taking comfort in the fact that it has not gotten any bigger in over a month since I first noticed it nor has it changed color, shape, and so on. The only change, if any, is that it does seem to have moved upward a tiny bit with the nail, a good sign. If it's indeed a mild case of runner's toe, it can take several months to grow out since a nail will normally only grow about 1 millimeter each month. Fortunately, for me there's absolutely no pain whatsoever with it. Of course, there was some pain when finishing the hike down from Provo Peak, but all of my toes and the whole of my feet were achy then.
I'm just curious, have any of you ever had an abnormal spot appear under one of your big toenails, especially after hiking down a long steep trail? I've posted a couple pics of my spot as thumbnails (lovely pun, I know!) in case nobody wants to have a detailed look. I don't think it's that graphic though.
I've since looked up more info and pics of the serious and scary form of skin cancer that can appear under a nail and I don't think that's what I've got, since that more typically starts out as a streak that runs all the way from the bottom of the nail bed to the top edge. That, and that type of skin cancer is so rare, especially among caucasians and I don't have any of the other risk factors for it. That then lead me to something much more common and much less serious called subungual hematoma, or "Runner's toe". In my case, I may be able to call it "hiker's toe". I'm also taking comfort in the fact that it has not gotten any bigger in over a month since I first noticed it nor has it changed color, shape, and so on. The only change, if any, is that it does seem to have moved upward a tiny bit with the nail, a good sign. If it's indeed a mild case of runner's toe, it can take several months to grow out since a nail will normally only grow about 1 millimeter each month. Fortunately, for me there's absolutely no pain whatsoever with it. Of course, there was some pain when finishing the hike down from Provo Peak, but all of my toes and the whole of my feet were achy then.
I'm just curious, have any of you ever had an abnormal spot appear under one of your big toenails, especially after hiking down a long steep trail? I've posted a couple pics of my spot as thumbnails (lovely pun, I know!) in case nobody wants to have a detailed look. I don't think it's that graphic though.
