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Sep 2015
6:49pm, 9 Sep 2015
1,145 posts
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Spleen
Back in June I ran a 22 mile cross country race and at the end my right big toenail had a massive bruise underneath from repeated impact against my shoe - the whole nail appeared purple. It didn't hurt unless I deliberately poked it, or if I ran hard downhill again, but it remained purple for months. A nurse explained that it was because the bruise had "nowhere to go" but it would disappear eventually.
It's now finally starting to fade but I think the whole nail is going to come off - plate and all. At the point it emerges from the toe, a crack has sheared from the left hand edge about a third of the way through the nail. I have a feeling that the crack will keep going until it's gone all the way through. So I'm in danger of being left without a nail on my big toe until it grows back.
Has anyone lost an entire toenail before and if so, how much is this going to hurt? I've got a half marathon on Sunday. Quite possibly it's not of any importance, but I have nasty visions of my unprotected big toe turning into a bloody mess.
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Sep 2015
7:03pm, 9 Sep 2015
23,121 posts
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Fleece and Dust
I haven't had a big toe fall off, but a couple of others have, you'll probably find that the toe underneath has toughened up. But I would pop a Compeed on it, and take some spares just in case.
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Sep 2015
7:09pm, 9 Sep 2015
17,603 posts
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Derby Tup
A lot of runners lose nails on a regular basis. Mine go a funny ghostly grey colour and sometimes I've eased them off to prevent tearing when removing socks etc. There'll be another lurking underneath ready to replace the old one 
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Sep 2015
7:12pm, 9 Sep 2015
1,474 posts
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jacdaw
Some people have them removed entirely to save all the hassle!
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Sep 2015
8:11pm, 9 Sep 2015
1,250 posts
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sandgrounder
its more painful when its hanging off than when it actually falls off. It will regrow
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Sep 2015
8:28pm, 9 Sep 2015
198 posts
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DebbieAB
I've recently lost my second toenail in, I left it for as long as I could (until it was too loose to ignore) and after a warm bath I gently removed it, it didn't hurt at all. There was another nail ready underneath, though was quite soft, over the past few days that's hardened up.
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Sep 2015
8:33pm, 9 Sep 2015
745 posts
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Sazzahazza
my big went purple and looked horrendous, I then pulled it off with some tweezers as it was loose (didn't hurt). My new nail has started to grow back and doesn't look pretty, hey ho
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Sep 2015
10:09pm, 9 Sep 2015
103 posts
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duo
My toenails are very thin and brittle so fall off on a regular basis.
I don't find it hurts I can just 'feel' the nail or if you wear nail polish, maybe you do on occasion you'll understand what I mean. Mine tend to bruise under the nail bed and then it spreads to the entire nail, once that happens they gradually fall off and another grows in its place.
As I haven't been doing massive amounts of running this year I still have a full complement.
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Sep 2015
10:10pm, 9 Sep 2015
2,042 posts
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Wooters
I've lost every toe nail through the years, I always trim them as soon as they bruise so when they do come loose they don't snag on my socks. As soon as it looks ready to come off I grab my needle nose pliers and get to work, the only time it's hurt is at the start with the fluid build up under the nail, once that's done with it's just a matter of waiting for it to regrow. I think one of my big toe nails took nearly a year to regrow
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Sep 2015
10:24pm, 9 Sep 2015
337 posts
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Fragile Do Not Bend
My second toenail went purple, then a couple of months later some of it started to lift off. I trimmed back the bit that had become detached and there was a hard layer of skin underneath so it wasn't painful or sensitive.
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