Things are not always what we wish they were. This latest experience is not something I want to talk about, but all you fellow bare footers probably ought to hear about it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistake.
A couple of weeks ago I got a puncture wound from something sharp. I never knew what. Instead of stopping immediately to investigate, I walked a bit, and then stopped when the pain didn't just go away (as it does when you step on something sharp that doesn't penetrate). I saw blood and a small hole.
I put some tape over it, then ran a couple of days later. That hurt too much, so I laid off the running, but I didn't take care of it. It was often uncovered, and the hole (very small) didn't heal. Or it would heal but then open again. And it still hurt. I felt like there was something in there.
Then, ten days after the injury, I took a long walk in the woods with nothing over the wound. It was closed when I started, and open again when I got home.
The next morning I woke to it hurting. I reached down with my hand. It was hot. I knew I had blown it. Infection.
The day after that I got to the doctor. She put me on a couple of anti-biotics, and x-rayed it. There was something in there. Very small.
Two days after that it started to get a lot worse. It swelled up, and red streaks were starting to grow across my arch and up the side of my foot. And it hurt a lot.
I went to the emergency room (it was Saturday). And here is where things started to go better. There was a Physician Assistant named Ben on duty. He started by cutting away some of the callous, to improve the view. As he got down to live skin, it burst open and a ton of yucky stuff came out. I could feel the pressure in my foot go away. He squeezed it all out, and then cleaned it. He looked for the particle, but we are pretty sure it came out with the pus.
Immediately things began improving. It doesn't hurt, except a bit due to the open wound. And the infection is on its way out. So I'll be fine. There is a lot of tissue damage, so I won't be able to run for a while. I am guessing two weeks. Maybe three. I'll be looking forward to it. A shame I have to miss one of the best running times of the year here.
So if something penetrates that beautiful skin on the bottom of your foot, stop what you are doing and give it all of your attention. The game changes once that barrier is compromised.
A couple of weeks ago I got a puncture wound from something sharp. I never knew what. Instead of stopping immediately to investigate, I walked a bit, and then stopped when the pain didn't just go away (as it does when you step on something sharp that doesn't penetrate). I saw blood and a small hole.
I put some tape over it, then ran a couple of days later. That hurt too much, so I laid off the running, but I didn't take care of it. It was often uncovered, and the hole (very small) didn't heal. Or it would heal but then open again. And it still hurt. I felt like there was something in there.
Then, ten days after the injury, I took a long walk in the woods with nothing over the wound. It was closed when I started, and open again when I got home.
The next morning I woke to it hurting. I reached down with my hand. It was hot. I knew I had blown it. Infection.
The day after that I got to the doctor. She put me on a couple of anti-biotics, and x-rayed it. There was something in there. Very small.
Two days after that it started to get a lot worse. It swelled up, and red streaks were starting to grow across my arch and up the side of my foot. And it hurt a lot.
I went to the emergency room (it was Saturday). And here is where things started to go better. There was a Physician Assistant named Ben on duty. He started by cutting away some of the callous, to improve the view. As he got down to live skin, it burst open and a ton of yucky stuff came out. I could feel the pressure in my foot go away. He squeezed it all out, and then cleaned it. He looked for the particle, but we are pretty sure it came out with the pus.
Immediately things began improving. It doesn't hurt, except a bit due to the open wound. And the infection is on its way out. So I'll be fine. There is a lot of tissue damage, so I won't be able to run for a while. I am guessing two weeks. Maybe three. I'll be looking forward to it. A shame I have to miss one of the best running times of the year here.
So if something penetrates that beautiful skin on the bottom of your foot, stop what you are doing and give it all of your attention. The game changes once that barrier is compromised.
