Those pesky thorns, any thoughts?

barefoot kean

Barefooters
Jun 3, 2010
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Anchorage
So today i was out on a run through forest park and i ran through some broken up shells from the trees lining the road. Essentially a small shell fragment ended up in my forefoot, and it its now rather uncomfortable to walk/run/ move in any way that involves my forefoot. The problem is as much as ive dug out there appears to be some small bit left thats just deep enough and small enough that i cant get it short of removing a good chunk of my skin in the surrounding area.

does anyone else occasionally have this problem (not necessarily with shells), and what do you do to fix the problem, or if its unfix-able how long till its not a bother anymore? i guess this falls under the "what about broken glass?" argument as they can cause essentially the same problem (kinda like the time i got a small piece of glass stuck in my heel :p)
 
More than likely, it will

More than likely, it will eventually work it's way out. You can help it by, yes, cutting away a little piece of skin circling the piece of shell, squeeze it as much as you can tolerate it to bring it to the surface, and if it still hasn't come out, apply some duct tape to it, and leave the duct tape on there for a day or two. The thinking is that once it's worked it's ways somewhat to the surface, it will stick to the duct tape, and when you remove the duct tape, you remove the sliver. Good luck.
 
Heck, I'm wondering how you

Heck, I'm wondering how you all are so friggin' flexible you can do all this self-surgery on your feet. I do well to get them around to see if that "spot" I am feeling is a hot-spot or already a full blown blister. And sometimes I have to do that by feel as well! I'm trying to become more limber, but after 49 years of "limited" stretching, I'm definitely paying the price now. :-
 
I used to be a gynmnast.  I

I used to be a gynmnast. I can chew my own toenails if I wanted to, not that I do. :sick:
 
ive still got the flexibility

ive still got the flexibility just because im not old enough to lose it yet, but im still a bit stiff after a bit. and thanks for the advice TJ, im on my way to grab duct tape right now.
 
Let us know how it goes.

Let us know how it goes.