01gt4.6

Okay before everyone starts in on me (guys and ladies included) let me first say that... I'm not one of those guys that wears pink b/c "I'm secure with myself", I'm secure enough to know that I DON'T have to wear pink to pretend. I also don't buy $6 lattes at Starbucks, hell I don't even drink coffee. I am confident in my 'man hood' but maybe not confident enough to get a pedicure.

Here's the deal, I have a spot on my left foot, on the bottom towards the outside by my pinky toe (the ball of my foot). I think I somehow got a splinter in it, don't ask me how b/c I always have on shoes. Anyway, I can't seem to get it out and now I it's kinda deep. I now have this hard lump of callused skin over it (which sucks b/c I have soft... but manly feet j/k). It's starting to bother me, not so much the callus, but the feeling of something poking me. The problem is that I have my half marathon in less than a month and the more I walk, the more it bothers me. Should I get a pedicure so they can soak my feet and shave down the callus in hopes of removing it, or getting the splinter close enough so I can dig it out, or just suck it up and be a man and do the 1/2 marathon with it still in me?

Cliff Notes: I have a spliter should I get a pedicure to try to remove it or no?

oh this was post 1111 for me.

canary52

Ok my gut feeling and I could be wrong is that you might not have a splinter. You might have a plantar's wart. And while pedicures can be very pleasant, nail shops or beauty salons are probably not the places you want to go to get even a splinter removed. Standards of cleanliness vary wildly and I can tell you from experience that even in the cleanest of them, fungal and other infections are very common in these places (please take it from me.) And believe me, you don't need a foot infection on top of anything else.

My advice? Go to a podiatrist, my friend. Ask around, find someone's who's good and go. No mattter what it is, they are the ones to treat it.

Kumochi

Planter's wart was my first thought as well. If you have Chiropodists down there one should be able to help. It can take some time to get rid of it.

mecompco

As much as I hate going to the doctor, a podiatrist might be the answer.

Though, if it were me, I'd probably throw some salicylic acid at it and cover it with a bandaid for a few days to a week, then dig out whatever foreign object is in there with a sharp knife, be it splinter or the core of a plantar's wart (and those things to suck big time).

Just MHO.

Regards,
Michael

01gt4.6

I just thought that it was a splinter b/c before it got too deep I could see it and it looked like one. I have a good podiatrist that I've used in the past for plantar fasciitis, but I didn't think this was serious enough to go to a doctor for.

on edit: I just looked up pics of planter warts and they look nothing like what I have.

canary52

Honestly I cannot diagnose properly
a) not having having seen your soft but manly foot
b) not being medical personnel

but I have defitinitely had plantar's warts that looked like they have a dark thing in the center. But even a deep splinter can be tough and since you are running a half marathon and have a good podiatrist to boot (pardon the bad pun) I say go to that person and have him/her check it out.

Keep us posted on how it turns out and what you do.

sw07

Soak your foot in some epsom salts and see if you can dig that lil bugger out-you really don't want some dang splinter messing up your training & race

Lizzycritter

Plantar wart or splinter, I'd agree the podiatrist is a better choice. Would you take your dog to a groomer for a medical issue? An epsom salt soak at home followed by a callous stone might get you a better look at the thing, and you can pick both up at the drugstore.

almeeker

You might want to try one of those "disc" products that have the acid in them. They work really well to kill the top layer of skin painlessly. It might actually be a corn, either way the discs really work, and for me they are faster than the paint-on stinky stuff.

01gt4.6

hell no, that's my dogs, I treat them better than I do myself. I have a callous stone. I'll probably check to see which podiatrists are on my insurance now (damn insurance companies ), and try to schedule an appointment tomorrow... if I can remember.