Chil's Point of View….

My medical diction just got better.
I had Subungual Hematoma. As much as it sounds scary, this means I had a black toenail – a dark bruise under my toe.

Black toenail is a common injury among runners and hikers. It is mainly caused by poor lacing techniques and bad shoe fitting. Black toenail has nothing to do with fungus. It is an injury to your toe from constant pressure from shoes.

“It’s like a bruise under your toenail, except if it’s bad enough, you can lose the nail“. YIKES!!!!

Late last year, I injured my toe from running; from wearing ill fitting shoes – I think my shoe laces were done right. This had happened to me before in the past, but this time – it looked bad. It did not hurt though. I monitored my toe for a while and observed that the progress was slow. I then decided to let my Primary Care Physician check it out – so that my toes are all pretty before summer sets in (when I would be in sandals hardcore). The Physician was going to cut my nail, but decided to refer me to a podiatrist for a second opinion. The podiatrist said my toes were healthy, and he went ahead and cut a big chunk of my nail – not a pretty site. He also told me I should be all set in about 3 months.

{DRUM ROLL………}
3 months later, and Chilumba is thinking about running hardcore again.
…..and my toes are ready for summer.