Bunions...ouch!

[browneyedgirl36]

So...I have a bunion. You know, a bone that sticks out on your foot. MIne is right on the side of my foot, at the base of my big toe. Actually, I have one on both feet, but the one on my right foot is quite small. The one on my left foot, however, seems prominent. It doesn't look too bad, but sometimes, it HURTS. I generally don't wear any really ridiculously uncomfortable shoes, but occasionally, after wearing a certain pair, or after excercising for a long time (i.e. jogging on the treadmill), I will take off my shoes, and the thing will THROB. It's doing so right now, in fact.

 

It doesn't hurt all the time -- not every day, by any means -- but when it does, it throbs, sometimes in the night while I'm trying to sleep.

 

Does anyone have a bunion (or more than one?) Is there anything I can do for it? I know some people have surgery, in severe cases, but I am NOT going there unless it becomes cripplingly painful or my foot is so deformed that I don't recognize it anymore.

 

Any suggestions for shoes to wear, products to use to help with this?

 

A funny side point: My mom once heard me telling a friend on the phone that I have a bunion. When I hung up, she said "Ewwwww...why are you telling people stuff like that?" My response: "Uh, Mom, it's a bone. It's not a fungus, or an open sore, or oozing pus or anything!" She wasn't convinced.

[enchanted771]

I have them on both feet. the one on the right is worse. if i wear nice heels my feet kill by the end of the night with several blisters. i ruined 2 pairs of new shoes because of how i walk. getting the surgery at the end of summer, i cant handle it anymore.

[shikashika]

I have one on my right foot. It hurts sometimes, but nothing I can do.

 

It's on my Dad and my Mum's side. My dad's are TERRIBLE... his big toe crosses all the way accross his little toes and he has trouble wearing normal shoes.

 

On my Dad's side they have the WORST bunions.... people actually stop my dad in the supermarket and ask about his feet (which is pretty rude)

 

My Dad's cousins had surgery and it took 6 months to a year to recovera dn then the bones grew back the old way anyway.

[Samedy]

My Mom has/had bunions, she eventually had surgery to correct it. After the surgery she had to be off of her feet for awhile and do these special toe exercises.

 

I really hope I never end up getting bunions, they really look painful and inconvenient.

 

I know my mom let it carry on until it was really painful for her to walk. Even then she had to wait a very long time before surgery because of wait lists.

[tastytoothpaste]

I have that because of genetics and then being a ballet dancer and constantly on my toes does not help at all. My mom had them and got surgery to correct it. It's something you might want to look into.

[thejigsup]

My mom had them, but I don't. She always warned me about wearing tight shoes, which I never have. I'm a typical California Girl and live in flip-flops 9 months out of the year. The rest of the time, I have my Uggs. For work, comfy flats in all kinds of colors.

[Ellie2006]

I always thought that bunions had something to do with wearing tight/pointy-toed shoes but I guess I was way off! I took a quick look down at my feet and I think I might also have a mild case of bunions as well. yikes!

 

Anyways, a while ago, my sister got some sort of contraption to wear on her foot to straighten out her toes but I dont think it helped all that much.

 

I wonder if massaging it would help -- i.e. pulling the big toe away from the second toe ??

 

Sounds painful, BEG. Ice it!

 

[EDITED TO ADD: Here are two pics that look similar to the contraption my sister bought]

 

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[Alezia]

I imagine if you are in pain it might relieve the tension. It won't straighten out the toe back though.

[browneyedgirl36]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses thus far.

 

I will do everything I can to avoid having surgery, but I suspect that someday it might be needed. Ugh.

 

Today, it doesn't hurt (but I still have my gym shoes on.)

 

Funny thing, I've never been a big wearer of tight, pointy shoes or really restrictive shoes. In the winter, I generally wear boots (pretty wide, with plenty of room for toes) and in the summer, generally sandals or flip-flops, usually very open so that my toes aren't constricted.

 

My mother and sister both have bunions, too, but my sister has worn high heels (often the pointy kind) for years for her job, and she stands on her feet all day. Theirs both look much worse than mine, so I'm hoping to sort of head mine off at the pass before they get too terrible.

 

Surgery just seems scary to me. I had a friend who had it, on both feet, and she had to be off work for six weeks -- yikes! That, and the fact that I don't want anyone cutting into any part of my body unless it's absolutely necessary -- makes me not want to do it. But, it may have to happen in the future.