toe corn

[Daniel]

My wife has what we think is a corn on her toe - well it's in between her toes, between the 4th and 5th toe on her right foot. She wants to know what she can do to make it go away.

[Daniel]

Ok, I just read through the "painful corns" post and I can answer that my wife has semi-flat feet and wears dress type shoes for work. She's tried the drug store corn remover stuff and also got that white stuff in between her toes - didn't do anything. I'll have to look at her toes for rotation. But, her problem is IN BETWEEN the toes, not on the bottom of the toes - does that make a difference? She probably got a new pair of shoes recently (she's always buying shoes! )

[Dr. D]

A corn between toes 4 and 5 can be common. The corn can be on either the 4th or 5th toe, or it can actually between between the toes. The corns between the toes generally appear whitish and peeling. There can be surrounding redness and they can be very tender. It's important to rule out a fungus, which can appear the same. Generally the fungus affects all the interspaces and the white peeling areas extend on the toes, sometimes on the top of bottom of the foot.

It is very common for those with flatfeet to have rotation of the 4th and 5th toe. The toes tend to place excess pressure on the joint areas, causing the body to respond by building up excess skin. Or in the interspace, the excess pressure in combination with moisture, tends to breakdown the skin. Narrow shoes or tight dress shoes can exacerbate this.

First, try to figure out if a pair of shoes contributed to the problem. Did the problem start after wearing a certain pair of shoes. If the foot is flat and the toes are rotated, excess pronation could be contributing to this. A pair of orthotics may help control abnormal motion, helping to prevent further rotation. Then, use toe separators or non-medicated corn pads to take pressure off of the irritated area.

The picture below shows common areas of in between toe corns.

[Daniel]

Ok, her corn is in between the two toes, not on the sides of the toe. She did buy new shoes but says they are wide at the toe, I'd have to disagree, they seem pointed to me. Her 4th and 5th toe seem kind of rotated, but on both feet and the corn is only on one foot. So, would toe separators help? Is it just a pad that goes between the toes? When we went to the drug store it was too overwhelming, we didn't know what to buy and ended up with those medicated pads that just made the area between her toes all white.

[Sarah]

I'm not good with computer stuff, so it's taken me awhile to figure out how to use this forum, but I have to say that I don't buy THAT many shoes! But, I did realize that after I bought my last pair of shoes (which are not "pointed", but are somewhat narrow at the toes) is when I noticed the pain between my toes. My toes have been somewhat curled in as long as I can remember, so I don't think that is the cause. I've had somewhat flatfeet all my life (and for those women out there like me - you know how difficult it is to buy shoes for feet like this! ) Anyway, I'm surprised how something so little can be so painful. My schedule is such that it's difficult to get to get to appointments, so any help here is appreciated (PS - I love these smilies)

[Dr. D]

The good news is it sounds like you have identified the cause. How attached are you to those new shoes? If you noticed the pain develop after you bought the shoes, they are, at the very least, a contributing factor. Even though your toes have curled in for as long as you can remember they are still part of the problem. In many cases, it's the combination of shoe pressure on contracted or curled toes that puts abnormal pressure in between the toes. To treat this, you need to keep the pressure off of the toes. This means wider shoes to decrease the pressure on the 4th and 5th toes, and a pad between the toes, to keep the 4th and 5th toes from pressing against each other.

Toe separators can be found at the drug store, or online. There are products which are labeled "toe separators" and they can be foam, felt or a combination of both. (don't purchase "medicated" pads for in between the toe problems) The padding goes in between the toes. If you continue to wear the same narrow shoes, but wear a toe separator, the pressure will switch to the outside of the little toe, so making changes in the shoes is important. Once changes in shoes have been made and the corn has resolved, you usually don't have to wear the toe separator anymore.

If the corn persists beyond 4 weeks after trying these treatments, I would recommend an appointment with a podiatrist.

The image below shows a larger foam toe separator between the big toe and 2nd toe, but the separators come in different sizes and can be used in between any of the toes.