toe numbness in big toes

I apparently wore ill fitting shoes shoes yesterday. (they seemed to fit, but were giving me a burning feeling at the bone on my foot) I took them off after a few hours, but I noticed late yesterday that both my big toes are numb, and tingling. ( the entire toe) today is day two of the numbness. My concern is this from the shoes? would the numbness last this long, or could there be an underlying problem. I possibly have ingrown nails as well as I had gestational diabetes (7 years ago) i am only 31 years old, 5 ft 2 and about 100 lbs. I dont believe I am diabetic yet, I am not over weight but I would love to be able to feel my toes!

RESPONSE

Hi,

I would not get too concerned about the numbness in your big toes just yet. The fact that you state you wore a certain pair of shoes and the numbness started shortly thereafter, along with the fact that both big toes are affected would lead me to believe that the numbness you are now experiencing is directly related to the shoes.
You further go on to state that while wearing this pair of shoes you noticed a burning sensation in your feet. Burning in the feet in most cases, but not all, is usually a neurological type sensation meaning the shoes apparently were putting pressure on a nerve in both your feet.
I do not know where you live, but if you live in a warm climate and it happened to be hot on the day you wore the shoes the normal swelling of feet that occurs in warm to hot temperatures could have been enough to make what is otherwise a comfortable pair of shoes, too tight. This tightness may then have put pressure on certain nerves in the foot and left you with numbness in the big toes.
So the question becomes, why has it not subsided? Perhaps by the time you receive this response, your toes will be feeling better, but in general when you irritate a nerve, which is referred to as a neuritis, the nerve does not necessarily improve in its function once you remove your shoes.
It will take a few days assuming you do not wear those shoes or similar shoes in that period of time.
The point here is that there is a cause and effect to your numbness. You wore shoes that caused a burning pain, took off the shoes and now have numbness in your big toes.
Having said that, yes, numbness in the feet in some cases can be an indication of diabetes as well as a couple of other conditions.
I do not have the luxury of actually being able to examine you so I am just making certain assumptions here.
What I would suggest to you is give the situation a week. If the numbness in both big toes has not substantially resolved itself, then you might want to consult with a foot specialist to see if there is more damage to your feet than I am assuming. If he or she does not find a relationship between the numbness and your feet, per se, then perhaps the doctor will suggest you see your family doctor to rule out other causes of your numbness in the big toes.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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