Broken in sneakers starting to hurt one foot - solutions until I can get a new pair?

futurecowvet

Yesterday a friend and I decided to walk the 1.5 miles to school rather than drive. We're in vet school in St. Kitts and given there are no side walks we decided to take the old sugar cane roads which are dirt roads the few cars travel. They can be pretty washed out in places and unlike the main road there's some hills so we figured it would be a little more challenging.

All went well and I really enjoyed it (even though walking home we were walking into a headwind during the middle of the day (about 90 degrees F and full sun), not to mention my backpack is probably about 20 pounds. The problem is when we got to school I felt like my shoe on one foot was too tight so after our first class I untied them and loosened them and felt fine. Then after the walk back it felt the same so when I got in the apartment I switched out into flip flops for the rest of the day and again it was fine until that night when I noticed my little toe on one foot was red and swollen.

Well I need to wear sneakers again today and as soon as I put them on I could feel where my toe was rubbing against the seam on my shoe where the mesh is stitched to trim. I want to start walking to school more frequently but I need to come up with a solution for the rubbing. Unfortunately these are my only pair of sneakers at the moment (anatomy lab ruined my other pair) and I won't be able to return to the states to get another pair until August. Are there any tricks/things I can do to cut down on the rubbing/irritation so I can keep walking to school a couple days a week?

cheshirecatastrophe

It's the beginning of a blister? Put a band-aid over it. Are your feet sweating? Try non-cotton (synthetic fiber) socks if you have them.

ruqayyahsmum

i use a bit of padding stuff made by scholl stuck to the offending area of shoe

i also wear running socks when i exercise (only time i wear trainers) as the have padding in all the problem areas i tend to get sore patches

futurecowvet

Is not a blister, I ended up going through and pulling the laces back a little to loosen up the shoe some more and that combined with switching to flip flops as soon as possible (I refuse to walk around my apartment barefoot) and my toe is fine, swelling is gone and everything is back to the way it used to be. I have cushioned socks, although unfortunately I can't look into anything but the cotton I have until I return stateside again in August (there are no shoe stores down here, if you want something it needs to be ordered online and shipped and there is a 50% tax if new (so usually it has to get shipped home, family has to remove tags and make them look used and then ship them which takes 1 month).

I used to ride horses and I think I am tightening the shoes too much and not thinking about the fact that there are no seams running against your foot in riding boots. I'm just going to have to break myself of the need to have my shoes being tight at the top. (Riding boots are meant to be tight so your foot doesn't come out (you need a jack or someone to pull your riding boots off) and the laces tighten the area around the ankle (you then use your calves to push your heel down)).

Any tips on how I should record the walk to school? I don't really feel that it's the level as hiking but I'm not sure if the walking options account for washed out dirt roads with both up and downhill sections and a 20-25 pound backpack.