My toe keeps cracking open... :(

[gymnafreak]

Ok, so this started a while ago, and i hoped that when i broke my foot, it would get a chance to heal and it would just go away. Well, it healed, but now its cracking open again. its my ring toe and it cracks open right where it meets my foot, and i can't really tape it very good, so i'm very good at getting blood on the beam... So yeah, if anyone has any ideas on how to help/fix this?

 

[lil_gymnast_alanna]

wow. that is kinda weird! it must be a real pain in the neck too! maybe go see a doctor or similar about it. Perhaps your coach might be able to hep you out with the taping up if you cant get it quite right.
hope your foot stops cracking open!

 

[LittleLady]

I had a problem with my toe skin getting dried out. My big toes would develop callouses and my little toe cuticles on the outer edge would get tough and crack at the outer corners. The callouses on my big toes would crack too getting dried out from all the chalk and constant pounding on beam, vault and tumbling. The pain is so much worse than a paper cut because the cracks were so deep. I resolved the problem by using a pumice stone to sand the callous down after a long soak in a hot bath. Then I would apply vitamin E oil on the area and cover it with a bandage and keep it on overnight to help soften and heal it. It took a long period of time to heal. I know the embarrassment of getting blood from those skin cracks on the beam. Bandages never stayed on during training. It's not a good feeling. I hope this suggestion will help clear up your problem.

 

[Chalky]

Try putting tape over the bandage, to keep it on. Sometimes you may still need to re-apply the tape and bandage during a long training session though.

 

[coachmolly]

I had the same problem when I was still doing gymnastics, I think it was usually my big toe though which was somewhat easier to keep a band-aid or some tape on. But it was a pain to keep on during practice and usually fell off or felt weird when I did turns and stuff. You could try to wrap some tape around it a few times so it's secure and won't pop off as easily as a band-aid, but still not super convenient.
I would say your best bet is to do what LittleLady suggested. Keep your toes well moisturized with Vitamin E caplets/lotion or bag balm type creams. Put a ton of the lotion on at night and sleep with socks on.
Hope you find something that works, those cuts are a pain!