Day 18, digital horror

You didn't ask for this, but you're gettin' it, anyway. 

My right big toe has three problems. The first problem arose before the hike even started: I had something weird and infection-like that appeared underneath my toe callus. It could have been a diabetic ulceration, but upon examination, it didn't look or smell like anything that serious. The second problem occurred on the trail: a tiny bit of callused skin ripped off the meaty pad of the toe, leaving a small-but-leaky hole. Very annoying. Lastly, there was the huge blister that formed after I'd walked that 40-plus-kilometer day. I popped the blister—which I shouldn't have done—and had to deal with the aftermath for the rest of the walk (which is why my policy is usually never to mess with foot blisters).

The first and third problem seem to have become one single problem. There how seems to be a tunnel beneath the callus that connects the blister-aftermath and the possibly-an-ulcer thing. It was a bit scary when I first discovered this by digging a Q-tip into the wound (I guess it is a wound, although it's behaving less like a bloody rip and more like an oozing lesion) and sinking it startlingly deep into my toe. I've done what I can to keep the wound infection-free by using a combination of alcohol swabs, hydrogen peroxide, and first-aid cream. (In fact, I coated the Q-tip in first-aid cream before probing the wound.) But ultimately, I'm going to have to show my toe to an expert for a proper evaluation. 

The toe looks much worse than it feels, and my constant care means there's no unpleasant odor wafting up from it. I'd really like to take my clippers, cut away the callus, and expose the wound to air so it can dry out, but I've got a four-day Andong Dam walk ahead of me, so now isn't the time to be mutilating my digit. There no pain, perhaps thanks to a bit of diabetic numbness. Worst-case scenario: it all comes back to diabetes, and I lose the toe. Big deal. I hate most of my toes, anyway. They get in the way, and they're the cause of so much unnecessary discomfort when I'm hiking. But I'm not convinced this is the worst case—not yet, at least. We'll know more once I see an expert. Meanwhile, enjoy the spectacle.

WARNING: not for the faint of heart. You've been warned. Apologies for blurriness: my room's lighting is terrible. 

a little minor seepage after removal of the blister skin

ear pick, sterilized and repurposed as a toe probe

sterilization process with alcohol swabs (swabbed fingers as well)

inserting probe, cleaning out wound

I can go deep enough to let go of the probe

deep cleaning

using my flash, I try to capture the inside of the wound

bandaged up

This is essentially how I've been walking for the past few days. I've kept Leukotape use to a minimum on my right foot in favor of, as you see, gauze plus medical tape. That seems to work just fine. There's no festering or pustulation, no warning smells or pain. It just looks gnarly, is all. I'll survive. I hope this isn't nightmare fuel for you. If you've lived as long as I have, it's possible you've been through worse than this. 

You didn't faint, did you?

ADDENDUM: my 3 problems in a nutshell:

Problem 2 actually happened first, then 1, then 3.