Sore toe lumps on a 10 year old?

[Thriwit]

My son is 10 years old and in a lot of pain now with his big toes. He’s developed big lumps on the outside of his big toes - not where bunions are (I have those), but kind of on the first joint halfway up his toes on the outside. The skin has hardened too, and he’s now finding it all very painful. Just touching them hurts.

Does anyone have any idea what’s causing this or why? I’m going to try to find a podiatrist tomorrow (if any are open?) but thought I’d ask here in case anyone has any ideas. He’s hardly worn shoes for the last couple of months, so I don’t even see how it could be his shoes.

Any insight appreciated!

COVID toe?

Have you put your hands in his shoes and checked there isn’t a seam or anything there that could rub and cause the hardened skin?

Here’s a picture, thought it might be easier than explaining, I hope that’s ok!

I don’t think it’s Covid toe though.

I can’t feel anything in his shoes. And he has honestly only worn his shoes for a few minutes a day if that over the last couple of months - we’ve not been anywhere, not even for walks as it’s been too cold.

I’ve asked him over & over if his shoes feel tight, but he says they feel fine. I do think his perception may be skewed though - up until last summer he was often in shoes that were too small for him (for reasons outside of my control). Since then I’ve tried to get him correct fitting shoes. His toes have just ballooned over the last month.

Chilblains?

Well it's on both toes which says something beyond just mechanical, if you see what I mean. Is it just his toes that hurt and nothing else?

What I mean is.. the two feet are separate.. so if it's on both feet, it's either the shoes, or it's something causing joint issues. It can't be a coincidence.

I thought chilblains but they’re normally on top?

My 2 children currently do have Covid toes. They did start off as swollen lumps and then went purple with small blisters.

You son's toes do look a bit like how they started but the fact they are identical on each big toe makes me think it is more likely to be something else.

My children's bumps are more random and were itchy at first, like chillblanes.

Thank you all for the replies!
There’s no blisters, and I don’t think they’re chilblains (I have severe Reynaud’s so almost constantly have chilblains! Hence we’ve not even been going for walks due to how cold it is).

I see the point about it being on both feet though, I hadn’t really thought about that! It is just his toes, nothing else hurts. I’m just really confused, because if it was his shoes I don’t understand why they’d be so bad now when he’s barely worn shoes for months.

I’m wracking my brains, and the only other issues he’s had recently is very dry skin on his elbows and constipation. No pain anywhere (although I concede he’s often oblivious to pain - which is why when he says these hurt I believe him!!)

Bring him to the GP and get proper medical advice.

See your GP but I bet you anything it's shoe-related. There aren't many other medical conditions that give you two identical, mirror image lesions (abnormalities) occurring at the same time, in the same spot on both feet!

I have exactly this on one of my toes! A hard almost bony lump - I haven't been to the GP as it isn't painful but have self diagnosed it as a ganglion! Perhaps that could be what it is.

What is he wearing on his feet indoors - bare feet, socks or slippers?

Does he sit on the floor a lot with his feet under him?

The fact that he hasn’t worn shoes much over the past few months could be precisely the reason why his feet hurt now. He’s most likely having a growth spurt and his feet aren’t used to wearing shoes, so they’ll hurt when he now wears them even for a short time.
Get a couple of small bags of frozen peas wrapped in tea towels and get him to put them on his toes for a few minutes several times a day.
Also, take him to the GP - but you will probably be quicker getting a private podiatrist appointment.

Thank you all!

He mainly wears socks inside, and he’s not often on the floor.

I think you’re all right in that it really must be shoes, I can’t think what else it can be. He’s already in a size 6! I’m going to remeasure his feet tomorrow though.

And I’ll try to find a private podiatrist. Even if it’s his shoes, I figure they’ll be able to confirm that and hopefully offer some advice to bring it all down. My GP is still very much emergency-only, and even then I just checked and the next available phone triage appt is 2 weeks away. So podiatrist it is!

Could it be bursitis from shoes rubbing? Although it's strange if he hasn't been wearing shoes a lot recently....

His big toes are quite sharply angled - he may need wide fit shoes?

My son has these and have got bigger he's in properly fitted shoes but does have sensory issues so not always got shoes on.