Feet are for life,not just for spring or summer

As soon as the spring arrives we start to see patients who come to our practices wanting to make their feet presentable for sandals, holidays and parties after a long winter of neglect and being stuffed into shoes and boots. As medical health professionals, we naturally see conditions that cause pain and discomfort and can be debilitating due to an unavoidable combination of factors. However, we also see many problems that are due to poor foot care and neglect! 

Since good foot care habits can, in some cases, prevent problems altogether, we are always keen to advise on self-help. As it is coming to that warmer (hopefully!) time of year, this is a great time to give you some top tips on foot care.

Feet are for life….not just spring and summer….so look after them throughout the year. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to call us for help.

Here are some tips to get you started on the road to happier and healthier feet.

• Cut toenails before a bath or shower using nail nippers; we tend to discourage using clippers and nail scissors as they are not always easy to control and are ineffective if you have very thick and hard nails.
•  Follow the shape of the nail, but do not cut down the sides. 
•  Use a nail file to remove sharp corners.  
• Dry feet thoroughly.
•  Do not cut nails too short, the free end of the nail should be level with the tip of your toe. 
•  Do not leave nail varnish on for weeks or even months. The water-proof layer of varnish can damage, discolour, and cause the nail underneath to be in poor condition. 
•  If the nails are brittle, discoloured and in poor condition, apply a nail conditioner after washing. We have a special service where we can show you how to do this, using the instruments and nail care products we recommend.  
• Apply a moisturising heel balm daily.

Skin care is vital to maintaining comfortable feet and preventing dry skin, painful heel cracks / fissures which can become infected. Lightly file dry and cracked skin especially around the heels before washing, do not use harsh ‘cheese grater type files as they can tear and damage the skin.

If you have corns, callosities, athlete’s foot, verrucae or cracked heels you would benefit from a visit to the  podiatrist as they can help with these conditions as well as assess for any underlying causes and then provide advice of self-help and long term management.