Our feet literally carry us through life, so it is unavoidable that they will, from time to time, suffer ailments.
Here are a couple of the most common ones, and how you can prevent/treat them at home:
Corns & Calluses:
Causes:
Excess pressure and friction can produce areas of dead, thickened skin on your feet.
Prevention:
Logic therefore begs that eliminating the cause of all that rubbing or pressure would be the best course of action to prevent corns and calluses. Also, trim those toenails. The pressure of a shoe on a toenail that is too long can force the joint of the toe to push up against the shoe, forming a corn.
Treat:
– Take a soak. Soaking the affected foot in a solution of Epsom salts and warm water, applying a moisturizing cream and wrapping the foot in plastic for a couple of hours will provide temporary relief.
– Chamomile tea. Soaking your feet in diluted chamomile tea can be soothing and will temporarily change the pH of the skin to help dry out sweaty feet. The tea will stain your feet, but the stain can be easily removed with soap and water.
– Cornstarch. Sprinkle cornstarch between your toes to keep the area dry and protect the skin from breaking down. Moisture can make a corn or callus feel miserable and can promote fungal infections.
– Pumice stone. Pumice powder and stones are used for scouring pans and are very useful for sloughing away dead skin. After soaking your foot in warm water for about 20 minutes, use a pumice stone to rub away those corns and calluses.
– Shielding and padding. Padding transfers the pressure of the shoe from a painful spot to one that is free of pain. There are special padded plasters available at Clicks or your local pharmacy that are designed for this purpose.
– Lubricate. If you expect to be doing an unusual amount of walking or running, coat your toes with a little petroleum jelly to reduce friction.
– Choose the right shoes. Corns and calluses form when the size and shape of your shoe don’t accommodate your foot and the way it works.
Bunions:
Bunions are a more serious sort of everyday foot problem, which are formed inside the foot, rather than on the surface. A bunion is frequently a form of arthritis, or bone degeneration. It usually takes the form of a bony bump on the outside of your big toe.
Causes:
A common myth about bunions is that they’re caused by wearing high heels or other shoes that exert pressure on the outside of your big toe. While ill-fitting shoes can certainly make bunions worse, bunions are mostly hereditary. If your parents have bunions, you stand a good chance of having them, too.
Prevention:
In the early stages of bunion pain, a doctor may prescribe orthotics (insoles) and exercises that may stabilize the foot and prevent further development of bunions.
The best immediate treatments for bunion discomfort include the following:
– Apply ice to the area several times a day.
– Soak the affected foot, or feet, in a mixture of one cup vinegar to one gallon warm water.
– Pad the insides of shoes with moleskin or foam rubber cut into a doughnut shape (the hole is for the bunion).
– Switch to shoes with a bigger toe box, or, best of all, wear sandals that leave the bunion area exposed.
Ingrown Toenails:
Causes:
– Tight-fitting shoes or high heels cause the toes to be compressed together and pressure the nail to grow abnormally.
– Improper trimming of toenails can cause the corners of the nail to dig into the skin.
– Either an acute injury near the nail or anything that causes the nail to be damaged repetitively (such as playing soccer) can also cause an ingrown nail.
– If a member of your family has an ingrown toenail, then you are more likely to develop one too. Some people’s nails are normally more rounded than others or the underlying bone can be more “upturned,” which increases the chance of developing ingrown nails.
Prevention:
– The best method of prevention is careful clipping of the toenails. Toenails should be clipped straight across, taking care to keep the end longer than the skin edge. This prevents the corners from digging into the skin. They should not be rounded or cut too short.
– Wear well-fitting shoes and socks that are roomy & comfortable and do not pinch your toes.
– Keep the feet clean and dry.
– Wear protective footwear. If you work in a place where your toe might get hurt, wear sturdy shoes such as steel-toed boots to protect your toes.
Treatment:
– Soak the foot in warm water 4 times a day. You can also add Epsom salts or antibacterial agents to the water. Keep the foot clean and dry during the rest of the day.
– Try to lift up the corner of the nail that is digging into the skin (A great tip is to use waxed dental floss). Take a small piece of cotton or gauze and roll it between your fingers to form a small roll or wick. Then place the roll between the nail and the skin to keep it elevated. This is painful but is the most important part of home treatment.
– After every soaking, try to push the roll a little farther in. Change the cotton or the floss
daily until the pain and redness subside. This will help the nail eventually grow above the skin edge.
-You may take a pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).
– Do not wear high heels or tight-fitting shoes. Consider wearing sandals, if possible, until the condition clears up.
– If you see no improvement within three days, or the ingrown toenail has developed into an infection (drainage, a fever, lighter skin surrounded by red skin, or worsening pain and swelling), call your doctor.
– If you have diabetes or are at increased risk for infection (eg. HIV) rather consult your doctor.
Blackened Toenail:
Causes:
This happens when blood accumulates underneath a nail due to trauma to the area (dropped something on it or you’ve bruised it by stubbing it or banging it repeatedly against the too-tight toe box of your running shoe)
Prevention:
Because this is mostly due to accidental injury, this is hard to prevent.
Treatment:
-Usually the discolouration will go away by itself, although sometimes you may feel pain when the tender toenail pushes against your shoe as you walk. If so, place a bandage or piece of tape around the nail to cushion it while it recovers.
-If your nail doesn’t heal by itself, see a doctor who can numb the toe and drill a small hole in the nail to let the pooled-up blood out.
Loose Toenail:
Causes:
Sometimes a bad jolt can cause the nail to separate from the nail bed, and it will loosen at first at the bottom of the nail or the nail may come off completely.
Prevention: Again, because this is mostly due to accidental injury, this is hard to prevent.
Treatment:
– If the nail is loose or the top appears disconnected from the skin around it, but it is still partly connected, place a bandage across the nail and secure it all the way around the toe. Change the bandage frequently, but keep the nail covered this way for a few weeks, while the injured part has a chance to grow out and be replaced by strong nail.
– If the nail has come off completely, it will grow back, but may take as as long as six months. In the meantime, you must protect the tender toe by covering and padding it to prevent infection and painful contact with shoes.
There is several prescription and over-the-counter products on the market specifically for the treatment of toenail infections and other foot or nail ailments, but most of them can be avoided if you follow a simple routine for foot & nail health:
– Trim your toenails straight across the top rather than trying to round them out; if rough areas remain, gently file them smooth.
– Wear shoes that don’t put pressure on the tops or sides of your toes. That means choosing shoes with a toe box that is long enough to accommodate your longest toe, wide enough to keep your toes from being squeezed together, and high enough to allow you to wiggle your toes while your feet are in the shoes.
– Make sure that you eat enough foods that are rich in vitamin C, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cantaloupe, grapefruit, oranges and orange juice, and strawberries.
Article by: Mariaan Enslin http://www.beautybulletin.com/blog-directory/our-bloggers/promakeupme