Proper Foot Care Helps Prevent Serious Problems
Our feet are an essential part of our everyday mobility. While some of us may rely more heavily on them than others, we all use our feet to take us from one place to another. Anyone that has ever dealt with an issue regarding their feet has been stricken with a grim reminder of just how important their feet are to their everyday doings.
Just as one takes care of their body, their hair, and their nails, they must consider proper care techniques for their feet. From picking the right shoes to properly moisturizing to avoid dry and cracked feet, there are a lot of care tasks that each person must consider. For anyone that has been dealing with foot-related issues, we're going to go over some of the most common issues and reveal some foot care tips to prevent and treat these conditions.
Common Foot Issues
Our feet take a lot of abuse from exercise to daily walking, and sometimes issues can occur. These issues can range from mild to severe. Some can be easily treated with over the counter medications and proper care. However, others may need to be treated by a foot specialist. Here is a list of the most common issues that people experience with their feet:
- Athlete's Foot - This condition is characterized as a fungal infection that is usually visible between a person's toes. Symptoms associated with athlete's foot include itching, cracking, blistering, discomfort, and redness.
- Blisters - Unfortunately, blisters happen to many of us in various areas throughout our bodies. These are characterized as fluid-filled, raised pockets on the skin. They show up after running, hiking, or walking for long periods of time where the feet have become overly sweaty.
- Plantar Fasciitis - This foot-related condition is defined as inflammation of the plantar fascia ligament that supports the foot's arch. Most people with this condition will experience pain in the heel when walking that gets worse throughout the day.
- Ingrown Toenails - Having ingrown toenails can be a painful condition. Toenails that have overgrown are located in the nail groove. Patients with this foot condition will experience pain, swelling, and redness.
Foot Care Tips
Keeping our feet healthy is a great way to ensure that we can continue to effortlessly get around each day. Our daily foot care routine should be considered just as important as brushing our teeth and eating our food. Each day, the feet should be checked over for any swelling, cuts, sores, or infections. During this process, be sure to push on the sides of the big toes to check for any pain developing from an ingrown toenail.
While in the shower, it's important to clean the feet with warm water to flush off any harmful bacteria. Applying a nightly moisturizer is a great way to prevent dry, cracked feet. However, it's important to remember that moisturizer should only be applied to the bottom of the foot. Don't apply moisturizer in between the toes as this could unintentionally lead to conditions like athlete's foot. One should keep the skin between the toes as dry as possible to avoid unwanted infections.
When a person wears shoes all day long, they can get sweaty and leave moisture inside of the shoe. For this reason, it's a good idea to rotate through different shoes and never wear the same ones day after day. Although flip flops and flat shoes may be an easy grab, these types of shoes don't provide any arch support for the feet. They shouldn't be worn on a regular basis.
Most Popular Foot Creams
Treating our feet starts with knowing what products to buy. When it comes to moisturizing the feet, there are a few key products that one should consider. These include:
- Burt's Bee Foot Cream
- Ancient Greek Remedy Foot Balm
- Vermont's Original Big Balm
- Dr Teal's Pure Epsom Salt Foot Cream
All of these products work to moisturize the skin, heal existing cracked skin, and protect against future dry skin problems. Whatever moisturizer one chooses should be applied each night to ensure the feet stay properly moisturized. A great tip is to apply the moisturizer as one gets into bed so that the feet stay elevated while the moisturizer soaks in.
