Foot care
Feet comprise 28 bones connected with ligaments and joints. They carry the weight of our body and carry us, literally, all our life. A person makes 8000 to 20000 steps every day. Correct foot care is important for the foot health and easy walk. Foot care can be taken at home or at cosmetic saloons with professional pedicurists.
How to care for your feet correctly:
- Fill a small bath with warm water; add see salt and a few drops of etheric oils. Lavender, tea tree and eucalyptus oils have antibacterial and antifungal effects. Dip your feet in the bath and keep them there 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the rough skin from your feet by using a porous stone ora pedicure file. To remove dead rough skin from your feet you can use a ready peeling to massage your feet with.
- Once you have removed dead skin cells from your feet, wash them, and dry them carefully, particularly the regions between the toes which can be habitats for development of fungal infections of the feet.
- Clip your nails correctly, so that you cut them evenly, and keep them rectangular. If you cut too much, it can cause ingrown nails. If the nails have changed colour (turned yellow) you can rub them with a lemon half, or use a nail bleach liquid. If the nails are stiff and rigid, it is difficult to clip them and they are prone to ingrowing.
- Spread a foot cream over your feet. These creams have a hydration, refreshing and protection effect. After spreading the cream, massage the feet lightly. Foot massage is very important since it has a relaxation and anti-stress effect.
Regular foot care is the best guarantee for healthy and pretty feet throughout life. The main purpose of care is to keep the feet and nails healthy.
Foot issues:
- Unpleasant smell and sweating. This problem can be resolved with everyday foot hygiene. After washing, you can use a gel, spray or powder with and an astringent effect which reduces sweat generation, and thereby the unpleasant smell. Always wear cotton socks which will absorb the excess of sweat and change them regularly. Prior to putting your footwear on, put some powder on your feet to absorb the sweat. Wear natural material footwear. You can find insoles in pharmacies to neutralize the unpleasant smell of the feet.
- Athletic feet is a fungal foot infection. It usually occurs between the toes, but may spread over whole foot and nail. If it is localized in the region between the fingers, it may be resolved relatively easily by regular foot hygiene and application of a chlomatrysonecontaining cream. If the infection covers entire foot and nail, you should go to see a doctor to decide about an adequate therapy.
- Ingrown nail is a condition accompanied by a painful and often pus-filled discharge. It is a consequence of incorrect nail clipping and wearing too narrow shooing. You should not attempt to resolve this problem on your own. You should see a professional pedicurist to make adequate clipping to resolve the problem.
- Corn is a thickening on the foot caused by wearing too narrow footwear. When you apply pressure on a corn, pain, similar to needle prick, appears. Corn can be removed by using drops or plaster. These products contain active components with ceratolytic action. If you do not succeed in removing corn by using products bought in pharmacy, that means that the root is deeper and you should seek help from a pedicurist.
- Warts are virus growths on foot. When you press a wart, there is no pain. They are not pretty aesthetically, but they do not cause problems. They can be removed by using plasters or drops.
- Foot deformation (flat feet, lowered foot).To deal with a foot deformity, one should necessarily go to see a doctor (an orthopaedist, or a physiatrist) who will examine the foot and recommend wearing adequate shoes, orthopaedic insoles or exercise.
Diabetic foot care
Diabetics should pay particular attention to foot care. Diabetics should leave foot care and nail clipping to professionals (pedicurists). They should wear soft natural material footwear, which should be neither too narrow nor too short.
And a few more pieces of advice...
- Do easy foot exercises so as to strengthen the foot muscles, such as: walk barefoot on your soles, on toes, on the outer foot edge or pick marbles from the floor with your toes and place them in bowl. These exercised are particularly good for children.
- Do not wear high heal shoes, not higher than 3 to 4 cm. Do not wear narrow or short footwear.
- Wear open footwear or walk barefoot whenever possible. Avoid long standing, and walk lightly every day. All listed products and advice how to use them can be found in all our pharmacies.
