Did you know

• that the human foot comprises 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments?
• by the age of one a child’s foot will have grown to half its adult size?
• your feet have over 250,000 sweat glands?
• feet host a quarter of all bones in your body?
• Approximately half the population has a contagious foot condition such as a verruca or a fungal nail infection?

Feet are a complex and intricate structure that can walk, run, jump, climb and leap.

Feet need regular care and attention to remain healthy. Here are some hints and tips on how to keep your feet fit and healthy.

Footcare information

Basic footcare advice on how you might best be able to carry out some ‘self-management’ of your feet .

Nail Care

Generally, it is best to treat the nails ‘little and often’ and make the care of your nails part of a weekly routine so that they are not allowed to develop into a problem.

To reduce the chances of injury we would suggest the use of a file e.g. a diamond deb foot dresser 20cm, which can be used on the nails and the skin. Filing the nails will help to keep nails thin as well as short.

If nail cutting is necessary, we would suggest that nail nippers are used to cut the nails straight across and file the corners thereby reducing the risk of an ingrowing toenail.

If you suffer from the build up of skin down the sides of the nails (usually the nails on the big toes), we suggest the use of Gehwol skin softener to allow for its easy and pain free removal.

Skin Care

As with nail care problematic build ups of skin (callus) are better treated ‘little and often’.

Lightly filing the hard skin regularly followed by the application of a moisturiser will help to keep the skin healthy and supple. The moisturiser should be used all over the feet from the heels to the toes but should not be applied between the toes as this can encourage the build-up of moisture potentially leading to athletes’ foot.

Between the toes, surgical spirit should be used to prevent the skin from becoming too damp.

Infection

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to your feet is for an infection to develop and spread.

The most common signs of bacterial infection are: –

• Redness – the most understood sign of infection is redness which can spread rapidly.
• Heat – the area of the infection is likely to be warmer than the corresponding site on the other foot.
• Pain – there will usually be an increase in pain as an infection develops.

If one or more of the above is happening it would indicate an infection and if there is an escalation in these identifiers it indicates that your body is losing the battle against the bacteria causing the infection.

If this happens to you, we suggest that you contact your GP surgery as you may need antibiotics to stop the infection spreading.

If you are in doubt about any of these areas of your feet or anything relating to problems with your feet or ankles then please contact us to make an appointment with one of our podiatrists.

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