Lifestyle Choices

When problems arise, deal with them immediately. A corn or a callus is a simple thing to treat if you act right away. If you wait it can turn into a serious problem in time.

1. Calluses Areas where the skin is hard, calluses are really a form of protection devised by the foot that is sufferering from pressure or friction. They can be removed by soaking your feet and then rubbing with a pumice stone or special foot scraper. You can also spread petroleum jelly over the callus and then wear a cotton sock over it to bed. When you get up in the morning, it will be easier to remove. Thick calloused areas will need several treatments.

2. Bunions A hard swelling at the base of the big toe is known as a bunion. It comes from poorly fitting shoes that push the big toe inward and sideways so that it forms a bony outgrowth at the side. A pocket of fluid called a bursa may also develop between the bone and the skin.

If you seek professional help at the first signs of a bunion it can probably be treated simply, and then corrected with exercises, but if you wait until it is fully developed, surgery may be the only answer.

3. Corns They are the result of ill-fitting shoes. They are another way the foot protects itself from possible damage from constant irritating friction. A callus with a cone-shaped core develops, the eye of the cone being at the deepest level of the callus. If it presses against a nerve, you get severe pain. Small corns can be rubbed away by soaking your feet in hot and salty water for fifteen minutes and then taking a pumice to them. Larger corns have to be removed by a professional with a scalpel, If you try to do it yourself, you risk causing infection. A specially designed padded ring worn over the corn in the meantime can relieve the pressure against the nerve.

4. Athlete’s foot It is a fungus infection that usually appears first just behind and between the toes. Try not to get it in the first place, by keeping your feet clean and dry. You often pick it up at public swimming pools, gyms, and other places where you are exposed to people who have it. First there is only flaking and scaliness, then if it develops, you get cracks that can be extremely painful. Get rid of it by removing the dead skin with a pumice and then applying a fungicidal cream or powder (better both) and keeping it on the feet, which should be covered with cotton socks for the night. Expose the feet as much as you can to dry air. Always change socks, stockings, and tights daily.

5. Verrucas The result of a virus infection that can be picked up much as athlete’s foot is, verrucas or plantar warts sometimes appear in groups on the undersurface of the foot. Occasionally, you only get one at a time. They grow downward into the foot and any pressure on them is extremely painful. Often they clear up by themselves. If not, they need medical treatment and can be removed either with Formalin, burning, or surgery.

6. Chilblains The painful tingling and itching and inflammation of the feet is connected with poor circulation. It can be helped by nutritional therapy—giving nicotinic acid (one form of niacin) regularly along with the rest of the B group of vitamins, particularly B6and pantothenic acid. Vitamin E may also be helpful. Preventive treatment is a must. This means plenty of exercise to improve circulation all over, warm socks and clothing, and no restrictions around the legs, like tight boots or garters. Soaking the feet regularly in hot water for three minutes and then plunging them into ice-cold water for thirty seconds and putting on wool socks afterward can be helpful. Arctic explorers treated them with a mixture of whisky and soap.

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