How to Take Care of Your Feet | Arizona Red Mountain Footcare

Although the feet are one of the less attractive parts of your body, they deserve pampering, just like any other member. In fact, because they form the foundation upon which your body stands and walks, you might even say that your feet deserve extra attention. After all, without them, your mobility would most certainly be limited. Thankfully, the Professionals at Red Mountain Footcare have compiled the following information on how to take care of your feet. Follow these tips to ensure your body’s most important members (at least in our eyes) are well maintained:

How to Take Great Care of Your Feet

If you have conditions that inhibit nerve function, such as diabetes or other medical conditions, the following steps are even more important to remember. However, even those without these conditions would do well to remember these tips:

Check Your Feet Often

If you don’t have diabetes or another medical condition that causes nerve issues, you will likely feel a problem developing on your feet, without having to regularly check them. However, when you have this type of medical problem, you can have infections, swelling, red spots, sores, and cuts and not even know they are there. That is why regularly checking your feet for the presence of any potential problems is a good idea. Make checking your feet part of your regular daily routine. If you are unable to bend over to see the bottoms of your feet, employ the use of a mirror or ask a family member or friend to check your feet for you.

Wash Your Feet, Daily

Everyone should wash their feet on a daily basis. Don’t soak your feet, as this tends to dry the skin out, but make sure that you do cleanse them. After you wash them, make sure your feet are completely and thoroughly dry, even in between and around your toes. You can use talcum powder or other similar product to keep the skin dry between your toes.

Keep Skin Smooth

Having calluses or corns on your feet can not only look atrocious but can even cause discomfort when wearing certain shoes. Therefore, it’s a good idea to stay on top of your thickened, calloused skin and keep things smoothed out. After softening the skin in a bath or foot soak, remove the hardened skin carefully, with a pumice stone or other similarly designed tool. (If calluses or corns are not coming off easily, you might need to see a podiatrist such as the professionals at Red Mountain Footcare. You do not want to damage your feet or risk infections by using a razor or cutting these places off your feet.) Once you scrub your rough edges away on the sides of the toes, heels or wherever they are located, be sure to moisturize.

Keep It Soft, With Moisturizer

Speaking of keeping this moisturized, it’s important to moisturize your feet on a regular basis to keep them in the best shape possible. The best lotions and/or creams to use are those that include petrolatum or a humectant. These ingredients are designed to draw the moisture into the skin. If your heels or cracked or extremely dry and are not responding to traditional lotions or creams, your podiatrist can suggest a treatment option or even a prescription that will work better.

Trim Those Toenails

Don’t let your toenails get out of control. Keep them trimmed regularly, usually around once a week. Be sure to trim your nails straight across, avoid cutting into the corners of your toe. After trimming with clippers, go back with a nail file or emery board to smooth the surface of the nails and ensure no jagged edges remain. If you are unable to do this yourself, due to physical limitations, you might have to get someone to help you. If your nails have yellowed or are extremely thick, get your podiatrist or doctor to do the job for you.

Protect Those Feet

We all know it can feel great to go barefoot and that is likely fine on occasion when you have no medical conditions that affect your feet. However, if you are diabetic, you need to wear socks and shoes at all times, even when you are inside your house. This is because you can inadvertently hurt your feet by hitting them on something without the protection your shoes provide. Make sure your socks are made of either wool or cotton, which will keep your feet as dry as possible. It’s also important to remember to protect your feet when they are outside of the protection your shoes provide. For example, if you are at the beach, apply a generous amount of sunscreen to the tops of your feet to protect that delicate skin. Also, remember to apply at least 30 SPF to your feet if you are wearing sandals during the day, even if you aren’t at the beach.

Wear Properly Sized Shoes

Your shoes should not be so tight, they cause discomfort, nor should they be loose enough that your feet move around inside. Also, in general, the toe box of your shoe should be wide. Avoid pointed shoes as they tend to force your toes into an uncomfortable position.

Have a Regularly Scheduled Podiatrist Appointment

Finally, in order to keep your feet in excellent functioning and operating order, you should visit your podiatrist for a checkup. This is especially important if you have diabetes or other condition that can cause nerve related issues. Having a skilled professional look over your feet to ensure they are healthy is always a good idea, and they can also help you with any problems you might be having.