Feet are for life. That’s why more and more men and women are enjoying the benefits of pampering their feet. Other than being an inexpensive way to indulge in good health, well-groomed feet can affect your overall sense of well-being. So whether you are removing rough skin before it can result in a corn or callus, or you are moisturizing your cracked heels, practicing proper and preventative at-home foot care is important to make your feet look and feel healthy and attractive.
Foot care products can also be used in-between professional pedicures to maintain the well-kept appearance of your feet.
Beautify Your Feet
Keeping your feet happy is easy and all it takes is 6 minutes a day.
- In the shower, rub the rough parts of your feet with an exfoliating stone file to restore your skin’s natural softness, paying special attention to your heels.
- Then, exfoliate your skin with a pumice scrub and rinse away.
- After showering, apply a moisturizer for softness that will last all day.
- Applying a cooling lotion is a must for invigorating tired legs and feet, leaving them feeling fresh upon contact.
- After a long working day, massage your feet with a moisturizer to soften rough skin and you’re in for a relaxing sensation.
People, who suffer from diabetes, poor circulation or other medical conditions, should consult their healthcare professional as needed.
Foot Conditions
When your feet feel good, it helps you feel good. Yet most people don’t think about their feet until it’s too late. At some point in your life, you are probably going to experience some sort of physical condition directly associated with your feet. Whether it’s blisters or bunions, warts or athlete’s foot, lower back pain or arch or heel pain, your feet are integral to your health, your quality of life and your state of mind.
Almost 1 out of 2 adults will experience some form of foot condition in their lifetime. Foot care products designed to tailor the fit of your shoes to accommodate the unique specifications of your feet are solutions to these conditions.
Warts
Warts are small, rough growths of skin that usually occur on the hands and feet. They have a “cauliflower-like” surface, and may occur as a single lesion or as a group of lesions. Plantar warts develop on the soles of the feet and are often callused and painful. Plantar warts grow inwards and may be flat due to pressure from walking.
The virus usually enters the body through small cuts or breaks in the skin. Direct transmission can occur from contact with another infected person; children and teenagers tend to be the most susceptible.
Corns, Calluses, and Blisters
Corns form on the feet. They are inverted cones of hard skin, which is pushed into the skin. Corns are caused by the accumulation of special epidermal cells called keratinocytes. These cells accumulate in response to pressure or friction, usually over a bony prominence, like toe joints.
There are two types of corns: Soft corns (corns that form between the toes) and hard corns caused by wearing tight fitting shoes.
Calluses are yellowish areas of skin that thicken in response to repeated pressure and friction from repeated rubbing. They are the body's way of protecting the skin and the structures beneath it from injury. Calluses can form on the skin of any part of the body that is exposed to excessive pressure or friction. It is common for calluses to form over a bony spot, such as the toes, fingers or elbows.
Painful calluses typically occur on the sole of the foot, on the heel or under the five metatarsal heads (i.e., the area where the long inner bones of the toes extend into the foot). These areas typically bear most of the pressure and friction from standing and walking. As the callus thickens, it causes more pressure against the skin inside the shoe, causing pain.
A blister is a small pocket of fluid within the upper layers of the skin. Repetitive shoe friction can create blisters that are painful and may become infected.
Rough, Dry or Cracked Skin
Feet that feel smooth and soft can play a large roll in your over-all sense of well being, both physically and emotionally.
Whether you don’t want to feel self-conscious wearing sandals or you want the luxurious feeling of rubbing the smooth skin of your feet together, there are foot care products that can help.
Lower Back, Leg, and Knee Pain
Overpronation describes the condition where the foot rolls inward when walking or running. Overpronation, which may be caused by flat feet, can increase strain on the lower body causing pain on the feet, knees, leg and back.
Not all overpronators have flat feet. Appropriate foot support is recommended to relieve or prevent foot, knee or lower back pain associated with overpronation.
Foot Odour & Wetness
If you suffer from smelly and sweaty feet, you’re not alone since this foot condition affects millions of Canadians.
The two common feet conditions are sweaty feet and smelly feet. Having more than 250,000 sweat glands in the foot, an increase in body temperature or wearing closed shoes will allow bacteria to grow causing the feet to sweat and smell.
Bunion Pain
A bunion is an enlargement of the joint at the base of the big toe. The big toe may turn towards the second toe remaining in a fixed position and may become painfully inflamed due to poorly fitting shoes.
Bunions appear to be hereditary. Some people are more likely to get bunions because of the shape of the foot.
Though bunion treatment requires medical attention from a podiatrist or a physician, foot care products can provide relief of painful shoe pressure.
Athlete’s Foot
One of the most common types of fungal infection affecting adult and teenage men is Athlete’s foot, which is caused by daily activity and personal hygiene. It also affects people with compromised immune systems. In addition, warmer weather, such as the summer, contributes to this condition.
Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that lives on dead tissue of the hair, toenails, and outer skin layers. These fungi thrive in warm, damp areas such as shoes, socks and the floors of public showers, locker rooms, and swimming pools.
Signs include dry, flaky, cracked and itchy skin. The infected and malodorous feet can sometimes appear red, moist or with blisters.
Arch or Heel Pain
Your left and right foot are a slightly different size and shape – but your left and right shoes length and width are identical. So unless your shoes are custom made to accommodate every curve and contour of your feet, they will not fit perfectly. Arch pain relief and / or heel pain relief can be provided by foot care products. You will find the foot care products that address these and other conditions in the foot care section of Lawtons Drugs.
