Your feet play a very important role in supporting you in daily life, Feet contain 26 bones and joints that support the body’s total weight and travel over 100,000 miles in the course of an average person’s lifetime. They allow you to stand, balance, walk, move about and contribute to the alignment of your skeletal system. Some people spend as much as 80 percent of their waking hours on their feet.
The problems that can afflict your feet are numerous. Foot odor, cracked skin, fallen arches, corns, ingrown toenails, fungal infections, and even damaged bones can cause discomfort and reduced mobility. While some of these problems are congenital, you can avoid many of them with a little TLC. If that wasn’t enough of an incentive, all of these problems tend to worsen as we age, so if foot care doesn’t seem important now, it will be.
So taking care of your feet is mandatory for strong and healthy feet.
“Take Care Of Your Feet And They Will Carry You For Life”
by Ann S. Williams, Ph.D., RN, CDE
Following are few tips of foot care:
Contents
- Maintain hygiene daily
- Soak and scrub
- Wear well-fitting shoe
- Wear sunscreen
- Trim your nails
- Examine them regularly
- File your feet
- Paint your nails
- Moisturizing
- Massage
- Take a walk
- Wear socks
1. Maintain hygiene daily
It may sound too simple but healthy feet start with good foot hygiene.
Your feet spend most of every day trapped inside a pair of shoes. All the moisture and sweat provide fertile ground for bacteria to grow, and the spaces between your toes are even more hospitable for bacteria and fungi. When you don’t wash your feet, you’re letting that stuff accumulate from day today. That leads to unpleasant foot odor — and eventually to fungal infections and other skin problems.
- No need for any special foot wash, you just have to rinse them with soft soap and water, including between the toes
- Then dry them thoroughly to avoid infections like athlete’s foot or verrucas.
- Foot powder like talcum powder can keep them dry for a longer period of time.
2. Soak and scrub
- To prevent your feet from dry and rough skin soak your feet regularly and for that, just regular warm water is enough You can add some olive oil and few drops of scented essential oil of your choice (rose essential oil will be great) for additional luxury. It’s best to soak your feet for, approximately, ten to fifteen minutes; otherwise, your feet will become pruned, which isn’t very effective, if you’re trying to remove dead skin.
- After you’ve soaked your feet for a while, be sure to give them a good scrub to smooth rough or dry areas. You can use a foot or facial scrub if you’d like or you can take your feet out of the water and use a pumice stone to massage the rough areas.
Remember: a pumice stone is more effective when your feet are still damp and you should always go with the grain of your feet.
3. Wear well-feting shoe
- It is best to shop for shoes in the afternoon; your feet swell as the day goes on so they will be at their largest then, meaning the shoes you buy should fit better.
- Pick breathable footwear that will help keep your feet dry and healthy.
- If you wear high heels, don’t wear them all the time, rotate them with other pairs of shoes with different height heels.
- Don’t wear flip-flops or sandals all the time, as they do not offer enough support to the foot and can cause issues as your toes try to grab onto them to help them stay on.
4. Wear sunscreen
- The use of Sunscreen for the prevention of aging of feet is as important as for other skin parts.
- Apply broad-spectrum sun cream on the tops of your feet as well as the soles, you may not realize but your feet are at risk of sun damage too!
5. Trim your nails
- Trim them regularly, cut them across to avoid the chance of ingrown toenails.
- Skip cutting cuticles, just gently push them back. They help protect you from infection.
- Cut toenails to the proper length. Your toenails should be about as long as your toes. If they’re any longer, they may rub against your shoes. If they’re too short, it can lead to infection
6. Examine them regularly
Make time to regularly check your feet for signs of things like athlete’s foot and fungal nail infections. This way you will spot the signs early and can treat them before they get too bad. If you have any concerns after checking your feet consult a pharmacist or GP.
7. File your feet
Use a pumice stone or foot file to gently remove dry hard skin, do not remove too much as this encourages it to grow back harder. Do this now and again to keep your feet silky and smooth for the summer months.
8. Paint your nails
- Go bold – bright colors will actually make your feet look younger whilst pastel shades have the opposite effect. Don’t leave chipped polish on your toes either.
- Your nails naturally become more brittle with age. Ingredients in some nail polish and polish remover can speed the process, drying out your nails. Avoid using a polish that is free of formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate. Also, use a nail polish remover free of alcohol.
- Remove nail polish before 2 weeks is up. If you leave it on for longer, you can stain your toenails. However, adding a clear base coat before painting your toenails can help alleviate this problem.
- If you do have stained nails, check to see if they’re also hard and brittle. If so, you likely have a toenail fungus. Ask your doctor about the condition
9. Moisturizing
- To get baby soft feet to use special feet cream or natural oil. After washing and drying your feet at night, put on cream and sealed it by pulling up your socks before bed.
- Try to use oil-based lotion or plain petroleum jelly for your feet. Such types of creams are too heavy for places like your face, but they can help out severely dry areas like cracked heels.
- In general, your feet need a thicker cream than the rest of your body, as the skin on your feet is also thicker. Choose a cream with Vitamin E and coconut oil to keep your feet at their smoothest.
- Look for creams containing petrolatum, an emollient, or a humectant such as lactic acid, which draws moisture into the skin.
- Treat them with a balance as over-moisturizing and wet feet lead to fungal infection.
10. Massage
- Treat your feet to a regular massage – not only will it help keep them looking youthful but it can also increase blood flow and even prevent wrinkles!
Taking care of your feet properly will ensure they serve you well over the years to come, so take on the tips above and you should have healthy, young-looking, and above all happy feet.
11. Take a walk
The muscles in your feet are just like any other muscles — they need exercise to stay strong.
You can’t really lift weights with your foot muscles, so the best way to exercise them is to just take a walk. It doesn’t have to be a long walk, but taking one every day will keep those muscles firm and keep your tendons and ligaments flexible. That can prevent fallen arches later in life.
If you’ve been doing a lot of walking on pavement, your feet might not be up to the impact. Try walking on grass, dirt, or a soft cinder track for added cushioning.
12. Wear socks
Socks not only do they protect your feet from wear and tear, but also absorb and wick away moisture.
Most of the impact of walking or running is absorbed by a layer of fat in your heels. If you spend a lot of time on your feet, your heels might need some extra help. You can use shoe inserts, but a soft pair of socks can add some shock absorption as well. As you age, that fat layer gets thinner, so cushy socks become even more important. In addition, socks act as a barrier between your feet and your shoes, reducing blisters and calluses.
Socks also play a vital role in absorbing and drawing moisture away from your feet. For basic day-to-day wear, use socks made with natural fibers like cotton or wool. They’re absorbent and will eventually wick moisture away from your feet to the breathable portion of your shoes (leather or mesh). For high-performance socks, there are synthetic materials made for athletes that are better at wicking moisture away because the material doesn’t compress as much as natural fibers do when saturated with sweat.