Unlike my kinky friend, I am not into foot care for the purpose of turning on men, but rather for hygiene and vanity. I love to wear open-toe sandals during summer and would rather be caught dead than show off my toenails when they’re not clean and polished. Part of my beauty ritual is a couple of hours a week dedicated to my feet. I love having a pedicure and foot massage, having pristine-looking feet. I also know that not everyone is born lucky to have pretty feet. But whatever shape or size or condition they are in, your feet deserve to be pampered. They are worth your weight in gold.
I attended a forum on foot care with a podiatrist, Dr. Oliver Zong, a few months ago. He emphasized that "pretty feet are healthy feet."
Here, he answers FAQs on feet, toenails and foot care.
Is it okay to use a callus shaver? My heels get so callused that a pumice stone or creams don’t help. My heels get dry and cracked. How can I avoid this?
Generally, it is not a good idea to use a sharp instrument on your feet as you might hurt yourself – unless you go to a professional to perform this service. A pumice stone is safer to use. You will find best results when the skin is soft and supple, like after a bath or shower or after soaking your feet in a foot spa. There are other things you can do to help reduce cracked heels, such as using moisturizers and creams on your heels and avoid using backless shoes. For severely cracked heels, there are prescription creams with acids in them that will help eat away at the dead skin. A good trick is to apply a heavy cream such as Vaseline on the heels (I have even seen people using Vick’s Vaporub on their heels), then wear socks over the cream while you sleep. You will see a great improvement after a few days.
One of the joys of walking on the beach is going barefoot. Is this something we should avoid?
It’s good advice to avoid going barefoot, especially if you are diabetic or have any neuropathy in your feet. You want to avoid the risk of stepping on broken glass or rusty nails; you also open yourself to being exposed to such things as viruses which cause warts and can occur frequently on the soles of the feet. If you want to let your feet breathe, it is advisable to wear sandals or a pair of flip-flops.
How can I avoid having thick, yellow toe nails that my mother had? Is this fungus or something systemic?
Generally, thick yellow nails are caused by fungus but they can be caused by other things, too. The only way to find out is to go to a doctor who will examine your nails under a microscope to find out if it is indeed a fungal infection. If it is fungus, there are lacquer preparations and also oral tablets to cure it. If you are a person whose feet sweat a lot, you will be prone to fungus infections. You will have to apply antiperspirant to your feet to keep them dry. A more costly treatment is having your feet injected with Botox, which freezes all muscles, including sweat glands. Don’t wear the same pair of shoes on a daily basis and try to air them to keep them dry. Fungus thrives in moist, warm conditions. So if you air your shoes and avoid having your feet sweat a lot, you will be at less risk for fungal nails.
How do I avoid ingrown toenails? My big toenails are curling under on the sides; I have to constantly dig them out to stop the pain. Sometimes I get an infection before I can dig them out.
If you have chronic ingrown, you may want to consider having a permanent nail procedure performed so that the edge of the nail never grows back. Any podiatrist can do this for you. But in general, for most people, you should try to clip your toenails straight across and not dig into the corners to avoid ingrown. Also, excessive pointy shoes should be avoided as the excess pressure can cause an ingrown toenail.
I have painful bunions on the side of my big toe. I also have curled toes (hammer toes) that cause me pain when wearing certain shoes; I have to choose wide shoes that look very unglamorous. What should I do?
With your foot deformities, I would recommend cosmetic foot surgery. The bunion is shaved off and hammer toes are straightened and the foot is narrowed to allow you to fit into normal, fashionable shoes. There are several types of procedures for correcting bunions which have improved through the years. You can return to work after a few weeks of surgery as compared to a few months in the past. Foot deformities could be caused, too, by arthritis, so consult your medical professional.
My little toe is shaped so strangely. It is flattened on its sides and does not look like my other normal toes. It has a very little toenail, too. Is there a cosmetic surgery procedure for this condition?
There is cosmetic surgery for the feet and a lot of women do it. Reshaping of fifth toes or pinky toes, toe shortening or even toe lengthening procedures are done. There is not much that can be done for toenails, however. But toes definitely can be reshaped. Most patients can return to wearing sneakers on the third or fourth week and to their normal shoes on the sixth week after a toe-reshaping procedure.
Dr. Zong summarizes his top five recommendations for daily foot care:
1. If your shoes aren’t comfortable, they don’t fit. When you purchase new shoes, they should be comfortable the moment you put them on. There is no such thing as a break-in period.
2. Keep your feet dry and clean. Things such as foot odor, fungal nails, or athlete’s foot arise from having sweaty feet. The drier your feet, the less you are at risk for these problems. And your partner will thank you, too, because sweaty feet are smelly feet.
3. Cut your toenails straight across to avoid ingrown toenails.
4. Avoid going barefoot as this often leads to most foot problems.
5. Treat yourself to a nice foot soak or pedicure every now and then.