Not inheriting my grannies feet. (Foot Care in General)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	Foot Care in General
Date:	03/05/02 (153 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: prevention being better than cure

Disadvantages: the research wasn't much fun.

I'll start by explaining the title. My gran has bunions, many bunions, all of which are due to her fondness, in youth, for pointy heely shoes. I grew up being frequently exposed to visions of these feet and beleive me, I've never had much of a fondness for high heels. If I manage nothing else in my time on this planet, I mean to leave it with feet that can still be used for getting about on.

So, some wisdom accumulated from my gran, other people's gran's and bitter expereince. These are things you can avoid with care, rather than foot diseases that need treating.

Bunions: These are effectively a deformity of the bone caused by squeezing feet into unnatural shapes and then applying pressure. They hurt, they sweel, and as far as I can tell are very unpelasant. Solution - don't spend your entire life tottering about in pointy heely shoes. Spend at least some of your time in flat shoes, no shoes, shoes wide enough to fit and with a bit of luck your later years won't be shadowed by this. If you want to do ballet, don't try and do point work until you are into your teens - soft children's bones deform badly (someone else's granny explained this horror) and you can be damaged for life. You are not designed to stand on your toes, it can be done, but don't start too early. Most teachers these days won't let you do point work too young, but apparently it used to be a lot more common.

Athlete's foot: You don't have to be at all sporty to get this horrible, itchy fungal infection. If you wear lots of synthetics that don't let your feet breathe, they can go mouldy. Icky, but true. Flacky irritated skin is tha main symptom, it spreads and is infectious so you can apss it on to others. Solution - natural fibers for socks help a lot as they take up any sweat. Clean and dry your feet regularly, give them some time without socks or shoes. Leather uppers on shoes are good. Some of the worst culprits are
trainers, which can actually make your feet sweat more - don't wear them all the time.

Blisters - usually caused by shoes that do not fit properly. New shoes that haven't been broken in yet can rub, breaking the skin (leading to sores, scars, scabs and the like), shoes that are a little too loose can rub, causing the skin to form a pussy defence mechanism, and to hurt for a long time. Try to buy shoes that actually fit. If shoes are loose, wear an extra pair of socks - in walking boots, two pairs of socks will do a lot to protect you from blisters. make sure there aren't any loose, rough or pointy bits in your boot. Wear cotton or wool socks - synthetic ones slide about more, so you get more rubbing. If you know a boot is rubbing, try sticking a plaster over the afflicted area before any real trouble starts - sticking plasters on blisters is a waste of time, but get in there early and you can avoid some pain. If you do get blisters, try not to walk on them, wear shoes other than those that have caused the problem, and get some Foot lotion from the Body shop.

Aches, pains etc: usually caused by walking or standing for too long in unsuitable shoes. you need to walk - total rest isn't any good for feet either, but if you suddenly go for a ten mile walk, expect to hurt a bit afterwards. Standing still for a long time does not do much good and is best avoided - try to move round as this keeps your blood moving. Massage and warm foot baths, perhaps with a drop of mustard in, will do a good deal to relieve tired feet.

Bare feet - if you want to be a hippy in the summer and go round bare foot, be aware of the following. One, when you start, your skin will be soft and tender. You need to build up a god pad of dead skin, so stop pumicing your feet. Two, Hot tarmac is painful. Three, there are lots of sharp unpleasant things under foot and you need to pay lots of attention to where you are going - walking on broken glass isn't n
ice.

So, that's my accumulated wisdom. I suffered to get it, but I learn, so hopefully I won't be facing old age with feet that look as though they've been on the receiving end of a badly organised Chinese style foot binding exersize.

Hope that helps.

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