Prevent foot pain and other problems by following these simple foot-friendly tips.
Your feet work hard for you every day; unfortunately, most people don’t realize just how much abuse they put their feet through until problems have occurred. You want to be kind to your feet so that they remain kind to you. If you are wondering what you can do to keep your feet feeling their best, our Olney, Kensington, Silver Spring, and Clinton, MD, podiatrists are here to offer up these helpful tips.
Wash Feet Daily
We know that this advice might seem rather obvious, but it’s still something that you should be doing every day. And we don’t mean standing in the shower and letting the soapy water just run over your feet. You actually need to clean every crevice of your feet with soap and water. This is the only way to ensure that you remove bacteria and fungus that could cause infection.
Drying Your Feet is Essential
Once you step out of the shower, the first thing you do is towel off, right? Do you also dry your feet or do you just let them dry on their own? If you said the latter, you need to start making a point of drying your feet too (especially between toes). Leaving feet wet also leaves them prone to certain fungal infections.
Moisturize
Just as you need to keep the skin on the rest of your body supple, you also need to keep your feet hydrated. This can be a challenge during the colder winter months, but it’s important that you find a body lotion that can keep feet moisturized. Make sure to moisturize your feet as soon as you dry them off. This is one surefire way to prevent calluses, corns, and those deep, painful cracks in your heels.
Appropriate Footwear is Key
Nothing is more important than the shoes you wear. If you are someone who wears towering high heels, shoes with pointed toes, or flip-flops, you may want to take a cold, hard look at the shoes you are wearing to determine if they are helping or hurting your cause. If you must wear high heels, make sure to sport comfortable, and properly fitted shoes to and from work and only wear those high heels at the office.
Avoiding heels and making sure you are wearing shoes that don’t bunch up your toes is key to good foot health. If you are stumped as to what kinds of shoes are right for your foot structure, don’t hesitate to ask one of our Olney, Kensington, Silver Spring, and Clinton foot doctors for further recommendations.
Family Foot and Ankle Associates of Maryland is dedicated to providing patients of all ages within the Olney, Clinton, Kensington and Silver Spring, MD, areas with comprehensive and trustworthy foot care. If you have questions about custom orthotics or ways to care for your feet, don’t hesitate to call our office.