Wide Foot Facts

Living the Good Life with Wide Feet!

Category: Tips

Swelling During Pregnancy, Edema

Usually swollen feet don’t indicate a problem, but it can signal pre-eclampsia. If the swelling appears abruptly or if you notice that you are also getting swelling in your hands at the same time, call your health-care provider immediately! Pre-eclampsia is a type of pregnancy-related high blood pressure than can be very dangerous.
Feet are particularly vulnerable to swelling during pregnancy because you have more blood and other fluids circulating in your body — as much as six to eight extra quarts. Women tend to notice slight swelling throughout pregnancy, but especially during the third trimester.
Your feet will grow a half size to a full size during the nine months that you are pregnant Many pregnant women’s feet grow right along with the baby. Even though the fluid-related swelling will disappear within a few days of delivering your baby, some women find that their feet are as much as a size larger following a pregnancy. For that you can blame the hormone relaxin. Relaxin helps loosen your pelvic joints in preparation for your baby’s journey down the birth canal.
Tips for reducing swelling include:
• Lie on your left side. This reduces pressure on major blood vessels to the heart and kidneys.
• Rest lying flat on the floor. Put your feet up to a 45 degree angle.
• Take a luke-warm to cool bath. Water pressure puts more fluid back into your blood vessels.
• Wear tighter, thick stocking socks.
• Wear a well fitting, strong arch support shoe to support the extra weight your carrying. read more

Foot Blisters

Blisters are small swelling of the skin containing watery fluid caused by friction. The body responds to the friction by producing fluid which builds up beneath the part of the skin being rubbed, causing pressure and pain.
Blisters are a common problem with athletes wearing in new shoes. They are also a common problem for athletes, runners and walkers who participate in exceptionally long events such as marathons or long hill walks. To help avoid or lessen blisters, use petroleum jelly or baby powder applied before long walks.
After a blister develops keep it clean and dry. If the blister has not “popped,” leave it alone. Most of the time, the blister will reabsorb and heal on its own.
If a blister is red, leaking yellow fluid or has red lines near the blister, visit a doctor immediately. Redness and leaking yellow fluid are symptoms of infection. read more

General Foot Care

Foot care is really important but it is one part our bodies that we neglect too often. The skin is very delicate and we need to take good care of it if it is going to look good. Since the feet carry the weight of your entire body all day we need to be “aware and take care”. These tips can make a big difference:
• Keep hard, dry skin off your feet using a pumice stone. Soak your feet in hot water for about 5 minutes to soften the skin and help easily remove it. Use lotion or cream generously to help remove the dead skin. Then rinse off the residue.
• After removing the dry skin, soak your feet again for about 10 minutes in warm water. Add some mineral salts or palm sea salts, along with a few drops of scented oils that will relieve the aches and reduce the swelling.
• Dry your feet well, especially between your toes.
• Trim your toenails, cutting straight across the tip and shape gently with an emery board.
• Use a rich foot skin cream and massage in well. Cup your hands on either side of your foot and with your thumbs firmly press the upper part of your foot while pushing your thumbs outwards.
• Wait a while before wearing your shoes. read more

Ingrown Toenails

This very painful condition known to doctors as onychocryptosis, is a fairly common foot problem. When you wear shoes that don’t fit well, the shoes pressing down on the sides of the nail, they curl into the skin on one or both sides of a nail. The skin grows over the edges of the nail and the nail grows into the skin. If you cut your nails too short, you are inviting the nail corner to grow into the skin. It is the natural tendency, when the edge of the nail starts to grow in, to cut down at an angle at the nail edge, to relieve the pain. This does relieve the pain temporarily, but it also can start a downward spiral, training the nail to become more and more ingrown.
Ingrown toenails develop for many reasons. In some cases the condition is congenital, such as toenails that simply are too large. People, who have diseases like arthritis, are prone to ingrown toenails. Sometimes stubbing your toe or having your toe stepped on can cause a piece of the nail to be jammed into the skin. However, the most common cause is cutting your toenails incorrectly, causing them to re-grow into the skin.
When it first starts to occur, you may just need to soak your foot in warm, soapy water for several times each day. Pull back the skin from the nail gently to allow the nail to grow out unimpeded. If your skin around the nail is red, painful or swollen an infection may be present. Untreated, the nail can go under the skin, causing a more severe infection. In either case, the infection needs to be cured with sterile instruments and antibiotics.
If you suspect infection, consult your doctor. Often the doctor can trim or remove the infected nail with a minor in-office surgical procedure. He or she can remove the offending portion of the nail or overgrown skin with a scalpel and treat the infection. Unless, the problem is congenital, the best way to prevent ingrown toenails is to protect the feet from trauma and wear shoes with adequate room for the toes. read more

Shoe Shopping Tips to Minimize Foot Problems

The next time you’re shoe shopping, keep these tips in mind:
Choose sensible heels, an inch and a half or less, with a wide heel base. Narrow, stiletto-type heels don’t give good support.
Recheck your shoe size occasionally, they can get longer and wider as you age.
Don’t rely on shoe size alone, try them on.
Compare the width of the shoe with the width of your foot. Stand next to the shoe in your bare feet. Which is wider — your foot or the shoe? Avoid shoes that are too narrow for your feet, no matter how much you like them.
Try on both shoes for comfort. Fit the larger of your two feet, many people have slight differences between their feet.
Make sure you have at least a finger’s width between your longest toe and the end of your shoe.
Fit the shoes to your feet late in the afternoon or in the evening because your feet may swell up as the day goes on.
Shoes should feel comfortable from the beginning. They are not going to fit better after you have worn them.
Select materials that breathe and allow flexibility, such as leather or nylon mesh.
Stay away from shoes with seams across the toe box, which can rub. read more

Thickening Toenails

Thickening of the toenails is fairly common. Physical damage to your toenail, fungal infection and Psoriasis may be the root cause. Old people also often have thickened, hard toenails, probably because of the damage they have sustained over the years, and because their nails grow more slowly, it takes longer to repair the damage.
For treatment to be successful, above all you must be patient. You will have to use the treatment for at least 3 months, and some treatments take even longer to work. Your nails grow from the base to the tip and it can take 18 months for a nail to be replaced completely by a new one.
General care of your feet can help avoid thickening nails.
Give your feet plenty of air, because warmth and sweat encourage the fungal growth. When you are at home, go barefoot whenever possible.
Choose shoes that give your toes plenty of room.
It is tempting to use nail polish to disguise the nail, but nails need to breathe so use it for short periods only, removing it as soon as possible.
Treat athlete’s foot promptly. If you develop athlete’s foot, treat it quickly so it does not spread to the nails. read more

Sandal Pain in Men

Originally worn by the Romans, sandals are growing in popularity, as much as 20% in the last 2 years. Along with the growing popularity of men’s sandals come more aches and pains for male feet. Doctors with the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) say the wrong sandal could cause problems including heel pain, Achilles tendonitis, pain in the big toe and even breaks and stress fractures in some of the foot’s 26 bones.
Common sense tells us to discontinue wearing sandals if any unusual foot pain persists more than a day.
See your podiatrists as soon as possible, wearing, of course, comfortable, supportive shoes.
The surgeons group (ACFAS) recommends men shop for a sturdy, cushioned, supportive sole and padded straps. Men with diabetes should consult their foot and ankle surgeon before wearing sandals. Despite what many men may tell themselves, foot pain is not normal.
From: FootPhysicians.com read more

Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s foot is a very common skin condition, in fact many people will develop it at least once. However it is uncommon in women and children.
Moisture, sweating and lack of proper ventilation of the feet is the perfect environment for the fungus of athlete’s foot to grow. Athlete’s foot should not be ignored–it can be easily treated, but it also can be very resistant to treatment. Not all fungus conditions are athlete’s foot. Other conditions, such as disturbances of the sweat mechanism, reaction to dyes or adhesives in shoes, eczema, and psoriasis, may mimic athlete’s foot.
Athlete’s foot affects people in different ways. Itching, scaling, peeling and cracking of the skin between the toes, and redness, scaling and even blisters on the soles and along the sides of the feet are common symptoms. Additionally, toenail infections sometimes go along with athlete’s foot.
Athlete’s foot can spread to the soles of the feet and toother parts of the body, notably the groin and underarms, by those who scratch the infection and then touch themselves elsewhere. The organisms causing athlete’s foot may persist for long periods. Consequently, the infection may be spread by contaminated bed sheets or clothing to other parts of the body.
The fungi that causes athlete’s foot grows in moist, damp places. Sweaty feet, not drying feet well after swimming or bathing, tight shoes and socks, and a warm climate all contribute to the development of athlete’s foot.
The medical term for athlete’s foot is tinea pedis. To diagnose athlete’s foot, your doctor will examine your feet and might include scraping some skin off your feet. Then the doctor examines the skin under a microscope to look for growth of the fungus. If the fungus is found, your doctor will prescribe medication for you.
Tips to avoid getting athlete’s foot:
* Avoid walking barefoot; use shower shoes.
* Reduce perspiration by using talcum powder.
* Wear light and airy shoes.
* Wear socks that keep your feet dry, and change them frequently if you perspire heavily. read more

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