Five Healthy Feet Tips for a Happy New Year

As the end of the year winds down (already?!), once again, unless you have foot pain, our tooties are the last things we focus on. Turkey, trips, tantrums and those terrifically terrible relatives are of more importance! So I challenge all of you to take this moment to make those simple changes that will keep our feet happy for a long, long time to come.

A resolution and a fresh foot start for the new year! Let’s get started!

Feet tend to swell more in the afternoon. Shop for shoes in the afternoon so you aren’t stuck with a pair you can’t get off at the end of the day! Be sure they feel good in the store. Shoes are not meant to be “broken in”. And if you are shopping for your children, bring them with you. They may feel something wearing the shoe you couldn’t possibly know without them putting them on!

If you have to wear a heel, stick to one that is no more than 1 ½ inches. Over that, you greatly change the dynamics of foot function putting 75% of your weight on the ball of your foot. Save the stilettos for short distances, not shopping trips if you can’t part with them altogether!

It is a good habit to powder up those feet with a powder that has corn starch before putting your socks on. This will help keep them dry. Moisture causes foot odor and althete’s foot. If you don’t want the powder in a sandal, pick up some Summer Soles at www.summersoles.com. This is a paper thin inlay for sandals and shoes that wick the sweat right off your feet so your feet don’t slosh and slide on it!

Avoid trimming your nails too short. This can cause an ingrown. Keep your nails trimmed so there is still a little “white” showing on the end. Round the corners with a file so they don’t dig in.

Get your pedicures at a place where you see them physically take the nail packets out of an autoclave (the device that sterilizes them). Now is not the time to skimp on nail care. The cheaper the place, the less they want to put into the cost of sterility. And if you don’t know how difficult it is to get rid of a fungus, here’s a pearl: over-the-counter topical nail solutions are only about 12% effective and less! And that is after you use it consistently for a year without painting your nails that entire time!!

Here’s an extra tip because I simply could not stop at 5!! Visit us if you have any type of foot pain that does not go away within a few days of TLC on your part. A chronic foot problem is so much harder to get rid of even with our help!

Remember, feet are our friends until they hurt! Let’s keep them on our good side!