The little things you do can get your arthritis pain under control and increase your mobility. Lots of patient in my Grapevine, TX, office complain of arthritis pain in their feet and ankles as well as their knees, hips and back. The dynamic chain of our lower extremity biomechanics is all connected. Help your back by helping your feet, knees and hips! All the joints benefit!
When you have osteoarthritis, it is very common to cut back on most of your physical activities to minimize your pain. This inactivity often leads to more health problems, so it is important to find ways to keep the pain under control.
Here are my top eleven tips to keep you moving with arthritis:
1. Lose Weight. Every pound matters. Think that if you lose one pound, it takes three pounds of torque off your feet. Every extra pound puts more pressure on all your joints. Find a sound lifestyle changing diet and adjust your eating habits to slowly lose the weight.
2. Give yourself a break. Overuse can increase arthritis symptoms significantly. To ease your pain and the stress on your joints, take frequent breaks. Break large tasks into small ones.
3. Stretch. Athletes always ask, “To stretch or not to stretch, that is the question?” In patients with arthritis, stretching can really ease the pain in your joints, especially you foot and ankle. Learn to stretch properly and make it a daily habit.
4. Exercise. Exercise will help maintain mobility and flexibility as well as strength. Yoga or water workouts are good alternatives for patients with arthritis. If you don’t move it, you will lose it!
5. Heat it up. A hot water bottle, warm compresses or a heating pad can often relieve arthritis pain. Be careful not to make it too hot, especially if you have diabetes and a little neuropathy!
6. Talk to your doctor. There are many new options for pain relief, so don’t think you just have to live with it. Ask your doctors for options.
7. See a podiatrist. A podiatrist can help you with shoe gear, functional foot orthotics and even joint surgery that can relieve your pain. Talk to a podiatrist about options to ease your foot and ankle pain and/or balance the biomechanics of your lower extremity to let your joints function as optimally as they can.
8. See a physical therapist or chiropractor. Many times a little physical therapy or manipulation can help to ease your pain and get you moving in the right direction.
9. Try OTC options. Many people use over-the-counter arthritis pain relievers or topical analgesic creams to help with their pain. My favorite is Biofreeze.
10. Consider supplements. Many patients report relief from glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. Remember that you need to take them for at least a month to see if they help.
11. Start early. Get your arthritis pain under control early. It is much easier to get it under control and focus on a mobility regimen when you are younger. It is easier to lose weight in your 40’s than your 60’s.
Arthritis pain getting you down? Follow these tips to help control your pain and increase your mobility!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Chronic foot and ankle injuries, why not wait?
I just had a friend tell me this. She has had pain and swelling in her ankle and is ready to have it addressed. Crazy thing is, her injury happened in 1996! Say again?! 1996?! And this prompted me to write about what happens if you wait.
With 26 bones, 33 joints on top of more than 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles, the foot has plenty of places it can injure. All of these parts make a whole in the function of the foot and ankle. And since the foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone and the ankle bone’s connected…well you get my drift. One component stretches, breaks, tears, strains and every other part has to bear the load of that one small part. With as much as we use our feet, one or some components have already given out to some degree.
So now we all have feet that are not in their perfect position to function at their best.
The aches and pains begin. Sure, Tylenol and Motrin are great band-aides. But they mask pain rather than fix what’s wrong. Keep it up and over time, the anti-inflammatories stop working. Not a good sign. The stress from years of small, meaningless injuries start adding up to more stress than your feet and ankles can handle. Now your injury is chronic. What does that mean? It means that you have ignored the small stuff and now your body is ignoring it too and won’t heal it on its own.
Good thing is, most of you are not a professional athlete, like Shaquille O’Neal, whose plantar fasciitis raised havoc on his ability to dunk those hoops! Bad thing is, whether you are Shaq or not, ignoring an injury or chronically re-injuring could have dire consequences.
I found this list off an article about athletic performance by Keith Wassung listing the following athletes using chiropractic care as part of body maintenance:
Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Keith Jackson, Emmit Smith, Chris Carter, Evander Holyfield Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Jr., Wade Boggs, Penny Hardaway, Jon Smoltz, Ken Griffey, Jr. Mark McGwire, Ryne Sandberg,, Ricky Bell, Brett Butler, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Robert Parish, Gerald Wilkins, Lee Haney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr. Frank Columbu, Irving Fryar, Brett Hall, Tiger Woods, Roberto Clemente Michael Carbajol, Bob Hayes, Muhammad Ali, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Alex Karras, Gary Clark, Mark May, Charles Haley, Bill Fralic, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Tim Dwight, Jack Dempsey,Fred Funk, Beth Daniel, Mary Lou Retton, Olga Korbut, Wayne Gretzky, Rocky Marciano, Dan O’Brien, Bruce Jenner, Donovan Bailey, Mac Wilkins, Dwight Stones, Mary Decker, Willie Banks, Nancy Ditz, Gregg Blasingame, Billy Jean King. Tracy Austin, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Jim Connors, Jan Stephenson, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury, Barry Bonds, Vijay Singh,Steve Nash, LeBron James, Barry Zito, Grant Hill, Shaquille O’Neal
Why not podiatric care to maintain the only set of “tires” you have?!
The simple lesson here is, if you do not want to spend your golden years limping and kicking yourself for not addressing your foot and ankle pain sooner, get in to see your podiatrist when the injury happens! An acute injury is sooooo much easier to treat and your prognosis is soooo much better if you treat EARLY. And remember that with many injuries, though you may have healed, you are also more prone to re-injury. The best thing about early intervention is that you will also be informed of ways to prevent re-injury. Either way, that visit to your podiatrist could take you many more miles and that is golden!
The simple lesson here is, if you do not want to spend your golden years limping and kicking yourself for not addressing your foot and ankle pain sooner, get in to see your podiatrist when the injury happens! An acute injury is sooooo much easier to treat and your prognosis is soooo much better if you treat EARLY. And remember that with many injuries, though you may have healed, you are also more prone to re-injury. The best thing about early intervention is that you will also be informed of ways to prevent re-injury. Either way, that visit to your podiatrist could take you many more miles and that is golden!
With 26 bones, 33 joints on top of more than 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles, the foot has plenty of places it can injure. All of these parts make a whole in the function of the foot and ankle. And since the foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone and the ankle bone’s connected…well you get my drift. One component stretches, breaks, tears, strains and every other part has to bear the load of that one small part. With as much as we use our feet, one or some components have already given out to some degree.
So now we all have feet that are not in their perfect position to function at their best.
The aches and pains begin. Sure, Tylenol and Motrin are great band-aides. But they mask pain rather than fix what’s wrong. Keep it up and over time, the anti-inflammatories stop working. Not a good sign. The stress from years of small, meaningless injuries start adding up to more stress than your feet and ankles can handle. Now your injury is chronic. What does that mean? It means that you have ignored the small stuff and now your body is ignoring it too and won’t heal it on its own.
Good thing is, most of you are not a professional athlete, like Shaquille O’Neal, whose plantar fasciitis raised havoc on his ability to dunk those hoops! Bad thing is, whether you are Shaq or not, ignoring an injury or chronically re-injuring could have dire consequences.
I found this list off an article about athletic performance by Keith Wassung listing the following athletes using chiropractic care as part of body maintenance:
Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Keith Jackson, Emmit Smith, Chris Carter, Evander Holyfield Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Jr., Wade Boggs, Penny Hardaway, Jon Smoltz, Ken Griffey, Jr. Mark McGwire, Ryne Sandberg,, Ricky Bell, Brett Butler, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Robert Parish, Gerald Wilkins, Lee Haney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr. Frank Columbu, Irving Fryar, Brett Hall, Tiger Woods, Roberto Clemente Michael Carbajol, Bob Hayes, Muhammad Ali, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Alex Karras, Gary Clark, Mark May, Charles Haley, Bill Fralic, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Tim Dwight, Jack Dempsey,Fred Funk, Beth Daniel, Mary Lou Retton, Olga Korbut, Wayne Gretzky, Rocky Marciano, Dan O’Brien, Bruce Jenner, Donovan Bailey, Mac Wilkins, Dwight Stones, Mary Decker, Willie Banks, Nancy Ditz, Gregg Blasingame, Billy Jean King. Tracy Austin, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Jim Connors, Jan Stephenson, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury, Barry Bonds, Vijay Singh,Steve Nash, LeBron James, Barry Zito, Grant Hill, Shaquille O’Neal
Why not podiatric care to maintain the only set of “tires” you have?!
The simple lesson here is, if you do not want to spend your golden years limping and kicking yourself for not addressing your foot and ankle pain sooner, get in to see your podiatrist when the injury happens! An acute injury is sooooo much easier to treat and your prognosis is soooo much better if you treat EARLY. And remember that with many injuries, though you may have healed, you are also more prone to re-injury. The best thing about early intervention is that you will also be informed of ways to prevent re-injury. Either way, that visit to your podiatrist could take you many more miles and that is golden!
The simple lesson here is, if you do not want to spend your golden years limping and kicking yourself for not addressing your foot and ankle pain sooner, get in to see your podiatrist when the injury happens! An acute injury is sooooo much easier to treat and your prognosis is soooo much better if you treat EARLY. And remember that with many injuries, though you may have healed, you are also more prone to re-injury. The best thing about early intervention is that you will also be informed of ways to prevent re-injury. Either way, that visit to your podiatrist could take you many more miles and that is golden!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Foot and Ankle Injuries in Golfers
Most of the time, injuries that occur in the foot and ankle during golf activites are either due to overuse type injuries or traumatic injuries. Overuse injuries are more common and are commonly directly related to the mechanics of the golf swing.
The golf swing can be broken down into the following phases:
Set up
Takeaway
Downswing
Impact
Follow-through
At set up: The weight should be evenly distributed on both feet with slightly more weight on the inside of the balls of the feet. During the takeaway or back swing phase, the front foot should pronate, placing more pressure on the inside of the foot while the back foot stays stable as it receives more weight. At times the heel of the front foot will come off the ground to promote a full shoulder turn.
During the downswing: Weight will rapidly shift to the front foot until impact, at that point the weight should be evenly distributed between both feet. A lateral shift of the hips and knees will occur during downswing that continues through the impact of the ball and will continue slightly into the follow-through phase.
During the follow-through phase, the front foot supinates and the back heel comes off the ground with the weight of the back foot being placed on the big toe.
The most common golf injuries that occur in the foot and ankle are heel pain, metatarsalgia, Mortons Neuroma and tendinitis. Most of the time these injuries occur due to an increase of the motion in the feet.
Most common complaint in golfers is an intermetatarsal neuroma. Typically these occur in the third interspace and is almost always in the non-dominant foot. In other words if you swing the foot with the right then the neuroma is more likely to develop in the left foot. The nerve becomes irritated and is more noticeable in longer shots. As the forefoot inverts and the rearfoot supinates the interdigital nerve becomes irritated within the interspace. Symptoms include burning, tingling, numbness and shooting pains into the toes. Treatment begins with NSAIDS, Ice, Injection therapy and custom orthotics. One important treatment option is to adjust the mechanics of the swing to decrease the inversion/supination of the foot. Abduction of the front foot will help decrease the inversion at the end of the swing and decrease the irritation of the nerve.
Extensor Tendinitis: another complaint that we commonly see with golfers. This is due to driving the golf cart. It is often caused after driving a hilly course and using the brake to much. The motion of depressing the brake on a golf cart can cause a strain on the extensor digitorum longus tendons and causes irritation of those tendons. Symptoms include top of the foot pain and sometimes swelling. If this sounds like something you may have developed try alternating feet that use the brake. Using the heel to depress the brake may also help.
Lateral Ankle Pain: Occurs due to excessive motion of the rearfoot during the golf swing follow through. The forces that are applied during the follow through phase cause an abduction of the knee on the non-dominant limb and a supination on the foot on that side with eversion of the rearfoot. Symptoms include lateral ankle pain, lateral midfoot pain and swelling to the foot and ankle. Treatment starts with stabilizing the ankle with a compression brace or ankle brace. Trying to abduct the front foot toward the target and away from the midline of the body in the stance position when the golfer is addressing the ball will help take pressure off the lateral ankle.
Hallux and Subungal Hematomas: this occurs when the golfer applies excessive pressure to the big toe during the golf swing. Typically this occurs at the end of follow through and will only happen on the dominant foot. It occurs due to a jamming of the toe into the top of the shoebox. With repetition the subungal tissue will be injured and blood will form under the nail plate. Symptoms include pain in the hallux, pain with pressure on the hallux and a discolored big toenail. Treatment includes draining of the toenail or removal of the toenail.
We talked at the beginning that most golf injuries are caused by an increase motion of the foot. Studies have found that custom orthotics, which are devices that are made specifically for your feet are able to increase balance and allow golfers to drive the ball farther.
The golf swing can be broken down into the following phases:
Set up
Takeaway
Downswing
Impact
Follow-through
At set up: The weight should be evenly distributed on both feet with slightly more weight on the inside of the balls of the feet. During the takeaway or back swing phase, the front foot should pronate, placing more pressure on the inside of the foot while the back foot stays stable as it receives more weight. At times the heel of the front foot will come off the ground to promote a full shoulder turn.
During the downswing: Weight will rapidly shift to the front foot until impact, at that point the weight should be evenly distributed between both feet. A lateral shift of the hips and knees will occur during downswing that continues through the impact of the ball and will continue slightly into the follow-through phase.
During the follow-through phase, the front foot supinates and the back heel comes off the ground with the weight of the back foot being placed on the big toe.
The most common golf injuries that occur in the foot and ankle are heel pain, metatarsalgia, Mortons Neuroma and tendinitis. Most of the time these injuries occur due to an increase of the motion in the feet.
Most common complaint in golfers is an intermetatarsal neuroma. Typically these occur in the third interspace and is almost always in the non-dominant foot. In other words if you swing the foot with the right then the neuroma is more likely to develop in the left foot. The nerve becomes irritated and is more noticeable in longer shots. As the forefoot inverts and the rearfoot supinates the interdigital nerve becomes irritated within the interspace. Symptoms include burning, tingling, numbness and shooting pains into the toes. Treatment begins with NSAIDS, Ice, Injection therapy and custom orthotics. One important treatment option is to adjust the mechanics of the swing to decrease the inversion/supination of the foot. Abduction of the front foot will help decrease the inversion at the end of the swing and decrease the irritation of the nerve.
Extensor Tendinitis: another complaint that we commonly see with golfers. This is due to driving the golf cart. It is often caused after driving a hilly course and using the brake to much. The motion of depressing the brake on a golf cart can cause a strain on the extensor digitorum longus tendons and causes irritation of those tendons. Symptoms include top of the foot pain and sometimes swelling. If this sounds like something you may have developed try alternating feet that use the brake. Using the heel to depress the brake may also help.
Lateral Ankle Pain: Occurs due to excessive motion of the rearfoot during the golf swing follow through. The forces that are applied during the follow through phase cause an abduction of the knee on the non-dominant limb and a supination on the foot on that side with eversion of the rearfoot. Symptoms include lateral ankle pain, lateral midfoot pain and swelling to the foot and ankle. Treatment starts with stabilizing the ankle with a compression brace or ankle brace. Trying to abduct the front foot toward the target and away from the midline of the body in the stance position when the golfer is addressing the ball will help take pressure off the lateral ankle.
Hallux and Subungal Hematomas: this occurs when the golfer applies excessive pressure to the big toe during the golf swing. Typically this occurs at the end of follow through and will only happen on the dominant foot. It occurs due to a jamming of the toe into the top of the shoebox. With repetition the subungal tissue will be injured and blood will form under the nail plate. Symptoms include pain in the hallux, pain with pressure on the hallux and a discolored big toenail. Treatment includes draining of the toenail or removal of the toenail.
We talked at the beginning that most golf injuries are caused by an increase motion of the foot. Studies have found that custom orthotics, which are devices that are made specifically for your feet are able to increase balance and allow golfers to drive the ball farther.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Podiatry Visits Save Diabetic Feet!
New Study Demonstrates Dramatic Impact of Podiatric Care
Patients with diabetes who receive medical and surgical care provided by a podiatrist are less likely to suffer hospitalization or amputation than patients who do not receive care from a podiatrist, according to a new study from Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is an internationally respected research firm with expertise in the health-care market.
The study examined records for more than 32,000 patients with diabetes under 65 and matched health and risk factors for those who had podiatry visits to those who did not. Care by a podiatric physician, defined as at least one pre-ulcer visit, was associated with lower risk of hospitalization and amputation. The results were presented at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions this weekend in Orlando, Florida.
"The dramatic results of the study demonstrate the important role of today's podiatrist," said APMA President Kathleen Stone, DPM. "As a profession, we make a significant impact on patient outcomes and health-care costs. As more diabetic patients receive high-quality medical care by podiatrists prior to developing ulcers, we will see even greater reductions in cost and improvements in patients' quality of life. The next step is to confirm these findings with prospective pilot programs that identify high-risk patients and provide preventive foot care services by podiatrists."
The importance of regular podiatric care for EVERY diabetic cannot be emphasized enough! If you or a family member suffers from diabetes, go to www.faant.com and request our free book, “Got Diabetes”. It is full of helpful information to keep diabetic feet out of the hospital!
Patients with diabetes who receive medical and surgical care provided by a podiatrist are less likely to suffer hospitalization or amputation than patients who do not receive care from a podiatrist, according to a new study from Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is an internationally respected research firm with expertise in the health-care market.
The study examined records for more than 32,000 patients with diabetes under 65 and matched health and risk factors for those who had podiatry visits to those who did not. Care by a podiatric physician, defined as at least one pre-ulcer visit, was associated with lower risk of hospitalization and amputation. The results were presented at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions this weekend in Orlando, Florida.
"The dramatic results of the study demonstrate the important role of today's podiatrist," said APMA President Kathleen Stone, DPM. "As a profession, we make a significant impact on patient outcomes and health-care costs. As more diabetic patients receive high-quality medical care by podiatrists prior to developing ulcers, we will see even greater reductions in cost and improvements in patients' quality of life. The next step is to confirm these findings with prospective pilot programs that identify high-risk patients and provide preventive foot care services by podiatrists."
The importance of regular podiatric care for EVERY diabetic cannot be emphasized enough! If you or a family member suffers from diabetes, go to www.faant.com and request our free book, “Got Diabetes”. It is full of helpful information to keep diabetic feet out of the hospital!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Oustide of My Foot Really Hurts!
What is the lateral column of my foot? The lateral column of the foot consists of the calcaneus,the cuboid and 4th and 5th metatarsal bones. Many things can cause you to have lateral column pain including arthritis, biomechanical abnormalities (the way you walk), acute fractures secondary to trauma, or overuse syndrome.
There are certain types of foot structures that make you more likely to develop lateral column foot pain. An adducted foot type can cause an increase in mechanical pressures that can result in lateral column pain. Increased plantar pressures on the lateral column may also be seen in a neutral or supinated foot type. Pronation or flat feet can also lead to lateral column pain.
The most common cause of lateral column pain is known as cuboid syndrome or subluxation of the cuboid bone. This is often difficult to diagnose as the symptoms are not specific. X-rays will be negative because there is not any bone damage with this disease. Often the diagnosis is based on your history and physical and evaluation of your gait cycle. Most often the pain is greater with propulsion and disappears when sitting or pushing on the foot.
Joint stability plays a large role in the development of cuboid syndrome. If your foot is able to pronate during the beginning phase of propulsion it allows certain tendons (peroneus longus) to gain a greater mechanical advantage leading to the subluxation of the cuboid bone. This allows the ligaments and capsule that surround the joints to become irritated and inflamed and cause pain.
How do you treat Lateral Column Pain?
An evaluation of your gait will be one the first treatments. At this time proper shoe gear will be discussed. Accomodative padding,taping, bracing and physical therapy can help with reducing inflammation and pain. Many times the foot needs to be manipulated to allow the bone to sit back into its normal position. Custom orthotics may be necessary to address the biomechanics of your feet.
There are certain types of foot structures that make you more likely to develop lateral column foot pain. An adducted foot type can cause an increase in mechanical pressures that can result in lateral column pain. Increased plantar pressures on the lateral column may also be seen in a neutral or supinated foot type. Pronation or flat feet can also lead to lateral column pain.
The most common cause of lateral column pain is known as cuboid syndrome or subluxation of the cuboid bone. This is often difficult to diagnose as the symptoms are not specific. X-rays will be negative because there is not any bone damage with this disease. Often the diagnosis is based on your history and physical and evaluation of your gait cycle. Most often the pain is greater with propulsion and disappears when sitting or pushing on the foot.
Joint stability plays a large role in the development of cuboid syndrome. If your foot is able to pronate during the beginning phase of propulsion it allows certain tendons (peroneus longus) to gain a greater mechanical advantage leading to the subluxation of the cuboid bone. This allows the ligaments and capsule that surround the joints to become irritated and inflamed and cause pain.
How do you treat Lateral Column Pain?
An evaluation of your gait will be one the first treatments. At this time proper shoe gear will be discussed. Accomodative padding,taping, bracing and physical therapy can help with reducing inflammation and pain. Many times the foot needs to be manipulated to allow the bone to sit back into its normal position. Custom orthotics may be necessary to address the biomechanics of your feet.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Meet the Doctors of FAANT
Check out the new video to introduce the doctors of Foot & Ankle Associates of North Texas. Meet the Doctors of FAANT
Monday, May 17, 2010
Can I Wear Nail Polish with Fungus on my Nails?
It’s a bum rap! You have fungus on your toe nails and all you want to do is cover it up! Nothing better than nail polish to do that, but you know enough about fungus to know that fungus thrives in moist dark places. Nail polish gives that fungus a wonderful place to grow and thrive! What’s a girl to do??
Well, for starters, it is so very important to look beyond the nail itself and look at your foot surroundings. Where do you walk? What do you wear?
We do not know exactly how you got your fungus, but we want to keep it from happening again. Keeping your surrounding as “fungus-free” as possible will help! Let’s go over the key pointer to keeping fungus at bay.
1. Spray your shoes with an anti-fungal spray. It helps keep the fungus away!
Throw away your old grungy gardening shoes if they are not rubber or those old favorite canvass shoes you’ve had forever.
2. If you have sweaty feet, change your socks once during the day to keep the moisture down. The less moisture you have, the less than ideal environment a fungus has to grow.
3. Use an anti fungal powder on your feet if you tend to sweat a lot.
4. Spray “Scrubbing Bubbles” or “Lysol Tub and Tile” type stuff weekly on your shower tiles.
5. Wash your bath mats weekly. We don’t know what critters are thriving in them.
6. Shampoo your carpet if you haven’t done that in a while. We don’t know what critters are thriving in them either.
7. Give your shoes a breather by not wearing the same pair twice in a row.
8. Get sterile pedicures and stay away from the soaking tubs that have whirlpool effect. They can never get the tubing cleaned properly.
9. Bring your own polish and flip flops to the nail salon.
And yes, we are back full circle to the nail polish thing! It can matter what type of polish you use. Nail polish with Tea tree oil is becoming very popular for a reason. It has been found that tea tree oil is a natural fungal suppressant. What does this mean? It means you can have fungus and wear nail polish too!! Dr. Remedy nail polish with tea tree oil offers just what you have been looking for. I was so impressed with this product and got such good feedback on it, that I recommended them in my article on foot health in the April 2010 issue of Southern Living magazine. Beautiful colors and protection too! Lucky you!
Well, for starters, it is so very important to look beyond the nail itself and look at your foot surroundings. Where do you walk? What do you wear?
We do not know exactly how you got your fungus, but we want to keep it from happening again. Keeping your surrounding as “fungus-free” as possible will help! Let’s go over the key pointer to keeping fungus at bay.
1. Spray your shoes with an anti-fungal spray. It helps keep the fungus away!
Throw away your old grungy gardening shoes if they are not rubber or those old favorite canvass shoes you’ve had forever.
2. If you have sweaty feet, change your socks once during the day to keep the moisture down. The less moisture you have, the less than ideal environment a fungus has to grow.
3. Use an anti fungal powder on your feet if you tend to sweat a lot.
4. Spray “Scrubbing Bubbles” or “Lysol Tub and Tile” type stuff weekly on your shower tiles.
5. Wash your bath mats weekly. We don’t know what critters are thriving in them.
6. Shampoo your carpet if you haven’t done that in a while. We don’t know what critters are thriving in them either.
7. Give your shoes a breather by not wearing the same pair twice in a row.
8. Get sterile pedicures and stay away from the soaking tubs that have whirlpool effect. They can never get the tubing cleaned properly.
9. Bring your own polish and flip flops to the nail salon.
And yes, we are back full circle to the nail polish thing! It can matter what type of polish you use. Nail polish with Tea tree oil is becoming very popular for a reason. It has been found that tea tree oil is a natural fungal suppressant. What does this mean? It means you can have fungus and wear nail polish too!! Dr. Remedy nail polish with tea tree oil offers just what you have been looking for. I was so impressed with this product and got such good feedback on it, that I recommended them in my article on foot health in the April 2010 issue of Southern Living magazine. Beautiful colors and protection too! Lucky you!
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