Holiday feet

Holiday time is great, but it can come with it’s own set of problems when we are talking about feet. 

Here is a handy guide to some of the more common problems you might run into with your feet, and tips to manage them. 

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Help! My toenails are stained!

You take off your nail polish, and your toenails are a ghastly yellowish tinge. The pigment in many dark or very bright polishes can stain the surface of nails. Prevention is the best option; ensuring nails are healthy and not too dry, use of a quality undercoat, not leaving polish on for a long time, all of these will help stop this occurring. If it does, the staining is only present in the very tip layer of the nail. Buffing the surface of the nail, or having your podiatrist use the podiatry drill on the surface of the nail, will take this layer off and return the nail to its normal colour. Care must be taken when reapplying, as the nail is now potentially more prone to staining, so a rest from polish with plenty of moisturiser and an undercoat will help. 

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Help! My feet are dry and cracked!

You put on a pair of party shoes or some thongs to go to the beach, and your heels look awful! For mild cracking, a buff with an emory board or heel dresser and copious amounts of moisturiser or heel balm will often make a fantastic improvement. In more severe cases, your podiatrist is the fastest solution; half an hour in the chair and we can have your feet looking brand new. 

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Help! My toes are itchy and the skin is peeling!

With the extreme heat and humidity that we are experiencing so frequently now, tinea pedis is a constant threat in summer. As a podiatrist, some weeks I see so much of it I feel  stuck on repeat! As always, prevention is the best: thorough washing and drying between toes whenever you bathe is the first and foremost line of defence. There are lots of powders out there, and while these can help absorb moisture, they can also gak up and cause problems in and of themselves if they are not thoroughly washed out every day. Your pharmacist can help you with the best ointment or spray for you, and remember, if symptoms persist beyond seven days, a consult with your podiatrist or doctor is recommended. 

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Help! I walked more than I planned to today and now I have a blister!

We’ve all been there; on holidays, and a five minute walk turns into a couple of hours, and the shoes that were fine for five minutes, are much less fine for an hour. Mild blisters can be covered with a bandaid or special cover from the pharmacy. Larger blisters may need lancing by a podiatrist or doctor to relieve the pain. The biggest risk with blisters after popping is infection. They should be protected and kept clean. 

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Help! I think I stood on broken glass!

It doesn’t matter if you are at a quiet family gathering or a wild party, chances are someone is going to drop something breakable, and it isn’t hard to end up with a painful shard in your foot. Most larger shards are easily visible, and people will usually pull it out before they’ve even thought twice. Do remember to clean the wound and apply an appropriate antiseptic before covering. Smaller shards or deeper ones can be trickier; any suspected foreign body injury that does not settle within a couple of days should be seen by a podiatrist or doctor, as the glass can carry bacteria deep into the foot and set up a nasty infection. 

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Remember, our Noosa clinic is open over the Christmas period to handle any of your queries or concerns. 

Happy Holiday Feet!