Cracked Heels: Symptoms and Treatment

Cracked heels or heel fissures manifest as dry and split skin around the heels and sides of the foot. If neglected, cracked heels could give rise to a thick callus. Not only are cracked heels painful, but they can also cause infections. The lock downs and work from home situations of our current reality has resulted in many people now walking barefoot at home, for most of the day. It has also prevented people from availing regular pedicures; they now go on for months together without any kind of foot treatment. This has increased the incidence of cracked heels.

How Do You Spot Cracked Heels?

•      Dry skin around the heels
•      Roughness around the heels
•      Split skin or fissures
•      Thick callus
•      Bleeding around the heels
•      Redness around heels
•      Swelling
•      Pus or other signs of infection around the heels

Home Treatment for Cracked Heels

If there is redness, roughness or dry skin around the heels, it could be a symptom of the beginning of cracked heels and with some care and maintenance at home, you should be able to prevent it from getting severe.

Read More: Top 5 Tips for Cracked Heels

To take care of cracked heels at home, soak your feet in water and massage a handful of Epsom salt into your heels for an added boost. After ten minutes, scrub the heels using a pumice stone. Moisturize the feet after the treatment. There will be an improvement within a few days of this treatment.

When to Consult a Doctor

If your heel pains when you walk or if there is swelling, pus or infection, you would need the more capable hands of a podiatrist to help in relieving the foot problem. The podiatrist will use a combination of medication, ointments and pediatric procedures to relieve the problem.

Preventing Common Foot Problems During Lockdown

COVID-19 has uprooted our lives in many different ways. It is a tough time for everyone but we must stay positive and continue looking after our physical health, now more than ever. One of the least looked after and most used parts of the body, the feet, is having more than its fair share of abuse. On a normal day, in a normal world, the feet would have been looked after in various ways. People would have had regular pedicures and massages and any small foot ailment would have been attended to immediately.

With lock downs and work from home restrictions, many people are spending long periods of time at home, wearing unsupportive slippers or no foot wear at all. Our feet are not used to being unsupported for long periods of time. This is causing a range of problems that include arch pain, foot and muscle fatigue, weak ankles, joint pain and corns and calluses.

Read More: 5 Common Foot Problems

Preventing Lock down Foot Problems

•      Use Supportive Shoes: Wear footwear that offers a proper grip on the floor, even at home. With unsupportive slippers, our feet work extra hard to get a grip on the floor and this leads to muscle strain, tendon pain and ankle pain.

•      Keep Your Feet Active: Our feet are used to a certain amount of exercise every day. With gyms, stadiums, beaches and parks closed, it is important to find an alternate way to keep the feet active. It is necessary to make sure that our feet get at least half the amount of exercises that it used to get to before the pandemic.

•       Keep Your Feet Warm: Walking barefoot on cold floors are causing chilblains among the younger generation. Wear socks and avoid excessive exposure to the cold.

•     If you have any foot problems, don’t ignore them. Make a telehealth appointment with your podiatrist and get it attended to immediately.