Foot Troubles and How to Deal with Them
Foot Troubles And How To Deal With Them: Your feet are subjected to a considerable deal of wear and tear every day.
Assist them by detecting and treating problems such as corns and calluses, as well as athletes' feet and hammertoes.
To hold all the moving components together, the human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons made of solid fibrous tissue, not to mention sweat glands found nowhere else in the body.
Every day, your foot is an evolutionary marvel, capable of withstanding hundreds of tons of force – your weight in action. The foot's multiple components, including the toes, heel, and ball of the foot, all work together to transfer you from one point to another.
However, the strain of moving about puts your feet at a greater danger of injury than any other part of your body. Hammertoes, blisters, bunions, corns and calluses, claw and hammertoes, ingrown toenails, toenail fungus, and athlete's foot can all be caused by carelessness, ill-fitting shoes, and normal wear and tear.
Foot pain is sometimes the first sign of a more serious issue. Gout, for example, typically begins in the ankles.
So, how can you identify and manage common foot health issues?
The Athlete's Foot
A fungus that thrives in warm, dark, wet environments produces an athlete's foot. It commonly affects the areas between the toes and the soles of the feet.
It can cause skin irritation as well as a white, scaly rash with a red center. Athletes' foot symptoms include itching, burning, peeling, and a slight odor.
Athlete's foot (also known as tinea pedis) can be avoided by keeping your feet and toes clean and dry, changing your shoes and socks on a regular basis, and never walking barefoot in public locker rooms or showers.
According to Penn Medicine, over-the-counter antifungal medicines or sprays can be used to cure athlete's foot, and sprays and powders can be used in shoes to eliminate any residual fungus.
If none of these options work, you may need to consult a doctor regarding prescription medicines.
If the infection is not treated, it can spread to other parts of the body, according to Penn Medicine.
Sharing flooring, gym mats, towels, and other surfaces are also options.
Hammertoes
When your second, third, or fourth toes are crossed, bent in the middle of the toe joint, or bent at an odd angle, you have hammertoe. Shoes play an insignificant role in the development of hammertoes.
If your toe is still flexible, your doctor may suggest you to wear more roomy, comfortable shoes. Wearing insoles or foot pads may also aid with toe realignment.
Blisters
Wearing the proper shoes and socks will help you avoid foot blisters, which are soft pockets of skin filled with clear fluid. If blisters form, it is advisable to let them burst open naturally rather than allowing them to rupture on their own, even if they are painful and make walking difficult.
Wrap a bandage around a blister and wait for it to pop on its own. If the blister has popped, apply an antibiotic ointment and a bandage to aid healing and prevent infection, but keep the area covered to reduce friction and prevent it from forming again.
If you have diabetes or another condition that puts you at risk of infection, do not treat skin blisters on your own.
Encrustation of the Toes
To avoid ingrown toenails, keep your toes straight and not too short. If you don't cut them straight, the corners or sides of the nail may dig into the skin, causing pain and, in rare cases, infection (called paronychia).
Ingrown toenails can also be caused by shoes that squeeze the toes and unusually curved toenails.
To assist an ingrown toenail to grow up and away from the skin, soak it in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day and apply a small piece of cotton or dental floss beneath the ingrown nail edge.
If home remedies do not work, or if you have diabetes or another cause of restricted blood supply to your toes, consult a doctor who can remove or elevate the damaged nail and apply a topical antibiotic to prevent infection.
Fungus on the Toes
Toenail fungus can cause nails to become discolored and deformed. It is possible that it will spread to additional nails, including fingernails.
Toenail fungus is commonly caused by nail injuries that disturb the nail-skin junction, or the point at which the nail joins the skin of the toe.
This can happen after a pedicure, as a result of ill-fitting shoes, or as a result of repetitive damage while running or walking that elevates or depresses the nail.
Toenail fungus is caused by a fungus that loves the skin, hair, and nails. The fungus is attracted to the proteins in the nail bed, and the toenail is ideal since it spends the majority of the day in a damp and warm environment—in your shoes.
Toenail fungus is tough to treat since it usually returns after effective treatment. Because over-the-counter medications are unlikely to be effective, you should speak with your doctor about getting a prescription antifungal.
If the treatment fails, surgery to repair the damage that caused the fungus may be required.
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