It is summer time and flip flops and sandals are the shoes of choice. That means our feet are vulnerable to toe nail fungus or is it dirt disease and cracked calloused heels....Let's see.
Nail fungus known as Onychomycosis can turn your toe nails into a thick yellow flaky and painful mess. Fungus nails sometimes start out with just the corner of your toe nail involved. It usually appears yellow or discolored in the corner of the great toe nail first and then can later spread to other toenails. Fungus nails can detach from the nail plate making it possible for the nail to rip off if it gets caught on a sock or jammed into the leg of a table ect. Dirt can also get underneath the nail and cause the nail to have a dark black appearance. But wait the dark appearance in your nail could also be from Dirt Disease.......Dirt disease is when you may have accidentally banged your nail and it became detached from the nail plate. Dirt can get underneath the clear nail plate and cause a dark spot. So check out your nails carefully and you can decide for your self what those dreaded dark spots are underneath your toenails. Visiting your podiatrist is the first step in getting rid of your problem. There are topical and oral medications that can be helpful in treating the nail fungus problem.
Cracked thick painful callouses around the heels of your feet can also be a problem that will drive you to a podiatrist. They can fissure and open up making walking difficult. They are caused by walking barefoot or wearing flip- flops and backless sandals. If not treated the skin could get infected. A few easy ways to treat this problem is by purchasing a foot cream with 40 % Urea in it that will break down the thick callouse formation and moisturise the skin. Another way to treat the problem is to use an abrasive file to smooth the tissue. There are diamond files available that are terrific and is an easy way to treat your feet.
Take care of your feet and your feet will take care of you!
