Healthy Foot Habits
Yes, these are for you
This week I am thinking about healthy foot habits. We all need to have them but I don’t think we always practice them.
Your feet are very important to you. Think about it – how would you get around without them? Not many of us could use our hands as feet, right? Let’s try and incorporate some healthy foot habits into our lives.
1. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize– Keep your feet healthy by keeping them moisturized. Not only do dry feet not look very appealing but it is a health risk. Having dry, cracked skin on your feet can leave you open for infection. Any skin breaks are prime targets for infection to enter your body.
2. Wear shoes that fit – Wearing shoes that don’t fit your feet properly leads to many foot problems. In the short term, it can be blisters and/or damaged toe nails. If you continually wear tight shoes, you can develop problems like Morton’s neuroma or even bunions. Get your shoes professionally fitted.
3. Do not walk around in your bare feet – Think stubbed toes, slivers, stepping on Legos or Barbie shoes. Leaving your feet exposed to potential hazards just is not a healthy habit.
4. Use a mirror and check your feet once a week – Just take a look and make sure that you don’t find anything different like spots or skin breaks that can lead to problems. You want to look all over your foot and nails. Melanoma of the foot is the deadliest form of melanoma because it is usually not found quickly enough. Yes, you can get skin cancer under your toe nails so make sure you check there.
5. Cut your toe nails straight across – Do not cut them at an angle or round the nail. This can lead to ingrown toe nails.
6. Do not wear the same shoes two days in a row – Our feet sweat – up to a quart of sweat a day! And that is just a normal day – not a day of heavy exercising. You need to let your shoes dry out between times you wear them. If you wear the same shoes two days in a row, your feet will be marinating in moisture which is not good for your skin.
7. Get some exercise – I know, what a bummer! Even on a list of habits for healthy feet I am telling you to get some exercise. Exercise keeps your blood circulating, which is good for your feet.
8. If you experience pain – go to your friendly local podiatrist. There is no reason to try and tough it out if you are in pain. Often with foot issues, you will make the problem much worse by trying to ignore it. Go get it checked. Save yourself the pain.
9. Do not wear flip flops – except in public swimming pools, showers or locker rooms. They do not support your foot and they affect the way you walk.
10. Tell foot jokes to win friends– okay, this one isn’t real – I was wondering if you were still reading.
Your feet do not ask you for too much but if you follow these habits, I think you will find that your feet will be happy to support you….
