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Foot care and foot treatment
Do you know an elderly person – perhaps one of your grandparents – who has not looked after their feet properly? Then you can probably work out that it is best to take good care of your feet.
They have to carry you around for the rest of your life – and therefore they need the same care as you give your face and the rest of your body. Most people simply forget their feet, and that is a mistake which you should do something about straight away.
It is no use, however, if you give your feet a thorough round of care and treatment, and then forget them again for a long time. As with the rest of your body, it is also necessary to care regularly for your feet, so that they are in the best condition to carry you throughout your life.
Even though your feet need regular care, it need not take a great deal of time to give your feet the treatment they need.
Which foot problems are you likely to have?
Do you have problems with your feet? And do you prefer to have them visible in open shoes or sandals? You may have hard skin or dry skin that itches and stings, cracked heels or corns, or your feet may smell. You may also have a tendency to sore ingrowing toenails. Feet can give rise to many problems.
Any problems you have with your feet are a clear sign that they need some care. So it is time to give your feet some care and attention, to get them radiating health, and you will be ready to hop into a pair of sandals when the warm weather comes.
15 tips about optimal foot care and foot treatment
Here are 15 tips about the best ways to look after your feet, so that you do not need to hide them away in tight, enclosed shoes.
1. Remove bacteria
Good foot care is linked to good hygiene. So it is best to wash your feet every day to avoid smells. The smell of ‘cheesy feet’ develops if you do not wash sweat and bacteria away.
Use a mild soap such as Australian Bodycare’s Bodywash, which is included in a triple pack with cream and spray, which together combat sweaty feet and smells. The soap does not dry out the skin, but helps to care for it and keep it moisturised.
2. Dry your feet thoroughly
When you get out of the bath, it is important to dry your feet thoroughly with a towel – and remember to go right in between your toes.
A damp, wet environment, especially between the toes, can harbour uncomfortable, itchy athlete’s foot.
3. Remove hard skin
The skin on your feet gets hard because it is put under too much strain. It might be at work, where you stand up a lot of the time, or wear shoes that pinch. If you do not remove the hard skin, it can eventually develop into a painful corn or callus.
4. Indulge your feet with moisture
To prevent and resist the formation of hard skin, it is important that to include moisture as part of your foot care. Dry skin is more delicate and vulnerable than moisturised skin, so you can help your feet best by moisturising them generously.
Use a good cream such as Foot Cream, which is an intensive, moisturising foot cream. It consists of active ingredients such as shea butter, urea and Tea Tree Oil, which moisturise deep down in the skin and all help to hinder the formation of new hard skin. Massage the cream into the skin on your feet until it is absorbed. Do not apply it between the toes.
5. Intensive, in-depth care
If you have cracked heels, it is a sign that your skin has lost its natural moisture balance. The heels are subjected to extra pressure and jolts, so the skin can crack, and may be painful.
You can use Heel Repair, which is specially developed for dry, cracked heels. With Heel Repair you can take effective action to deal with dry heels and restore the skin’s natural moisture and defences. Apply it to your feet twice a day – morning and evening – to give your feet intensive care.
6. Cut your nails correctly
Foot care is not only about the skin on your feet: your toe nails are just as important. Many people cut their toenails the wrong way, using nail scissors to cut the nail right down into the folds of soft tissue at the side of the nails. This increases the risk of infected hangnails and ingrowing toenails.
When you use the nail clipper or scissors, it is important to cut the nail straight across. Then you avoid cutting the soft skin around the nails.
7. Saturate your nails with moisture
It is not only the skin on your feet that can get dry and look dull. Your nails can too.
Saturate them with plenty of moisture if they are rough, dry or discoloured. Nail Repair is a nail treatment that strengthens your nails with active ingredients including Tea Tree Oil and vitamin E, so they regain their natural strength.
8. Change your socks every day
Hygiene is part of your foot care. To be certain of good hygiene and foot care, you should put on clean socks every day.
There is no point in washing your feet if you then put on a pair of grubby socks from the day before. They harbour stale sweat and bacteria, which will cause a sour, unpleasant smell.
9. Use different pairs of shoes
Are you one of the many people who have a favourite pair of shoes that you wear day after day? It is a good idea to change your shoes regularly.
For one thing, variation is good for your feet and soles, and for another thing, it reduces the stale smell that can build up in a pair of shoes. If you do not use the same pair of shoes two days running, they do not develop a smell so easily. Make it a habit to air your shoes and spray them with Foot Spray, which gets rid of the unpleasant smell.
10. Woollen or cotton socks
When you buy socks, it is advisable to choose natural materials such as wool or cotton.
Your feet can breathe more easily in them than in a pair of synthetic socks, where they are shut in, and more easily become damp.
11. Wear open, ventilated shoes
Choose open, airy shoes that do not pinch your feet or squeeze them in tightly, with neither space nor air.
This prevents smelly feet, and your toes will not come under pressure and form hard skin.
12. Dry your feet with talcum powder
If your feet tend to sweat a lot, then sweaty feet can be a problem, with athlete’s foot as well. When you have applied a nurturing cream to your feet, it is important to let them dry before you put on socks and shoes.
To make sure your feet do not get too damp inside your socks, you can sprinkle a little talcum powder into them – that will absorb the damp without drying out your feet.
13. Spray your feet and shoes
If you have trouble with smells and sweaty feet, you can include an specially developed antiperspirant for feet in your foot care.
Use the spray on your shoes as well as your feet, and the active ingredients will prevent both sweating and the unpleasant smell.
14. Set your feet free
Your feet spend a lot of their time hidden away in socks and shoes. But it is very good for them to set them free.
Whenever you can, let your toes get some air, and go about with bare feet. But remember, only indoors, on soft surfaces, so that you don’t trigger the formation of hard skin on hard floors.
15. Give your feet some exercise
Your feet, like the rest of you, benefit from exercise. They do not need a lot, just enough to keep the muscles and joints mobile and fit, optimising blood circulation at the same time.
You can do that by stretching your feet up and down while you sit and work, or in the sofa while you watch television. Spread your toes out a few times as well.
