Keeping your feet healthy is simple. These 11 tips will help you stay active and keep your feet pain-free.
Keep Your Feet Clean and Dry
Good hygiene is essential to keeping your feet healthy. When you bathe, scrub your feet with soap and water, and then dry them well. Fungal organisms, like those that cause athlete’s foot, thrive on moisture. Drying between toes is especially important for preventing these types of infections because this is often where they begin to take hold.
Check Your Feet Regularly
Healthy individuals should perform a foot self-exam at least once a week after a bath or shower. Diabetics and those with poor circulation or neuropathy should perform these self-exams daily. When drying your feet after bathing, check your soles and between the toes to look for any scaling or peeling, as well as checking your toenails for any discoloration, which could signal a fungal infection. Check for and treat any cracks in your heels or breaks in the skin with a triple antibiotic ointment. Feet come into contact with so many common surfaces (especially during the summer months when going barefoot or in sandals is the norm) and can easily come in contact with bacteria or other potential illness-causing pathogens.