Author: David Crawford

People who live under primitive conditions need shoes only to keep the feet warm and to protect them against the roughness of the ground when walking. Soft leather moccasins were therefore worn by Indians and Eskimos. In modem cities people walk on cement, wood, and brick surfaces, against which the feet must be protected. Because of changes in weather and other environmental conditions, feet must also be protected against heat, cold, moisture, and infection. Modem conditions of work demand that some people stand for long hours, whereas others may sit three or four hours at a time.

The shoes of babies and growing children and the shoes of women are constructed quite differently from those of grown men, because the needs and desires are different. Children run and jump in their shoes. As the feet grow, the muscles and the ligaments need room to move. Little babies really do not need any foot coverings, but custom demands little stockings and bootees. Later, the infant has to have a shoe with a stiff sole, but with plenty of freedom above so that the foot can be moved without any difficulty.

Experts recommend that the shoe for a growing child have a straight inner margin, with plenty of space for the toes. The heel should be low. The sole should be of thick leather, flexible, and with a toe above it thick and hard enough to prevent damage from bumping the toe. If the foot of the child is distorted out of the normal position, so that it turns too much to one side or the other, or if the child walks too much on the toe or walks flat-footed the mother will do well to have the foot studied by an orthopedic specialist, who can often modify the shoes so as to overcome the condition. The foot of the small child seems often to the mother to be distorted even when it may still be quite normal. Disorders of walking in any child over five years of age should certainly have study by a competent specialist.

Blisters, Corns, And Calluses

Blisters, corns, and calluses on the feet come to remind us that perhaps the shoes do not fit, the stockings wrinkle, or we walk in such a manner as to put most of the burden of the weight of the body on some single spot on the foot. A burning pain on the inner side of the ball of the foot, itching between the toes, or pain anywhere in the feet may indicate that something is wrong. The feet become hardened to work by more use, but hastening of the hardening can be helped by alcohol rubs. Massaging the feet at night is conducive to restful sleep. The foot powders are helpful because they help to reduce the friction between the feet and the stockings and shoes. Most foot powders are chiefly boric acid and talcum. A little salicylic acid or menthol may be added to relieve itching. Physical therapists have found that alternate bathing of the feet in hot and cold water, about two to five minutes in each kind, is helpful to the circulation of blood in the feet.

Blisters are painful. The pain comes from pressure. If a blister is punctured with a germfree needle, one that has been passed through a flame, the fluid will be released and the pain will stop. Preferably, the area where the blister is to be punctured should be wiped with alcohol before the puncture is made.

A com is an inflammatory response to irritation. A callus is a similar hardening of the tissue, usually occurring on the sole of the foot, wherever the bones press particularly against the shoe.

Few people have both feet of the same size, yet shoes are usually made with the right and left shoe similar except for the curve. People with great differences between the feet need to have their shoes made especially for them.

A "soft com" is an area between the toes which has become rubbed and, usually, secondarily infected with ringworm. If the area around a com becomes infected the tissues become red, swollen, and painful. Under such circumstances the foot may be kept elevated and treatment applied, such as wet packs soaked with boric acid or some similar mild
antiseptic, until the condition improves.

A hard com can be removed by cutting it away, but such surgery is not for amateurs. People have died from secondary infections resulting from careless and even unsanitary cutting of corns. Unless the persistent pressure and rubbing on the foot are controlled, the com will return promptly after treatment. The pressure can be modified by wearing suitably-prepared pads in the shoes, and otherwise protecting the area.

Most so-called com cures contain salicylic acid, which softens the hardened material so that it can be scraped away. Corns can also be removed by use of the X-ray or radium, but such treatments are safe only when applied by experienced specialists.

Soft corns will not disappear unless the area is carefully and thoroughly cleaned. The ringworm must be eliminated by suitable treatment. Pads are worn between the toes to get rid of the pressure and the rubbing. Such deformities may be removed by the orthopedic surgeon.

Calluses on the bottom of the feet are seen often on golf players who pivot on the sole of the foot and on women who wear shoes that are high-heeled and too short. The calluses get thick and hard and are therefore painful. They may be pared away with a sharp knife or razor blade, but they return unless the conditions that produced them are controlled.

Warts On The Sole Of The Foot

Among the most painful of all warts are those that occur on the sole of the foot, commonly called plantar warts. These are probably caused by infection of the rubbed skin with a specific virus. A part on the sole of the foot becomes so painful as to interfere with walking.

Plantar warts are treated in a variety of ways. The hard skin on the bottom of the foot must be softened, and the wart removed. The damaged tissue is protected by proper bandages and antiseptics during the process of healing. Such warts may be removed by surgery, by electro- coagulation, sometimes by radium or X-ray.

Ingrown Toenails

When stockings are too long or too short pressures occur on the sides of the toenails, with overgrowth of the tissue around the comers of the nail. Eventually the nail grows into the tissue, forming an ingrown toenail. The nail on the large toe is the one usually involved. Usually the person who suffers with ingrown toenail tries all sorts of poultices, antiseptics, and ointments on his toe, in addition to a little home surgery, before he limps into the doctor's office. The doctor finds the toe red and swollen and, often, with pus oozing from under the nail onto the stocking or the cotton the patient is using for protection. People seldom sterilize the scissors or even the razor blades they use at home for first, aid to afflicted feet.

This slows the growth at the side of the nail and takes the pressure off the comers. If the foot is kept scrupulously clean, if stockings are worn thick enough to afford protection, if the shoes are loose enough to prevent pressure but not so loose as to cause rubbing, and if the toenail is kept properly trimmed during the process of healing, the nail will gradually become normal. Proper foot hygiene will keep the nail in normal condition.

Foot Strain

Long hours of work under conditions of stress put an extra burden on the feet. The ligaments that connect the muscles with the bones become overstretched, tender, and swollen. When your feet get painful you concentrate on them instead of the work.

Work at a bench or a machine usually involves standing in such a way that the weight is carried not by the heel but by the front of the foot. A bar attached to the shoes will shift the weight, or an inclined platform may be built on which the worker stands.

When feet become strained and painful they should be studied by an orthopedic surgeon. The examination may include X-ray study to rule out inflammation or infection of the bone. Then the feet are put at rest. When the inflammation and pain have disappeared, routine alternate hot and cold bathing, massage and manipulation of the feet will help to restore the tissues to normal. In some instances it becomes necessary to put the feet in plaster casts, so as to eliminate the disturbance for a period long enough to permit complete recovery.

Hammer toes may require a surgical operation. Control of flat feet may involve a wide variety of procedures, including the necessary muscle training to build the strength of the relaxed tissues.

About the Author:

David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a Male Enhancement company known as Male Enhancement Group which is dedicated to researching and comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the market. Copyright 2009 David Crawford of http://www.maleenhancementgroup.com. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Taking Care Of Your Feet