Foot care?

[RICHARD]

With all the talk about feet and the weather I have to ask for advice.

I have a problem with the calluses on the bottom of my feet.-Alligator feet!

I have the cracking of the skin on my heels and around the edge of my soles.

They crack and bleed, some of the areas really hurt.

My sis came over and used her Dremel set up to smooth the rough areas, it made my feet softer, but the cracking got worse!

I have been wearing socks all the time because of the weather - I shower and put lotion on and a pair of socks because if I walk over a rug barefoot, it catches on the "scales" and I start to bleed!

I was wondering if anyone uses a lotion or can recommend anything to put on my soles to make them softer?

[caseysmom]

My feet get like that in the summer around the pool not in the winter.

You may try putting vaseline on your feet, then slipping some socks on.

When your better and not bleeding an occasional pedicure is wonderful and should keep the dead skin to a minimum.

[joycenalex]

richard, you know my job involves standing at least 7 hours a day in athletic shoes.. and i know you'll laugh at this seconding caseysmom....go get a pedicure and a hot wax/paraffin treatment for your feet. you won't be the first guy there, i promise. the paraffin will help remove more of the dry dead skin, it feels great, and you will get a foot massage as well that will help remove more dead/dry skin. you don't have to use my nail polish color (essies...salsa-a true red) you don't have to do any polish at all. tell the nail tech to teach you how to use a pumice stone after a shower. after the pedicure i swear by burts bees coconut foot cream, thick cotton socks and 3 nights of this in a row. this will help keep alligators in a florida swamp and not roaming ell lay. the burts coconut creme costs ~$8/ 4.3 oz tube and the first tube lasted me using nightly, 6 weeks. my nail tech noticed the between pedicures for me.

[Freedom]

vaseline should work fine.

Eucerin makes a foot lotion which you can also use.

either one, you need to apply it daily an keep socks ON.

[carole]

I also get the dry cracked heels, but not the bleeding, when they are doing that , you have let them get really bad Nawtee boy.

There are special creams available for this problem,over the counter stuff,but you just have to keep at it, continually,and yes putting the cream on and wearing socks to bed can help.

I also think you should pay a visit to a specialist who does feet, cannot think of the name right now starts with a C though lol, they can shave the area, i have had it done, just moisturise and moisturise till the cows come home,in other words keep at it , keep at it,hopefully you will get some improvement, as they can be very painful when deep cracks appear and bleed, i have had them like that but no more.

Good luck matey.

[Taz_Zoee]

Funny that Carole above said "till the cows come home" in her thread. Because my sister had (and may still have) this problem, partly because she usually refuses to wear shoes.
She found the only solution was to use bag balm, what they use on cows utters. She would apply the balm and then put on socks at bed time.
Here (http://www.amazon.com/Bag-Balm-Vermonts-Original-Moisturizing-Softening/dp/B001838FPA) is what the can looks like. I believe you can find it in a pharmacy.

[lvpets2002]

:) Look for the Brand Corn Huskers & or Utter Butter.. Both works great.. Can get at Walmart..

[caseysmom]

When my kids were small I got the cracked bleeding hands from being in water all the time, I swore by the bag balm, its on the nasty side though:D

[Medusa]

Funny that Carole above said "till the cows come home" in her thread. Because my sister had (and may still have) this problem, partly because she usually refuses to wear shoes.
She found the only solution was to use bag balm, what they use on cows utters. She would apply the balm and then put on socks at bed time.
Here (http://www.amazon.com/Bag-Balm-Vermonts-Original-Moisturizing-Softening/dp/B001838FPA) is what the can looks like. I believe you can find it in a pharmacy.

I was going to post this but Cindy beat me to it. Bag Balm is the best stuff going, RICHARD. As a matter of fact, I need some myself. I have callouses on my knees from scrubbing floors on my hands and knees. (I already know what you're thinking. Don't even. LOL)

[3Catcondo]

OUCH Richard!!!! Try the creams others have suggested and once the bleeding is gone, GET A PEDICURE!!!!!! And don't let it get to the cracking/bleeding again. Bless your sister's heart for working on your feet :D

[RICHARD]

Bless your sister's heart for working on your feet :D

She made them worse!!!:eek::(;)

I have no problem getting a pedicure, my sis works in a salon, I was just looking for a solution!

I have three votes for Bag Balm, two for Vaseline and love the name Nutter Butter! I have seen the Burt's Bees stuff.

I have a bottle of dollar store lotion that I found, that is what I have been putting on.

MY toes and the balls of my feet have healed but the heels are the worst.


Yeah, I will have to be careful about the scaling, When it begins and I take care if that area the skin around dries and begins to catch on fabric. First things first-I'll get them healed then worked on, Thanks for the tips!
I'll let ya all know what happens!

[Bengalz]

Richard

I love to run around barefoot at home and it's not the best activity for sensitive feet:rolleyes:

I use a product called Gehwol Extra made by Gerlachs (a German company) - it is excellent!

P.S. A pedicure would sure help to get rid of those calluses;)

[caseysmom]

I am not a snob by any means but that drugstore crud is most likely not helping you at all! Dump it and try something else.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

my boyfriend has the same problem. Pumice stones after showering did help a bit, but it got old real quick (especially since I was the one who had to do it for him). So once again his feet currently have all the tenderness of a horse's hoof.

[Catlady711]

I'll second the vote for a paraffin dip. I got one for Christmas after I got hooked at the beauty salon. I wash my hands at work CONSTANTLY so my skin is very dry and my knuckles crack and bleed too. The paraffin dip helps the moisture in your skin, and if you put lotion on right after it holds longer. If you try it and like it, they're not all that expensive to buy. This is the one I got. http://www.sallybeauty.com/Paraffin-Bath/SBS-345940,default,pd.html?cgid=Skin04
http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/SallyBeauty/SBS-345940? It does take about 6 packets of wax to get started at about $6 per packet, but once you have it full, you only have to add one when the level starts getting low.


As for lotions, I've tried just about every one there is, including Euricin and some darn expensive stuff, didn't work for me. Believe it or not what has worked best is Pond's Dry Skin Cream. http://www.ponds.com/ProductView.aspx?ProdId=5
http://www.ponds.com/images/1.5-dry.jpg
Within one week it made my knees, heels, hands, and elbows soft. And believe you me, they haven't been soft since I was a kid! You can find the Pond's cream in the beauty section of stores, usually near the make up removers and oil of olay displays.

Dry skin can come from too much sweat on your feet too. Try to change shoes every other day, and change socks at least twice a day. Give your feet a chance to air out a bit then put the Pond's on before putting your socks/shoes back on. My feet are always worse in the winter when they're covered more often.

[RICHARD]

my boyfriend has the same problem. Pumice stones after showering did help a bit, but it got old real quick (especially since I was the one who had to do it for him).

Now, THAT is love!:D


I am not a snob by any means but that drugstore crud is most likely not helping you at all! Dump it and try something else.

OMG, Snob? NO, those are your feet, I have learned that you have to take care of them!


Here's the problem.

I was removing some of the calluses before I took a shower.

I did that and put the cream on my feet aftER. It got into the exposed 'wounds' and GOD DID THAT HURT!

[caseysmom]

Thats why I was thinking vaseline may be better, no perfume, sometimes when my skin is really dry and I put some bath and body scented lotions on it burns like heck!

Take care and go to the doc and make sure you don't have any circulation problems. I worried about that with my foot surgery since I am overweight but the wounds did heal up pretty good.

I don't think you are overweight but not to stereotype but it seems like diabetes(sp) is more common in folks of Mexican heritage...at least my hispanic friend is paranoid about that.

[pomtzu]

Stay away from the dollar store lotions - they're junk.

I've used Bag Balm and it does a decent job.

Vaseline works very good. Slather it on and put on a pair of white crew socks before you go to bed. It might be a little too heavy for you to use during the day tho.

I use Gold Bond Ultimate Healing. It contains aloe and vitamins A, C & E - not greasy and penetrates fast. I have trouble in the winter with my fingers cracking in the corners by the fingernail. I use New-Skin liquid bandage on them, since they are quite painful - then I put the lotion on my hands.

[Cataholic]

Is the bag balm, bitter balm or other products suggested greasy? I know the vasoline is, but wondered about the others. Thanks!

[Medusa]

Is the bag balm, bitter balm or other products suggested greasy? I know the vasoline is, but wondered about the others. Thanks!

Bag Balm has petroleum jelly in it, which is fairly greasy IMO, and also lanolin. I'm allergic to lanolin but used Bag Balm years ago w/out any problem. The lanolin allergy came later :confused: so I don't know if I can still use it.

[Queen of Poop]

There is actually a cream out there specifically for cracked heels, darn if I can remember the name of it right now though. When I worked in the hair salon (24 years ago) and had cracked hands in the winter time from all the washing, chemicals and cold dry air I used to slather up my hands with diaper rash cream and put on gloves at bed time.

[Lilith Cherry]

I am allergic to lanolin too but vaseline is very good. I was told by my podiatrist that before going to bed, to slather on vaseline after drying my washed feet and then to wrap my feet in cling film bfore putting on dry soft socks . Leave it on till morning. It worked much better than just vaseline alone!

I am diabetic too and cracked heels are a definite symptom sad to say:(. Sometimes the cracking is caused by a fungal infection (NOT athletes foot though) and I have used a cream called tretinoin on my feet which cleared the cracks in days!

Good luck getting rid of them because I know how painful it can be.

[smokey the elder]

I get that same thing with the skin by my nails cracking and does it HURT. It's always on my right hand, too. Can't wear bandages because then I don't have any dexterity. I like NexCare; NuSkin has acetone in it and it burns like heck when you apply it.

[RICHARD]

I get that same thing with the skin by my nails cracking and does it HURT. It's always on my right hand, too. Can't wear bandages because then I don't have any dexterity. I like NexCare; NuSkin has acetone in it and it burns like heck when you apply it.

When I worked in a file room I had hang nails like mad!

I took Dermicel tape (sp?)- the plastic tape that use in ER/hospitals-and used that. Because you can peel off the width of the tape that you need? I could take 1/4 inch strips-about three inches long- and wrap them around my my fingers mid-nail.

It left me with enough 'feel' on my fingertips and protected my hangnails from getting worse.

As the day goes on the end of the tape begins to 'fray' -the tape is perforated so you can just peel off the end and toss it.

[pomtzu]

There is a product called "Zim's Crack Cream" (I kid you not - that's really the name - and used to get a lot of laughs where I worked) - it was developed by a pharmacist originally for use by cement workers.

Some people swear by it, but it really did nothing exceptional for me, and I think I've tried about all the remedies. Hot paraffin wax feels good, but isn't very long lasting IMO. I'll stick with the Gold Bond until I find something that works better.

[joycenalex]

the coconut cream is greasy, and do use old socks, mainly white gym socks with the cream.

[RICHARD]

mainly white gym socks with the cream.

And what happens after LABOR DAY?:eek::confused:;)

[3Catcondo]

Richard,
how are your feet? And I don't think the fashion police w/ get you if you wear white socks after labor day. I won't tell :)

[RICHARD]

Richard,
how are your feet? And I don't think the fashion police w/ get you if you wear white socks after labor day. I won't tell :)

Better, thanks for asking!

I have done the Vaseline thing and it's made them softer. I have an ancient jar that I remembered having.

I am going to Target tomorrow to see what they have.

I slept sans socks last night for the first time in a while, that was strange!:eek:

[RICHARD]

I found out something interesting about sleeping with socks on.

I woulld wake up with my feet jammed into the toes of my socks.

I buy the 6-8 packs of 'heel-toe' socks from Target- So, I decided to try tube socks in the super giant size?

Much much better! more room and the length keeps my calves warm!

[cassiesmom]

Avon Foot Works Cracked Heel Relief Cream. Contains an anesthetic.

http://shop.avon.com/shop/assets/images/prod/PROD_1046912_XL.jpg

[RICHARD]

Here's an update and some good news!


My right toe has been numb for two years?

I was afraid I was getting some circulatory problems, but that isn't the case.

I finally found out what was going on! I haven't really looked at the bottom of my feet but I noticed a dark spot under the callus I have by that toe.

It's a blood blister!

I thought it was something I stepped in, so when I went to try and 'rub' the spot off, I felt it in my toe!.

I buffed some of the callus off and I noticed that I my toe is tingling and the numbness is going away!


I took a splinter out of the area and thought that was the problem, it was. It poked me good enough to form the blister deep in my foot. It was putting pressure on the nerve that runs to my toe!!

Wow,

I could dance now....


I could not before, so, I guess I am kidding myself!:eek::D

[Nomilynn]

I have the same problem with my feet as well. Being a diabetic, I do check my feet on a regular basis to make sure I have feeling and there are no wounds. One thing I can say is if the skin is cracked and bleeding, this needs to be treated as a wound first, and moisturized later. When my feet crack and bleed, I treat with Polysporin and bandage them until it isn't a crack anymore. Then, when the skin is soft (like after a shower), I use a Ped-Egg and get all the rough spots off. Then I use a heavy, thick lotion and put on socks. There are also socks that are meant for this reason, and they are made of special materials so that the sock doens't absorb the lotions before the feet do. There is a product called Diabetederm that is also meant to help improve circulation and it worked really well for me, but lately I've been using Oil of Olay Quench Therapy lotion and it's working amazingly well!

[wombat2u2004]

This is a good read..........
http://www.epodiatry.com/cracked_heels.htm

[RICHARD]

I just recovered from my latest Foot Folly!:eek::rolleyes:

I go out and do my yardwork in my sandals-bad choice.

I was moving some wood around and got a small splinter on the top of my foot-along the tendon of my small toe. Because I could see it very well I had to use a magnifying glass and a few yoga poses to try and dig it out.


Those things hurt the devil. It felt like someone driving a needle under the skin. I dug tiny pieces out of it little by little until I could not stand it.

Yesterday I went all out and got the rest of it.:eek::):D

A little antiseptic cream and a band-aid!


I could almost cry, that how good it feels today!:)

[wombat2u2004]

I just recovered from my latest Foot Folly!:eek::rolleyes:

I go out and do my yardwork in my sandals-bad choice.

I was moving some wood around and got a small splinter on the top of my foot-along the tendon of my small toe. Because I could see it very well I had to use a magnifying glass and a few yoga poses to try and dig it out.


Those things hurt the devil. It felt like someone driving a needle under the skin. I dug tiny pieces out of it little by little until I could not stand it.

Yesterday I went all out and got the rest of it.:eek::):D

A little antiseptic cream and a band-aid!


I could almost cry, that how good it feels today!:)

Being an ex builder, I can sympathise with you.
I got splinters daily....like MANY per day.....after a while I just let em be, they come out by themselves after a few days.
The best splinter I ever took, was about 4 inches long. It went in, in the soft spot between my fingers, and emerged about the centre of my palm.
The splinter wasn't even sharp, it just rammed it's way thru my hand. :eek: