Call Us for Callus!

Psychics and fortune tellers often claim the ability to read into people’s past and future by studying the lines in the palms of their hands. Funny enough, Chiropodists can also tell wonders about people’s foot health and predict future pain and problems simply by looking at the calluses on their feet — although there’s nothing magical about it!

The better comparison might be to your automobile mechanic investigating uneven tread wear on your tires. The skin on your feet, like vehicle tires, is where “the rubber meets the road.” In the same way, the bones, ligaments, and muscles underneath are like your body’s suspension, struts, and shock absorbers, cushioning, carrying, and adapting to the ground below.

If your mechanic spots uneven tire wear on your vehicle, step one is likely a new set of tires. While you can’t trade your feet in for a new set, thankfully your Chiropodist is uniquely qualified to reduce and remove the callus effectively.

However, while unpleasant, calluses should be regarded as a symptom of a problem and not the problem itself. Simply replacing a set of unevenly worn tires without fixing the issue causing the uneven wear will quickly result in another unevenly worn set of tires. Calluses are no different. They will return unless what’s causing them is properly addressed.

Calluses form because of undesired friction over pressure points. Often it’s an issue with your foot’s structure that creates this wear problem. Your mechanic would view uneven tire wear as a clue to uncovering underlying problems with your vehicle’s shocks or suspension.

Similarly, Chiropodists will examine the location, thickness, and other properties of calluses and relate their findings to the bones, muscles, and ligaments in your feet, along with other medical factors affecting your foot health. Together, these things help them diagnose and treat the underlying problems that are causing the calluses, at the same time treating conditions such as foot, heel, ankle, and knee pain that often occur with the same kinds of structural foot problems that result in callus formation. This is why calluses can be a predictor of future foot pain and problems.

SOME TREATMENT APPROACHES FOR CALLUSES BY OUR CHIROPODISTS

CALLUS REMOVAL: Chiropodists use a scalpel and specialized instruments to reduce and remove calluses painlessly without the need for undesirable practices such as “foot soaks” which may spread fungus and infection even with sanitization.

PRESCRIPTION CREAMS: Your Chiropodist may provide you with a specially formulated moistening cream to prevent drying of the skin in areas prone to callus buildup.

FOOTWEAR: Chiropodists know your feet best, and will provide advice on the right kind of footwear for your foot type.

CUSTOM ORTHOTICS: Orthotics that are properly prescribed and provided by a Chiropodist for your foot problems, as well as specialized cushioning devices, help normalize problems with your foot structure, eliminating the friction points that cause callus buildup

DIABETES: Pressure points that lead to callus formation can eventually lead to a complete breakdown of the skin in people with diabetes, causing serious wounds called ulcers. Your Chiropodist can help prevent this. People with diabetes should NEVER try cutting or removing calluses themselves, since this can also cause an ulcer or infection.

Visit our website at www.totalfootcare.ca for more information about your good foot health.

Diabetes and Your Feet

Diabetes adversely affects the nerves and small blood vessels in your feet and lower limbs. As a result, people with diabetes are at a much higher risk to develop a number of potentially serious and lifestyle limiting problems, such as:

Infection: People with diabetes are more prone to infection due to weakened immune systems and reduced circulation. Even the smallest cuts, sores, and ingrown nails, can quickly develop into potentially serious blood and bone infections that often result in amputations or worse. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of lower limb amputations outside of accident or trauma. People with diabetes are also more susceptible to plantar warts and fungal infections of the nails and skin.

Neuropathy: Diabetes can result in damage to the nerves of the lower limbs resulting in a condition called neuropathy. Symptoms include tingling, burning, pain and cramping, reduced sensation, or even complete loss of feeling. Neuropathy greatly affects people’s mobility and painful cramping and “pins and needles” tends to reduce the quality of sleep. Neuropathy is also a problem because the reduced sensation can lead to secondary problems like burns because sufferers can’t sense that the bath water is too hot, and infections because they can’t feel blisters or cuts.

Wounds / Ulcers: Cuts, scrapes, bruises, blisters, and pressure points can deteriorate into a stubborn wound in the diabetic foot known as an ulcer. Ulcers are extremely difficult to treat and they can spread in size and depth. Not only are they painful, the open flesh is a portal for all kinds of nasty germs, viruses, and fungus to enter the foot and cause serious infections such as gangrene.

Prevention is the key to helping avoid complications from diabetes, and prevention begins at home. Here are some ways to help avoid problems:

• Inspect your feet daily, including the soles, for cuts, cracks, redness, blisters, bruising, or any other unusual marks or blemishes. See your Chiropodist right away if you find any of these things.
• Wash feet daily in warm water using mild soap or antibacterial cleanser.
• Do not soak feet in water for more than five to ten minutes, and never use hot water since excessive soaking and heat can damage or dry out the skin.
• Always test the temperature of bathwater with your hand or elbow first to make sure it isn’t too hot. Or, use a temperature gauge.
• A soft nail brush may be used to clean toe nails. Pat them dry with a clean towel. Pay particular attention to dry between your toes where moisture can cause damp skin to break down or macerate. You can use a swab of isopropyl alcohol to help dry skin.
• Use pumice or a file to lightly exfoliate or rub off any rough areas on your skin.
• Never use scissors or sharp objects to remove callus or rough spots on the skin. Excessive callus buildup may be a sign of other problems. See your Chiropodist.
• Use a moisturizer on your skin, but never between your toes.
• Even though it is commonly done, do not use powder between the toes, unless prescribed by your Chiropodist for a specific condition. Powder can cause your skin to break down since it absorbs and traps moisture.
• Never use over-the-counter wart or corn remedies. They contain a chemical that burns the skin and creates an opening that may cause serious wounds or infections. See your Chiropodist.
• Always wear a pair of indoor shoes or slippers. This will help avoid potentially serious cuts, punctures, bumps, and bruises to your feet.
• Footwear should be in good repair and fit properly. Your Chiropodist can provide proper footwear advice.
• If you have been prescribed orthotics, use them in all of your footwear!

Beyond home prevention, it is important to see a foot health specialist for maximum benefit. In Ontario, the only legally regulated specialists exclusively trained and licensed in complete foot health and orthotics are Chiropodists / Podiatrists. You should make a visit to your Chiropodist / Podiatrist at least once each year for a complete foot health check up the same way you would to have your eyes checked or for your annual physical. Even better, seeing your Chiropodist / Podiatrist for regular nail and foot care will help ensure that problems can be prevented or detected early for treatment.

For more helpful foot health information, visit our Web site at www.totalfootcare.ca.

There's No "Fun" in Fungus

What does that delectable, garlic and butter fried accompaniment of mushrooms next to your steak have in common with thick, brown-discoloured, and flaking toenails? Well, nothing palatable for sure!

However, they’re indeed cousins at a scientific level – the phylum known as fungi to be precise.

Nail fungus (also called onychomycosis) is an extremely common problem. It’s contagious and thrives in moist conditions such as persistently wet or sweaty footwear, pool decks, bathrooms, hotel carpets, and public change rooms.

The symptoms of fungal nails can be shared by other problems such as psoriasis or nail trauma, and so your chiropodist may sometimes take a nail sample for microscopic analysis to determine whether fungus is present and what type it is.

Nail fungus is extremely stubborn, and treatment may last several months (even years in severe cases). In addition to the in-office procedures performed by your chiropodist, he or she may provide medication and a home treatment plan to achieve maximum benefit. It’s very important to sanitize shoes, socks, and places around the house that harbour the fungal spores. Your chiropodist can also perform a cosmetic procedure that effectively restores the appearance of the toenails while treatment is ongoing.

As the old saying goes, however, prevention is the best medicine. Nail fungus can usually be avoided with a few common sense precautions such as:

·        Ensuring that footwear is kept dry and clean

·        Wearing slippers, sandals or water shoes in the kinds of public places where the spores are prevalent

·        Use only breathable, antifungal toenail polish. Most nail polishes form an air-tight seal that causes fungus to flourish

·        Trying to avoid injury to the nails

·        Never sharing footwear

Without treatment by your chiropodist fungal nails will become increasingly thick and unsightly, eventually damaging the nail bed so that the disfigurement becomes permanent. They may become painful and cause secondary bacterial infections. The fungus can also spread to the surrounding skin, fingernails, and other parts of the body. 

For more information on your good foot health, you can always visit the Kawartha Total Foot Care Centre web site.

Heal Cracked Heels

The tires on your car provide the traction and support to take you from A to B. And, if the rubber becomes cracked and dry, the problem needs to be addressed as it can pose a risk to one’s safety and well-being.

Well, your feet take you from A to B as well. And, at this time of year in particular, they can become excessively dry and cracked in the heels and other high-pressure areas.

Cracked heels before treatment at
Kawartha Total Foot Care Centre

Cracked heels are also known as fissures, and the cold and dry of winter makes for conditions when they can be especially problematic. Cracked heels can develop to the point that they bleed and become very painful. For people with diabetes, circulatory, or other conditions that result in weakened immunity, cracked heels provide an open doorway to potentially serious bacterial, viral, and fungal infections and should always be addressed promptly by your chiropodist. 



After only one treatment at
Kawartha Total Foot Care Centre

There are some things people can do at home to help prevent and treat cracked heels. Don’t go barefoot around the house. Use a pair of indoor shoes or slippers. Make sure to wear well-fitting, high-quality winter footwear outdoors. Avoid excessively hot baths, since these will dry the skin. People with diabetes or other conditions that can result in reduced nerve sensation should avoid hot baths anyway, due to the risk of burns.

However, for many people these tips will not be enough on their own, and they will still experience cracked heels. Our chiropodists can help, and patients are often surprised when they arrive with even a severe case of cracked heels how they can leave with feet that are “baby’s bottom” smooth. Beyond treatment of the cracked areas themselves, your chiropodist may employ intensive in-clinic moisturizing therapies as a preventative means to address the dryness and cracking. He or she may also provide or recommend a proper moisturizer for home use, since most off-the-shelf moisturizers are not strong enough for the extra thick skin of your feet. Structural foot problems that create friction and cause the build-up of callus and dry skin in the cracked areas are another area that your chiropodist may identify and treat.  

William Shakespeare wrote, ““Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” With your chiropodist’s help, at least your feet can be crack-free despite winter’s cold, dry winds.

For more information on your good foot health, you can always visit the Kawartha Total Foot Care Centre web site.