Do you suffer from any of these common foot problems?

There are many problems that can affect your feet. Here are some tips on how to treat some of the common foot ailments and prevent them from happening to you!

1. Ingrown Toenails
Ingrown toenails start out hard, swollen, and tender. Left untreated, they may become sore, red, and infected and the skin may start to grow over the ingrown toenail.

Ingrown toenails can be prevented by:

• Trimming toenails straight across with no rounded corners.
• Ensuring that shoes and socks are not too tight.
• Keeping feet clean at all times.

In most cases, treating ingrown toenails is simple: soak the foot in warm, soapy water several times each day. Avoid wearing tight shoes or socks. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed if an infection is present.

2. Warts

Most foot warts are harmless, even though they may be painful. A wart is caused by a viral infection which invades the skin through small or invisible cuts and abrasions. Foot warts are generally raised and fleshy and can appear anywhere on the foot or toes. If left untreated, warts can grow to an inch or more in circumference and can spread into clusters of warts. To prevent the spread of warts, follow these tips:

• Avoid walking barefoot, except on sandy beaches.
• Avoid direct contact with warts, both from other persons or from other parts of the body.
• Change your shoes and socks daily.
• Check your children’s feet periodically.
• Keep your feet clean and dry.

It is important to note that warts can be very resistant to treatment and have a tendency to recur. Over-the-counter foot wart treatments are usually ineffective because their use can inadvertently destroy surrounding healthy tissue. For help in effectively treating warts contact your Podiatrist, Dr. Kovac.

3. Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s Foot is a skin disease caused by a fungus that usually occurs between the toes. Symptoms include drying skin, itching, scaling, inflammation, and blisters on and between the toes. Athlete’s Foot can spread to the soles of the feet and to the toenails as well as other parts of the body, which is why timely treatment is so important. You can prevent Athlete’s Foot by:

• Not walking barefoot, particularly in public pools and locker rooms.
• Reducing foot perspiration by using talcum powder.
• Wearing light and airy shoes.
• Wearing socks that keep your feet dry, and changing them frequently if you perspire heavily.

While fungicidal and fungistatic chemicals are usually used to treat Athlete’s Foot problems, they often fail to contact the fungi in the lower layers of the skin. For persistent Athlete’s Foot, a prescription topical or oral antifungal drug may be needed.
For more information about these feet conditions or any other foot or ankle problems, please contact your Podiatrist, Dr. Kovac, at Idaho Foot and Ankle Center. Call us at208-529-8393.

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