We all know that it's important to take good care of our feet, "our carriers". Sometimes foot problems can occur as a result of improper foot care and sometimes just of bad luck. But the way you take care of your feet and what material you wrap your feet in, is something you can choose yourself.

General

Our feet get clean in the shower, and yet we often pay too little attention to our feet when taking a shower. We hardly ever treat our feet to a scrub, special cleaning or a massage. A shower gel or oil that we use to clean our body, usually reaches to just above our feet and then we stop.

Then there are ways to care for our feet outside of the shower, for example cutting your nails, or removing any callus or corn. But even those things are often done a bit carelessly. In other words, there are many things that still need improvement when it comes to foot care.

Problems and solutions

There are several common feet problems that, provided you are careful, you can take care of yourself.

Callus

Callus protects your feet and is formed when excessive pressure is placed on your feett. It can give a burning, painful feeling, but not necessarily. Apart from the pain, callus doesn't look nice, especially not when you wear open shoes.

A professional has specific equipment to remove callus, but you can remove it yourself, too. A callus file, which is available at any drugstore, has two sides. You start by roughly filing off the edges of the callus with the rough side of the file. When the hard edges are gone, you can use the smoother side of the file to make the edges soft again. This way the edges of the callus connect smoothly to the normal skin again. Use this file, before washing your feet.

If you rather work when your foot is wet (for instance after a shower), you have to use a special file. In this case you actually roll the callus off of it's place and your foot will instantly be soft.

Finally there is the "egg". The "egg" has a flat side which you slide over the callus to remove it, layer by layer. Everything is caught inside of the "egg". It's very hygienic.

Beware! Regardless of how you remove your callus, be careful not to remove too much. It protects your foot, after all.

Now take a foot bath several times a week and use a soft, ph neutral, soap. Then rub a greasy cream on your feet. Keep in mind that you need to keep following these steps, if you want to see a nice result.

Corn

A corn is a piece of hardened callus turned inwards. The part turned into the skin is usually shaped as a spear point. This is usually what causes the pain associated with a corn, because the point puts pressure on nerves.

For a small corn you can use a special plaster. Removing a corn that's big (and often deep), is a job for a professional (pedicure or doctor).

Ingrown nail

A relatively large number of people cut their nails the wrong way. They try to cut their nails by following the curve of the toe, instead of cutting straight. This causes the point of the nail to press into the fold of the nail. When the nail is too short it can grow into the skin and cause infections.

When the nail has not actually grown into the skin yet, and hasn't caused infections yet, it is best to leave the nail alone for the time being. Then, when it is long enough, you should cut it off straight (a small white edge along the toenail is fine). Sometimes a small piece of cotton between the nail and the skin is sufficient to make the nail grow straight. If infections do occur, callus can grow in and then you really shouldn't try to fix it yourself anymore. A professional can easily take care of it.

Foot odor

Sweating is normal, but excessive sweating isn't pleasant. Fresh sweat doesn't smell, but feet that have been "wrapped up", can't breathe and that's when odors form.

The ideal solution is walking barefoot, but this is usually not possible. This means we have to take a good look at the materials we put our feet into. This means stockings, socks and tights. Use natural materials whenever you can. With most tights this is tough, but the thicker woven tights can be made out of cotton (available in special stores). The same goes for stockings and socks, use cotton and change your shoes every day. At home you should walk without shoes as much as you can. Changing your shoes is also important for the position of your feet., your soles and the way you walk (for example, you walk in a different way on slippers than you do on normal shoes and different again on high heels).

When it comes to eating, there is also something you can do. This includes drinking less coffee, alcohol and eating less spicy herbs.

Tips

• Buy new shoes always at the end of the day, when your feet are a little more swollen (than in the morning). Pay attention to the width of the shoe as well. A shoe has to fit immediately (not pinch) and there is no such thing as breaking in your new shoes, which is more of a sales pitch than an advice that benefits your feet.
• Find someone to give you a nice foot massage now and then. This could be your partner, a friend or a professional. It is good for the perfusion and since all points of your body meet in your feet, a nice foot massage will cause complete relaxation of your body.

Sources: www.todio.nl