FIXING YOUR FEET E-zine
Volume 7, Issue 3, March 2007
John Vonhof, Footwork Publications
Copyright, March 2007, All rights reserved
THIS ISSUE IN SUMMARY
This issue has two articles. The first is about A Home Remedy for Toe
Nail Fungus. The second is Calluses: To Trim or Not To Trim.
PURPOSE
The Fixing Your Feet E-zine is published monthly to inform and educate
athletes and non-athletes about proper foot care skills and techniques,
provide tips on foot care, review foot care products, and highlight
problems people have with their feet.
ARTICLE: A HOME REMEDY FOR TOE NAIL FUNGUS
Dr. Ray Sahelian publishes an e-zine to which I subscribe. The most recent issue had an article about a home remedy for toenail fungus. I quote from his newsletter with permission. Those of you who follow my e-zine know that I often talk about nail care. I am certain that many of us have toenail fungus and are in denial. Dr. Sahelian’s article can provide a place to start to manage this important part of foot care. It’s easy.
“I have come across a natural nail fungus treatment that works. This treatment is inexpensive and effective, but takes time. Follow all of these suggestions if you wish to get rid of your toenail fungus infection.
Go the the grocery store and buy a large bag of Epsom salts, also known as magnesium sulfate. Also buy a nail filer.
File the thickened nail down as much as it is comfortable before soaking. Keep the nails as short as you can. Every few days it is helpful to file the thickened nail down so that the Epsom salt has access to the deeper layers. By filing away the excess thickened nail, it could speed the recovery. At least once a day or preferably twice a day, soak your affected toes in a container with water and a palmful of Epsom salt. I used very hot water for my treatment, and I am not sure if room temperature water is also effective. I boiled water and added it to a shallow bowl and as soon as it was comfortable to soak my toes, I added a few tablespoons of the magnesium sulfate crystals and soaked by toes for at least 15 minutes while watching TV. Occasionally I would take my toes out of the water, add the Epsom salt directly to the nails and the skin around the nails and let it out of the water for a minute or two before soaking them again (not sure if this is needed, but I wanted direct contact of the nails and surrounding skin with the magnesium sulfate.)
I am not sure if soaking the feet more than twice a day will heal the toenail fungus sooner, but if you are motivated to do so, go ahead.
In order for this natural toenail fungus treatment to be effective, you have to keep your feet out of shoes and socks as much as possible. Wear sandals as much as possible. The more time your feet spend in socks or shoes, the more difficult it will be for you to get rid of the toe nail fungal infection.
If you have to wear shoes, for instance at work, at least take them off during lunch, soak your feet in the Epsom salt, and wear new socks and a different pair of shoes the rest of the afternoon and take your shoes off as soon as you get home.
Sleep at night with your feet outside of the blanket. If you feet get cold, wear socks with the tips cut off so that at least your toes are open to the air.
Basically, the idea is to kill the fungus in the nails. The fungi love heat and humidity. The cooler and drier you keep your toes and feet, the quicker they will heal. Magnesium sulfate acts as a powerful drying agent. Perhaps it also directly kills the fungi, but I don’t know for sure. Fungi love humidity and moistness.
If you are fortunate enough to live by a beach, walk on the sand daily with bare feet.
If you are a construction worker or have to wear shoes daily for prolonged periods, it may be difficult to cure your toe nail fungus infection. If you are very motivated, consider taking a sabbatical for a few weeks to take care of your nails.
If you have toe nail fungal infection and surrounding athlete’s foot, the magnesium sulfate soaks could help the skin, too. You could apply an anti-fungal cream to the skin around the nail, massaging it deeply. Tea tree oil is an good option. Toe nail fungus infection is difficult to cure. By preventing the spread of athlete’s foot, nail infection can be minimized or avoided.
The link to the full article is here.
Dr, Sahelian’s newsletter is free and presents balanced and practical information on natural ways to improve health and wellbeing with diet and supplements. You can subscribe here. His web site is http://www.raysahelian.com.
I welcome your opinion on this article. Send me an email.
FIXING YOUR FEET, 4th EDITION
The 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet can be ordered through my FixingYourFeet.com web site, ZombieRunner.com, or Amazon.com. Completely updated, it has three new chapters and lots of new sections. The new retail price is $18.95 but these days no one pays full price! So, whichever of the two sites below you choose, the price is comparable.
WRITE AN AMAZON REVIEW FOR A FREE COPY OF HAPPY FEET
Those of you with the 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet can get a free copy of my booklet, Happy Feet: Foot Care Advice for Walkers and Travelers. Click on Amazon or Barnes & Noble to go to the book’s page—and write a review of the 4th edition. Then send me an email telling me which site the review is on and your snail mail address. I will mail you a free copy of this 36-page booklet. Use it yourself, or give it to someone else. The booklet is described below and has a $5.00 value. Sorry, but because of postage, this offer is good only in the U.S and Canada.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: CALLUSES: TO TRIM OR NOT TO TRIM
By Christine Dobrowolski, DPM
A callus on the heel or the big toe can causes a lot of pain for an athlete. It can develop an even more painful blister underneath and can limit his or her performance, or simply decrease the enjoyment of run. Many athletes want to take a razor blade to the callus tissue and trim it down until the skin is raw. Some rub the callus with a pumice stone until their hand goes numb and others apply expensive creams and lotions. But, no matter what you do, somehow, the callus always comes back.
Callus tissue is a build of dead skin in response to pressure or friction. The medical term for callus is hyperkeratosis (hi – per – care – uh – toe – sis). A callus is actually a bone problem and a foot mechanics problem, not a skin problem. A foot deformity will cause excess pressure to that area from the shoe or the ground. The body’s natural defense mechanism will kick in and start building up the top layer of skin in response to the excess pressure. This is a protective response from the body in an attempt to prevent the pressure from wearing down the skin layers and resulting in an open sore. The problem is that as long as there is pressure, the body will continue to build up the skin. The continual build up of dead skin can become excessive and painful.
In runners and most athletes, the most common places for callus buildup are at the inside of the heel, the area around the big toe and the ball of the foot. Calluses can appear on top of the toes or in between the toes. In these cases, the callus tissue is called a corn. The calluses can be thickened, dry, scaly, yellow, red, tender and even flakey. Runners are much more susceptible to the development of callus tissue because of the amount of stress, pressure and repetitive micro-trauma their feet endure.
The first step to treatment is finding out the cause of the callus. Do you have a foot deformity? Do you have a bunion or a hammertoe? Any type of deformity that rubs on the shoe will result in callus formation. Do you have abnormal mechanics? For example, pronation. If your feet roll in excessively, it is common to have callus development at the inside of the heel and at the big toe. Do you have ill-fitting shoes? Without abnormal mechanics or a foot deformity, an ill-fitting shoe can cause rubbing and irritation. A shoe too tight at the toe area will cause callus formation on the little toe and the big toe. If the heel area of the shoe is too loose and the heel is slipping, callus development can occur at the back of the heel.
Once the problem is identified, the first step is to treat the cause. This is not always possible. It is not recommended to surgically correct a bunion because of an annoying callus. You should find shoes to accommodate any foot deformities, and make sure all running shoes fit correctly. Most people wear shoes which are a half of a size too small, make sure your shoes are the proper size. Also, place your hand in your running shoe and look for lumps and bumps, areas of thickened stitching or gluing. Any of these things could cause excess pressure and callus development. Avoid cotton socks and make sure you have socks which wick moisture. Consider buying socks made of acrylic, polypropylene or small fiber wool. Cotton socks lose their shape when moist and tend to fold and bunch easily, contributing to both callus and blister development. If you think your have abnormal rotation in your feet, visit a podiatrist and see if you need a pair of custom made orthotics. Can’t afford custom orthotics? Try a pair of sport orthotics from your local sporting goods store. These pre-fabricated sport orthotics can help control motion and decrease callus development.
Once the problem is identified and either accommodated or eliminated, it is time to direct attention to the callus itself. It is not recommended to trim calluses yourself. Very large, hard calluses or calluses with painful cores (termed intractable plantar keratosis – IPK) should be trimmed by a podiatrist. It is not necessary to have all calluses trimmed. A small amount of callus is protective to the skin and the bony areas it is covering. Cutting, trimming and shaving this tissue is only recommended when there is tenderness, surrounding redness, a core or a history of blister formation in the area. Even then, the callus should not be trimmed down completely; a small layer should be left for protection. If the callus does not cause pain, is not red, is not tender and doesn’t hinder performance, leave it alone. Remember, the callus is there due to excess pressure or friction and if this pressure isn’t identified and dealt with, even after trimming, the callus will return.
To keep callus tissue down, try creams with salicyclic acid or exfoliators specifically for callus tissue. If you do use a pumice stone, use it daily. A monthly, aggressive pumicing may just irritate the surrounding tissue and you will most likely not make much progress or decrease the callus thickness.
Identifying the cause and minimizing the pressure, in combination with the use of a pumice stone and callus reducing cream on a regular basis, will give the best results.
Christine Dobrowolski, DPM, is a podiatrist in the Lake Tahoe area. She is the author of
Those Aching Feet: Your Guide To Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Foot Problems – revised edition. It can be ordered through her Northcoast Footcare website or through Amazon.
I welcome your opinion on this article. Send me an email.
INTERESTING FACT
You can sweat 26 ounces per hour. With about 250,000 sweat glands, your feet can contribute a pint a day to the total.
BAD FEET PHOTOS
Previous photos and their stories can be found in past issues of this newsletter (since July 2005). For photos before then, check here.
Just think; your feet could be featured in this e-zine for everyone to see! Submit your photo or short story by email or snail mail. Stories should be no longer than 250 words. Send them to me by email.
MY HAPPY FEET BLOG FEATURED
If you like to stay informed about foot care issues and information – on a more regular basis than this monthly newsletter, check out my blog, Happy Feet: Expert Foot Care Advice for People Who Love Their Feet. This is different from this ezine. The Happy Feet blog will have a new short topic every other day.
READER FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS
Reader feedback to this E-zine and its articles is welcome and encouraged. Please email any foot care ideas or tips that you have tried and would like to share with others, or ideas for an article for the e-zine.
HAPPY FEET BOOKLET
My booklet, Happy Feet! Foot Care Advice for Walkers and Travelers is in stock and ready for the walkers in your life. This booklet is 3.75 x 8.5 and 36 pages in length. In an easy read format, it gives advice on biomechanics and gait, buying footwear, fit, lacing, insole and toenail tips, skin care, powders and lubricants, blister care, sprains, foot care kits, and more. It’s on sale at 20% off for $4.00. Click here to read more.
GOT A STORY TO SHARE?
I am always on the look out for stories to share about their adventures with some type of connection to feet. If you have something to share, please send me an email.
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