JustCare

Tag: Foot care

  • The benefits of walking barefoot at home

    The benefits of walking barefoot at home

    Believe it or not, there are benefits to walking barefoot at home. Walking barefoot actually helps build muscular strength in your feet reports Anna Rahmanan for the Huffington Post. Walking barefoot can also help the skin beneath your feet.

    Barefoot is defined as wearing neither shoes nor socks. Once you’re wearing socks, your movements change. Your foot muscles do not react as they do when you are barefoot.

    Walking barefoot strengthens your foot muscles. These muscles deteriorate as we age and when we wear shoes. More important, these muscles improve our movement.

    When older people struggle to move, it’s often because they can’t use their foot muscles.

    When you walk barefoot at home, both the soles and tops of your feet can breathe. That keeps them from sweating and reduces the likelihood of getting fungal infections.

    In addition, walking barefoot allows you to feel the bottoms of your feet and the textures below them, improving your sensory skills and well-being. It can help you to be mindful.

    Should you walk barefoot at home as much as possible? Not necessarily. One risk is that you will expose your feet to dirt or allergens or chemicals. If you have sensitive skin, walking barefoot at home can lead to eczema or contact dermatitis. Though, if you wash, dry and moisturize your feet regularly, the risks of walking barefoot at home should be small. It’s all about proper foot care.

    Walking barefoot could also cause you to slip if you’re not careful or to step on something harmful to your feet.

    And if you have diabetes or bad circulation, walking barefoot at home could have severe health consequences.

    Moreover, if you walk barefoot too much on hard floors, you could tire out your feet or develop plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis causes inflammation of the tissue that links your toes to your heel bone. You can also hurt your joints.

    When should you wear socks and shoes at home? It’s important to support your feet when you are standing a lot, such as when you cook. Unlike when you’re barefoot, with shoes, you balance your weight over your whole foot.

    You can also simply wear socks. With socks, you lose the value of going barefoot. But, you protect your feet from dirt and other irritants on the floor.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Watch your feet!

    Watch your feet!

    Do your feet hurt? For eight in ten Americans, the answer is yes. Don’t let foot aches stop you from your daily activities. Check your feet every day.

    Jancee Dunn reports for the New York Times that your feet can alert you to issues with your overall health. For example, if your feet are swollen, it could mean you have high blood pressure, gout or kidney problems. If your feet are tingling, you might have diabetes.

    Foot pain is especially common for older adults because your skin becomes thinner and less elastic as you age.  There are a wide array of  treatments targeting different types of foot pain, depending when you feel pain and its location. No matter what’s wrong, you can ease foot pain and feel better.

    Treating foot issues is particularly important because it can decrease your risk of falling. As it is, one in three older adults fall each year. And, more than 1.5 million older adults are hospitalized each year as a result of a fall.

    What to do? Study both the tips and bottoms of your feet as well as the space between your toes. If your skin is cracked, red or you have sores that won’t heal, talk to your doctor.

    Where’s the pain? And, when do you feel it?

    • Fungal infections between the toes causing redness, blisters or itching: This is typically called athlete’s foot because the infection develops from sweat and moisture build-up in your feet as a result of exercise. Make sure you wash your feet, including the area between the toes, after exercise and then dry then to prevent infections. Use an over-the- counter fungal spray or cream to treat the infection. And, talk to your doctor.
    • Toenail fungus is very common among older adults. It results from brittle and dry nails and reduced circulation to the feet as you age. Your toenail becomes discolored and thick. If it doesn’t hurt, you don’t really have to worry about it. But, it could spread to other toes.
    • Ingrown toenails: To prevent them, cut toenails straight across. Do not round them at the edges.
    • Blisters: You can pop a blister with a clean tool. But don’t take the top off. Simply put an antiseptic cream on with a bandaid until it heals.
    • Bunions, hammertoes, corns or calluses. More than one in three older adults have bunions. They appear on the inside of your feet at the base of the big toe. Hammertoes are protrusions on the top of your toe that keep your toe from sitting straight and flat. With calluses and corns, there’s a thickening of your skin. Corns might also have some fluid.
    • Plantar fasciitis: One in ten adults over 50 suffer from plantar fasciitis. It causes a pain on the bottom of your feet, which can be debilitating. It is an inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of your feet and across its full length. It might not be possible to prevent plantar fasciitis. It often results from exercise, when the muscles in your legs and feet are tight. And, you don’t want to stop exercising!!!!! But, you should be sure to take time to stretch your muscles, particularly your calves, before and after exercising.

    Good foot hygiene:

    • Do not wear shoes that are tight. But, avoid wearing flip flops, which can aggravate foot issues, including arch pain and plantar fasciitis.
    • Do not polish your toenails if they are discolored. Do not get callus shavers or foot peels. Avoid high heels!!!
    • Do exercise your feet. You can roll a tennis ball underneath them. Get a foot massage and do legs up the wall exercises. Soak your feet in water with vinegar. Wash and moisturize your feet every day.
    • Do use suntan lotion on your feet to avoid sunburn and skin cancer on the tops and soles of your feet.

    Warding off bunions, hammertoes, corns and calluses and easing pain:

    • Keep your toenails clipped.
    • Wear shoes that support your feet and do not pinch your feet
    • Do foot exercises to develop the muscles in your feet.
    • Wear padded bandaids or moleskins over the affected areas of your feet
    • Soak your feet regularly and then moisturize them with a lotion containing urea.
    • If the pain is preventing you from doing what you want to do, talk to a doctor about the costs and benefits of surgery. Use a pumice stone on calluses.

    Treating plantar fasciitis and osteoarthritis:

    • Ice your foot where it hurts early and often!
    • Wear shoes that do not bend.
    • Walk a little, even if it hurts.
    • Stick to bicycling, swimming and other exercises that are not high-impact; take a break from activity that’s hard on your feet.
    • See a physical therapist.
    • Get a shoe insert tailored to your feet

    Here’s more from Just Care:

    • Five ways to ease your fear of falling
    • Five exercises to improve balance for safety and health
    • Caregiving: Keeping Parents Healthy – Water, Walking, Watch out for Delirium
    • Aerobic exercise may be best medicine for your brain and body
    • New study finds no benefits to Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplements
  • Feet hurt? Foot care is key

    Feet hurt? Foot care is key

    Do your feet hurt? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is yes. Don’t let foot aches stop you from your daily activities. Practice daily foot care. No matter what’s wrong, you can ease foot pain and feel better.

    Eight in ten Americans experience foot problems. Foot pain is especially common for older adults because your skin becomes thinner and less elastic as you age.  There are a wide array of  treatments targeting different types of foot pain, depending when you feel pain and its location.

    Treating foot issues is particularly important because it can decrease your risk of falling. As it is, one in three older adults fall each year. And, more than 1.5 million older adults are hospitalized each year as a result of a fall.

    Where’s the pain? And, when do you feel it?

    Fungal infections between the toes causing redness, blisters or itching: This is typically called athlete’s foot because the infection develops from sweat and moisture build-up in your feet as a result of exercise. Make sure you wash your feet, including the area between the toes, after exercise and then dry then to prevent infections. Use an over-the- counter fungal spray or cream to treat the infection. And, talk to your doctor.

    Toenail fungus is very common among older adults. It results from brittle and dry nails and reduced circulation to the feet as you age. Your toenail becomes discolored and thick. If it doesn’t hurt, you don’t really have to worry about it. But, it could spread to other toes.

    Ingrown toenails: To prevent them, cut toenails straight across. Do not round them at the edges.

    Blisters: Blisters happen to everyone. You can pop a blister with a clean tool. But don’t take the top off. Simply put an antiseptic cream on with a bandaid until it heals.

    If you have spent a lot of time wearing poor-fitting shoes, you might have bunions, hammertoes, corns or calluses. More than one in three older adults have bunions. They appear on the inside of your feet at the base of the big toe. Hammertoes are protrusions on the top of your toe that keep your toe from sitting straight and flat.

    Calluses and corns are also common. With calluses and corns, there’s a thickening of your skin. Corns might also have some fluid.

    One in ten adults over 50 suffer from plantar fasciitis. It causes a pain on the bottom of your feet, which can be debilitating. It is an inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of your feet and across its full length.

    It might not be possible to prevent plantar fasciitis. It often results from exercise, when the muscles in your legs and feet are tight. And, you don’t want to stop exercising!!!!! But, you should be sure to take time to stretch your muscles, particularly your calves, before and after exercising.

    Good foot hygiene:

    • Do not wear shoes that are tight. Do not polish your toenails if they are discolored. Do not get callus shavers or foot peels. Avoid high heels!!!
    • Do exercise your feet. You can roll a tennis ball underneath them. Get a foot massage and do legs up the wall exercises. Soak your feet in water with vinegar. Wash and moisturize your feet every day.
    • If foot pain persists, see a podiatrist.

    Warding off bunions, hammertoes, corns and calluses and easing pain:

    • Keep your toenails clipped.
    • Wear shoes that support your feet and do not pinch your feet
    • Do foot exercises to develop the muscles in your feet.
    • Wear padded bandaids or moleskins over the affected areas of your feet
    • Soak your feet regularly and then moisturize them with a lotion containing urea.
    • If the pain is preventing you from doing what you want to do, talk to a doctor about the costs and benefits of surgery.
    • Use a pumice stone on calluses.

    Treating plantar fasciitis and osteoarthritis: 

    • Ice your foot where it hurts early and often!
    • Make sure you wear shoes that do not bend.
    • Walk a little, even if it hurts.
    • Stick to bicycling, swimming and other exercises that are not high-impact; take a break from activity that’s hard on your feet.
    • See a physical therapist.
    • Get a shoe insert tailored to your foot.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Watch your feet: Foot care is critical and pain is treatable

    Watch your feet: Foot care is critical and pain is treatable

    You’ve heard the expression, “watch your back.” When it comes to older adults, you might say “watch your feet.” Caring for an older adult means checking vision, gait, hearing and balance on a regular basis.  It also should mean checking feet.  Feet are a window into whether an older adult is able to care for himself or herself.

    When it comes to feet, older people have lots of issues. Your primary care doctor or geriatrician should be sure to check your feet regularly. Here are seven things to watch out for and talk to your doctor about:

    1. Foot pain: People are more likely to have foot pain in later life as the skin becomes thinner and less elastic. Painful feet can usually be treated.
    2. Fungal infections between the toes causing redness, blisters or itching: Use an over-the- counter fungal spray or cream. And, talk to your doctor. Make sure your feet, including the area between the toes, are dry to prevent infections.
    3. Corns and calluses: Make sure your shoes fit well, and your feet are not rubbing up against them. Use a pumice stone or foot file to remove hard or calloused skin. You also can rub the corns or calluses gently with a washcloth but do not shave them. Moisturize dry and rough skin on your feet to prevent cracks.
    4. Ingrown toenails: Cut toenails regularly to avoid ingrown toenails caused by the nail growing too long and cutting into the skin. Keep in mind that many older adults can’t bend down to cut their own toenails.
    5. Tissue build up in the ball of the foot or toes causing pain. This could make it harder to balance. Make sure your shoes are wide enough.
    6. Toes that are pulled back: This can affect balance. Make sure shoes have enough space in them.
    7. Swelling.  See a doctor if your feet are swollen.

    If you have diabetes, you may have poor blood flow in your feet. And, you are more prone to scrapes, bruises and infections. You should check your feet every day for red patches. If you have sores or blisters or cracks in your skin, see a foot doctor. You want to avoid getting infections.

    And, regardless of your health status, exercise your feet to increase blood flow and improve the health of your feet. You can also do foot exercises.  For more information, check out this pamphlet from the National Institute on Aging.