| Good foot care habits are crucial to your overall health and well being. Sadly, we do tend to rather take our feet for granted and only really notice them when something goes wrong. At this juncture we tend to blame everything else rather than acknowledge our role in causing the problems with our feet. |
| The following 7 tips will help you establish a practical and effective regime of caring for your feet. Apply these and you will reap the benefits of happy healthy feet. |
| Inspect Your feet daily |
| Take a little time to examine your feet for any chaffing, blisters or tenderness. Look for corns or fungal infections. Take action immediately as prevention is always preferable to dealing with a more serious foot problem. |
| Wash your feet regularly and thoroughly |
| Wash your feet with soap and warm water. Be sure to dry all areas thoroughly. Clean feet tend to be healthy feet. |
| Keep your nails at a healthy length |
| Inspect your nails and take action to ensure that they remain at a healthy length. This should be not too short as this can lead to the formation of ingrown toenails |
| Keep your feet well moisturised and soft |
| Apply a daily moisturising cream to keep feet soft and supple and to maintain their flexibility and suppleness. Hard dry skin can lead to a variety of skin conditions and foot problems. |
| Wear appropriate socks |
| Wear smooth fitting socks. Avoid socks that have seams that may create a ridge within the shoe lining. This could cause chaffing and blisters as well as being very uncomfortable. |
| Choose shoes that fit and are comfortable |
| An obvious point perhaps but so many foot problems are caused by ill fitting shoes, often worn for long periods of time. Do not wear the same shoes every day. Look for comfortable well fitting shoes that do not cause pressure in any one spot. |
| As a golden rule – when selecting shoes choose comfort and fit over fashion your feet will thank you! |
| Keep active throughout your life |
| Walking provides excellent exercise for your feet and will help improve circulation and prevent blood pooling in your ankles. Swimming is also excellent exercise but is careful in the changing room – these are notorious breeding grounds for foot infections! |
| Your feet are essential to your overall health and well being. We do tend to take them for granted and often have to suffer the consequences. This article has only scratched the surface of how to care for your feet. There is so much more to learn and apply |
| foot health guide |
