Let's make it short and sweet. These basic foot care tips are pretty easy to remember. Even easier to do. Best of all, your feet will love you for following them.
Wash your feet daily. Use lukewarm water, a mild soap or antibacterial soap. Rinse off all the soap and dry thoroughly. Make sure you get between the toes too! You can do this while bathing or sitting down. You may even try a long handled brush like a shower back brush.
We don't recommend you sit on the edge of the bathtub. Be safe! You might also want to have a look at Foot Baths for some more ideas here.
Keep your toe nails trimmed. Make sure you trim your nails straight across and not too short. Don't go cutting or digging them into the corners either. That's just asking for trouble. Ingrown toe nails are really not fun. Trimming will be a lot easier too if you do this just after you've finished bathing or washing your feet.
Dry Skin? You can use a moisturizing lotion to help with this. This can be helpful in dry climates or different times of year that are drier than others. A small amount of generic lotion applied a few times a day can help you.
Inspect your feet regularly. You may want to get a friend to help you look at those 'harder to see' parts. Funny how there's more of those as we get a little more 'mature'! Let your health care professional know if any unusual signs persist. Catching them early is important.
No self treatment that includes trying to trim, shave or dissolve corns or calluses. See your doctor and get the proper remedies.
Wear clean socks. Change your socks or stockings daily. Make sure they are not too tight or too short. Have a quick look here for more on choosing socks if you missed it.
Wear shoes that fit! Seems so simple but just making sure of this makes a world of difference to your foot health. If you missed the shoe fitting section have a look here.
Walk daily!. Yup. Another really simple foot care tip. The mere act of walking gives your feet exercise. That exercise goes a real long way in keeping your feet healthy. Haven't started yet? You can start from the beginning here or go straight to our walking programs here if you like
Sweaty Feet?
Here's some foot care tips just for you. Note these are in addition to the foot care tips above.
Wear the right shoes. Try to choose leather, canvas shoe or a shoe made with a highly breathable material. Sandals are very good. Try to avoid synthetic materials. Some of the modern materials could work very well for you even though they are not technically leather or canvas. You may have to experiment a bit.
Be sure and read our pages on choosing shoes here. Pay special attention to the wicking characteristics of both the shoes and the socks. A longish read but very worth it for you.
Change shoes daily. A bit of a nuisance but you want to give your shoes a chance to rest, breath and dry a bit between uses. You don't want to give fungi a place to get started!
Use foot powder. Use a good quality brand recommended by your doctor for your feet.
Be diligent. You are more prone to having athlete's foot get started. Sweating doesn't cause athlete's foot all by itself. When you combine it with moisture and poor ventilation in that shoe though it create a good situation for it to get started. This is a contagious disease. See your doctor for more guidance in treating it.
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Medicine Plus is a service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. This link takes you directly to their Foot Health page (opens in a new window).
Here is a link to the General Foot Health page at the APMA (American Podiatric Medical Association). (opens in a new window).
