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Learning the Beauty Secrets of Beautiful Feet
Podiatrists often hand out scores of tips on how to keep one’s feet healthy: Everything from wearing clean and dry socks to avoiding painful high heels that can cause long term damage. However, podiatrists rarely talk about the amazing beauty secrets that can help women keep their feet not only beautiful, but healthy as well. Don’t believe us? Take a few minutes to read over these amazingly useful tips for keeping your feet not only stunning looking, but in the utmost best shape and health as well. Here are the beauty secrets of beautiful – and healthy – feet.
- Clean Feet Are Lovely Feet – One of the best pedicure secrets involves keeping your feet beautiful by keeping them clean. Dirty feet are more prone to dryness and cracking. A daily foot soak is not only beneficial in keeping your feet nice and clean, but will help to soften and moisturize cracked heels. Plus, clean feet are less likely to contract toenail fungus or plantar warts, two unsightly and definitely not beautiful foot conditions.
- Trim and File Your Toenails Often – For a beautiful pedicure, be sure to trim and file your toenails often, but be sure to not file them too short or let them grow too long. Besides giving you lovely toes, these beauty secrets help you to prevent ingrown toenails, a foot condition that is as painful as it is unsightly. See? These beauty tips really can help you to have feet that are lovely and in the best of health.
- Soak Your Feet At Home – As mentioned above, soaking your feet can keep them soft, moisturized, and beautiful looking. However, avoid the foot spas at nail salons if you really want beautiful and healthy feet. Bacteria, viruses, and fungi can hide in the jets of these shared footbaths, and can be easily transferred to other users. Instead, treat yourself to at-home pedicures. Not only will your wallet love you for it, but you’ll also be less likely to contract any unwanted diseases or viruses. At-home footbaths are available at stores like the Sharper Image is you can’t live without those bubbly baths.
As you can see, many of the tips on how to keep your feet beautiful will also help you to keep your feet lovely. Abide by these rules, and you’ll avoid unsightly conditions like plantar warts and ingrown toenails – plus, you will have gorgeous, healthy, and beautiful feet!
Women and High-Heeled Shoes, What Are the Risks and Dangers?
Podiatrists frequently treat women who are experiencing foot pain, bunions, or general discomfort. Do you know what one of the most common reasons behind all of these foot conditions are in women? If you guessed “uncomfortable high-heeled shoes,” then you were right on the money! Unfortunately, asking most women to get rid of their uncomfortable high-heeled shoes would be akin to asking them not to breathe. High-heeled shoes have become a cornerstone of fashion amongst women, and many would sooner die than give up their coveted footwear. Still, there are plenty of reasons as to why you should kick your high heels to the curb and never look back. Here are some of the reasons why you should not wear high-heeled shoes.
- Little To No Arch Support – The healthiest shoes for happy feet are comfortable athletic shoes from brands like New Balance or Reebok. One of the main reasons for this is because these comfortable shoes offer great arch support. The lack of arch support in high-heeled fashion shoes can cause a score of problems, such as ankle sprains and severe foot pain. If you simply must wear you high heels, try to wear one of the many gel sole inserts available on the market today. While they absolutely do not compare to the comfort and support that one would find in an athletic shoe, they do indeed provide better support than one would experience were they to just wear the shoe as is.
- Too High High-Heels – If you simply must wear your high heels, for the love of it, don’t wear those eight-inch stiletto nightmares! Your feet simply aren’t meant to be put into that position for long periods of time, and the damages to your feet can be permanent. A pair of high-heels is never ideal, but the ideal high-heels should be no more than one inch high. If you want to ensure that your feet remain healthy, throw out your over-the-top monster stilettos. They are as damaging to your feet as any shoes could possibly be.
- Another shoe to avoid are those impossibly pointed high-heels that squeeze your toes together for long periods of time. These shoes can cause nerve damage to your toes – damage that can often be irreversible.
Remember, foot problems can indeed be permanent, and cause you a great deal of pain and frustration later in life. No fashion trend is worth permanent damage to your body.
Home Remedies for Foot Pain: When Do I Need to See a Doctor?
Are you suffering from foot pain? Do your feet hurt day in and day out? If you can’t get to your podiatrist in the next couple of days, then you are probably looking for a way to ease your pain before you can visit your podiatrist. Most foot pain cannot be treated at home, but it can be eased. If you need to diminish your foot pain at home before you can see a doctor or podiatrist, here are some tips to help you out. (Note – These tips are only applicable to sprains and mild, tolerable pains. If you feel sharp pain or suspect that you may have broken a bone, then it is advisable to seek emergency treatment or urgent care.)
- A Little Soak – Soaking your feet in a warm bath of Epsom salts can help to relieve your pain. However, be sure that the water is not too cold or too hot, as that can only exacerbate your discomfort. Instead, soak the painful areas in a warm bath of Epsom salts for anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. This will help to ease your pain.
- Ice For Sprains – If you suspect that you are suffering from a sprain, elevation and an ice pack can help to ease the swelling. Prop the affected foot or ankle up on a couple of pillows, and hold an ice pack to any area that shows visible swelling. It is advisable that you do not walk or move on the affected foot or ankle, so it is best if you have someone around who can help you out with the basics. It is crucial to remember that walking on a sprained ankle will only make the problem worse; thus, it is best that you call in sick from work and just get some much needed rest.
- Ibuprofen – One or two ibuprofens can help to reduce swelling and lessen your level of discomfort. However, as with any over the counter medication, make sure to follow the instructions on the bottle and do not consume more than the recommended dosage for your weight and age group.
Foot discomfort can really be a big pain! Unfortunately, you may need to wait a few days before you can get an appointment with your doctor or podiatrist. But if you follow these easy tips, you will surely experience less discomfort than you would have otherwise.
Debunking The Common Myths About Warts
There surely are a bunch of myths floating around about warts, aren’t there? For starters, some people actually believe that you can get warts from touching a frog! (This is, by the way, completely untrue. The bumps on a toad’s skin are actually glands, not warts.) Besides the myths that are basically fairy tales, there are plenty of myths floating around that people actually believe. For example, surely you have heard that a little bit of duct tape will cure an unwanted wart, right? To help you understand what is truth and what is fiction when it comes to warts, here are some of the biggest and most common myths about warts, debunked.
MYTH: All warts are the same, because all of them are the result of the human papilloma virus (HPV).
TRUTH: While all warts do stem from the human papilloma virus, not all HPV outbreaks are created equally. There are over one hundred different kinds of HPV; thus, the plantar warts on the bottom of your feet are quite different from sexually transmitted warts.
MYTH: Potatoes, duct tape, nail polish, and garlic are all efficient treatments for warts.
TRUTH: These folksy wart remedies have been floating around for years. Sure, some people may attest to success from remedies like nail polish or duct tape. However, there is no clinical evidence to support that these methods of treatment are effective. The rumor surrounding duct tape as a wart remedy is that the duct tape works by “suffocating” the wart, but there is no scientific logic that would back that theory up.
MYTH: A wart can be cut out at home. You don’t need to go to a doctor.
TRUTH: Attempting to cut a wart yourself can result in infection and scarring. Never, ever try to perform any sort of medical procedure such as this one on your own. Instead, go to a doctor for this sort of procedure. The truth of the matter is that while some doctors will physically cut away the wart, the vast majority use either laser treatments or liquid nitrogen treatments to eradicate warts. The liquid nitrogen treatments (also referred to as “freezing”) are usually the first method used when treating a patient’s warts. The procedure is a simple and brief one, and is usually performed by a nurse practioner in less than fifteen minutes. While some patients report minor pain, most find the procedure effective after two or three treatments.
What is MSU’s Chris Allen’s Sprained Right Arch?
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