Foot health care advice

We squeeze them into ill-fitting shoes and heels, don’t always wash them and rarely pamper them.

No wonder three-quarters of adults have had foot problems in the last five years. The good news is that looking after your feet can prevent most of the problems.
Your feet take the weight of your whole body, so foot problems can quickly lead to discomfort and affect the way you walk. This can in turn cause knee, hip and back pain.
So it’s well worth investing a bit of time and thought into giving your feet the care they deserve.

Ten top tips
_. Don’t go to bed without washing your feet. If you leave dirt on the skin’s surface, it can become irritated and infected. Wash your feet every evening with soap and water.
_. Dry your feet thoroughly after washing them and apply a special moisturising foot cream (not body lotion).
_. Gently remove hard skin and callouses with a pumice stone or foot file on a regular basis.
_. Always trim your toenails straight across, never at an angle or down the edges. This can cause ingrown toenails.
_. Shop for shoes in the afternoon. Feet swell as the day goes on and if shoes fit in the afternoon when your feet are at their largest, you can be assured they will be always be comfortable.
_. If you have to wear heels at work, wear comfortable shoes to and from the office and only wear your smart shoes in the office. Also, try to vary the heel height, between low, medium and high.
_. Be shoe savvy. Wear high heels and pointed shoes for special occasions only, and always wear the right shoes for the job (so no sandals for mountain climbing).
_. Change your socks daily.
_. Wear flip-flops to avoid catching athlete’s foot and verrucas when you use public areas such as gym showers, swimming pools or hotel bathrooms.
_. But don’t wear flip-flops continuously when the weather is hot. They don’t provide support for your feet and can give you arch pain and heel pain if you wear them all the time.
Aged 60 and over
For those over 60, foot care becomes even more important. Age takes it toll: the skin thins, the joints begin to stiffen and the feet become more vulnerable to the cold.
Not only that, but as podiatrist Emma Supple says, “Physically, it gets more difficult for us to get to our feet, and failing eyesight doesn’t help.”
Emma’s advice is simple: “Go to see a professional for a foot MOT every six months and never put up with foot pain as if it is normal. Your feet shouldn’t hurt.”

Foot facts
Each foot contains 26 bones and over 100 ligaments.
Your feet contain over a quarter of the bones in your body.
The skin on your feet has over 7,000 nerve endings.
There are over 125,000 sweat glands on each foot, more than anywhere else in the body.
Your feet produce an eggcup’s worth of sweat every day.